Describes disparity in teacher supply (shortages versus surpluses) among states, school districts, and teaching fields. Discusses reasons for these disparities and describes some successful and unsuccessful strategies and policy reforms to recruit more qualified teachers. (Contains 21 references.) (PKP)

Describes contract provisions negotiated by the Chicago Teachers Union that guarantee classroom teachers representation on all committees dealing with curriculum development and briefly discusses the functioning of those curriculum committees. Available from Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1701 K Street, N.W., Suite 1100,…

Reviews precedent-setting decisions handed down by the courts about the right of boards of education to withdraw books and textbooks that are under attack. (Author)

A survey shows that California's charter-schools movement is being shaped by the special features of the state's charter law--exclusive local oversight and ambiguous legal status. Each school must negotiate how it handles its local school board, teachers' unions, and lack of start-up funding and technical assistance. Most charter schools seek…

The Executive Director, Education, for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, describes several shortcomings of large comprehensive high schools. Argues that small schools, be they public, private, or charter, offer a viable alternative to the problems of large schools if they have right essentials such as strong leadership and autonomy.…

Outlines a comprehensive curriculum development model intended to define the school board's responsibilities in curriculum development and to ensure that the curriculum meets the needs and interests of all the publics to which the board is accountable. (JG)

Discusses the process by which the Weston (Massachusetts) Public Schools chose a secondary school core curriculum. Describes six issues the district had to settle, three guidelines it followed in planning its curriculum choice process, and the seven-step process it used to define its core curriculum. (RW)

Charter schools are independent legal entities empowered to hire and fire, handle lawsuits, and control their own finances. Charter schools require new relationships with school boards, utilize site-based decision making, and foster new teacher roles. Minnesota, California, and Massachusetts are experimenting with charter schools. A sidebar…

The traditional trustee-superintendent relationship is based on trustees' lack of direct access to knowledge and both parties' expectation that the paid expert (the superintendent) should do the work. This article calls for a drastically revised board-superintendent relationship and outlines new ways to recruit board members and move current…

With parent and community input, the school board can develop policies that will prevent unnecessary conflicts and help resolve others involving controversial issues in the curriculum. (Author/DCS)

When citizen groups opposed their reform efforts, one Michigan district was intimidated by an ultrafundamentalist media campaign and petition drive, whereas the other welcomed democratic discussion and gradually regained public confidence. Opposition groups capitalized on the districts' lack of preparation, filling the void with their own…

Georgia's plan to reward overall school improvement requires staff of participating schools to demonstrate attainment of four challenging goals: academic achievement gains, resource development, educational programming, and client involvement. This pay-for-performance program helped one elementary school achieve 90 percent of its goals the first…

Vermont's town meeting tradition is flourishing and will help determine the future of curriculum development for the state's half-million residents. The Vermont Common Core, a compact with rigorous expectations for educational planners, faces two challenges: remaining open to new ideas and reigniting grass-roots involvement. (MLH)

Students will learn more if local school boards set priorities, use test scores sensibly, and hold educators accountable. (Author)

The experience of the Kenmore (New York) Public Schools with an inservice program for school board members and district level administrators and staff suggests the issues that must be addressed when convincing district personnel and board members to accept and support the concept of local school initiatives for educational improvement. (PGD)