The 1998 Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program provides $120 million for Title I schools and an additional $25 million for all public schools. Almost 3,000 schools are receiving $50,000 each to implement schoolwide models listed and explained in this article. Challenges and funding tips are discussed. (Contains 13 references.) (MLH)

Critics of outcomes-based education and proponents of vouchers, school choice, creationism, and tax limitation measures often seem to be advocating publicly funded private education. School leaders attempting to implement OBE or other improvement programs should describe programs properly, involve the community, develop and implement a…

Change began in Saint Charles (Illinois) School District with a few teachers implementing new ideas in their own classrooms. Organized change began as principals and other administrators encouraged teachers to learn and grow. While teachers were developing process writing and whole-language programs, district embraced systemic change by entrusting…

Historical memory is part of an organization's culture and should not be forgotten. Stories acquire more power and persuasion each time an initiative is imposed without attention to how people think and feel about it. The Historygram process provides a collective forum for reviewing an organization's past. (MLH)

In Pennsylvania, introduction of student learning outcomes became a major battle rather than a reasoned debate, and final language of the proposed regulations was somewhat muted. Because the state failed to cultivate the grass-roots support necessary for reform, a vocal, effective opposition emerged, and sensation overshadowed real issues.…

The "Passages" program is a curriculum that integrates heart, spirit, and community with strong academics. The program inspires feelings of connectedness in teenagers by addressing their unspoken needs: the search for meaning and purpose, longing for silence and solitude, urge for transcendence, hunger for joy and delight, creative…

Collaborative school reform occurs when teachers, parents, students, and administrators creatively design and implement a block schedule. Planners should use a systems approach, secure superiors' support, understand the change process, involve all stakeholders, consult outside resources, brainstorm alternatives, examine budgetary implications,…

Specific problems (involving power, implementation, mission, time management, expertise, cultural constraints, avoidance, and motivation) are keeping school-based decision making from improving teaching and learning. Educators must begin with a clear mission, set explicit goals for the decision-making process, alter governance structures to…

A 1987 model for a coordinated school health program included a healthy environment, comprehensive health education, physical education, health and nutrition services, counseling, staff health promotion, and family and community involvement. Effective programs in two low-resource areas--Providence, Rhode Island, and Animas, New Mexico--are…