Describes Lake Washington (Washington) School District's master plan to balance building-based decision-making and administrative input, encourage collegiality, and respond positively to change. For each building, the district master plan is mirrored by a locally developed master plan. Each teacher is also developing a classroom plan. (MLH)

Analyzes three characteristics of American public culture that help explain our civic quietism: (1) lack of meaningful information for making informed decisions; (2) lack of democratic rights in the workplace; and (3) lack of a cooperative social vision. American schools as presently organized provide few opportunities for learning and…

Developing cooperative structures such as cooperative learning in classrooms, collegial teacher support groups, and collegial administrative relationships within the district will contribute to school effectiveness. Necessary elements are positive interdependence, face-to-face interaction, individual accountability, social skills, and group…

Describes the Child Development Project in California, which holds that academic and character education are equally important goals for schools. The project has been established to produce long-lasting effects on children's "prosocial" development. (MD)

BET (Beginning and Experienced Teachers) is an acronym for an inservice program for inner city teachers in Buffalo, New York, schools. (DS)

A summer program provided a range of health and school activities for entire families of the Minneapolis (Minnesota) Indian community. Both students and their parents improved in learning assessments and in attitudes toward school. (MLF)

Briefly describes a Nebraska program in which materials were developed through the cooperation of university professors, teachers, state department of education participants, Native Americans, and others. (JM)

Teachers are usually trained in stimulus-response techniques that run counter to democratic school-reform principles. Encouragement training, which prioritizes relationships, respectful dialog, and group decision making, changes the way teachers run their classrooms, resulting in students who are more involved, responsible, and academically…

A primary school community in Nottingham, England, has built a social system (via extensive orientation, parent teaching assistants, and multiple school assemblies) in which staff, parents, and students share responsibility for children's academic, social, and personal development. Holistic learning is encouraged by an integrated curriculum,…

Jim Gray's vision of "teachers teaching teachers" writing, through dogged persistence, has become reality as the National Writing Project, precursor to the Bay Area Writing Project. These projects, depending on cooperative university-school relations and effecting meaningful change over time, have influenced nearly one million teachers…

An Internet correspondence program gave Nebraska secondgraders an audience for their writing and provided Iowa preservice teachers with insights into classroom teaching. The experience helped youngsters' reading, writing, and comprehension skills. The college students learned that children can communicate in a sophisticated manner, have varied…

Partnership for Access to Higher Mathematics uses fiber-optic technology in a partnership program among Southwest Texas State University, the San Marcos School District, the telephone company, and the community to significantly improve the mathematical skills of at-risk students. (MLF)

A high school teacher outlines 11 nontraditional expectations for new teachers. Teachers should empathize with students; create partnerships with school community members; account to others; embrace adversity; take the long view; demonstrate competency and interest in others; keep believing in students; maintain high performance goals; share…

Discusses research on new-teacher induction from the Project on Next Generation of Teachers at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Describes three types of school-based professional cultures: veteran-oriented, novice-oriented, and integrated. Emphasizes the importance of organized onsite, ongoing support for new teachers. (PKP)

The essentials needed for developing teaching novices into good teachers are autonomy, collaboration, and time. School improvement plans should include an understanding of the conditions that foster the professional growth of teachers. Provides a table and extensive list of references. (MD)