School administrators are instructional leaders responsible for ensuring high quality inclusive education for all students including those with disabilities. In this article, the authors review legal mandates, discuss inclusion of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) in practice, and obstacles to effectiveness. Recommendations…

Based on two premises for successful inservice training (collegiality and peer training capabilities), this article describes four steps for organizing an effective program: awareness, understanding, guided practice, and implementation. The fourth step is more effective when accompanied initially by peer coaching, mentoring, or team teaching. (MLH)

Students benefit when educators personalize a high school by developing a sense of community. A Puerto Rico international school employed middle-level concepts (interdisciplinary teams and advisory programs) to build community. Community-minded educators develop a definition unique to their school, know the characteristics of effective…

Tandem teaching employs the best qualities of seven innovative classroom approaches (team teaching, core curriculum, flexible scheduling, elective classes, individualized instruction, peer tutoring, and computer-assisted instruction) to restructure the curriculum, relieve boredom, and maximize class time. Success depends on careful planning and…

Teacher teams add new dimensions to learning and a much- needed sense of family and community. Teams have four domains: response to student needs, curriculum integration, teaching strategies, and flexible scheduling. Barriers include scheduling problems, insufficient planning and implementation time, sporadic cooperation among core and elective…

A Texas high school undertook measures to ensure that more students participate with increased confidence and success in advanced in advanced math classes. The challenge was to provide support so students remained in advanced classes--an effort requiring considerable counselor, teacher, and administrator teamwork and encouragement. The process was…

Many middle schools use teaming or other models to create smaller teaching and learning units. Too often, schools align these models with characteristics advocated in the literature, rather than focusing on collaborative work environments' effects on teachers' and students' lives. These structures' true value lies in the collaborative work…

The experience of middle-school reformers during the past 30 years has shown that administrative/organizational changes are more easily achieved than changes in people. Using teaming, block scheduling, and other middle-level approaches to personalize high schools and make them more relevant may help today's adolescents regain feelings of purpose,…

Restructuring middle-level education calls for broad, fundamental, and multifaceted changes in schooling. Such changes must be based on a clear articulation of how early adolescents learn and supported by congruent practices and expectations. Forward-thinking middle schools stress interdisciplinary teaming, active learning, responsible…

A recent case study examined how the organizational changes from junior high to middle school influenced the science program for a large North Carolina school system, focusing on teacher preparation, time allocation, interdisciplinary instruction, equipment allocation, and information and leadership issues. Science instruction was enhanced under…

Growing student diversity, reports and government mandates, ninth-grade transition problems, and middle-school influences have produced new enthusiasm for high-school reorganization. Restructuring approaches such as block scheduling, differentiated instruction, academic teaming, house plans, career academies, heterogeneous grouping, and integrated…