Moving from a traditional school district to one that embraces a community schools model requires fundamental shifts in organizational structure and practices. Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation in southern Indiana and Vancouver Public Schools in Vancouver, Wash., are two districts that have navigated this change. Leaders from those…

"Gerrymandering" is known best as a tool to manipulate boundaries for voting districts, but school districts have long used the same tool to manipulate school boundaries. The author used geospatial techniques--mapping various kinds of demographic data onto school boundaries--to examine public school attendance zones and their effect on…

Restrictions on collective bargaining are spreading. But while reformers are right to question current labor practices in education, they're wrong to believe that bargaining prohibitions will solve the problems. A smarter approach would begin by putting down the sledgehammer wielded in Wisconsin and picking up a scalpel by pushing for laws aimed…

One education reform that has the potential to leave its mark on education for many years is the P-16 initiative. The name refers to the range of "grades" included, beginning with preschool and running through the postsecondary undergraduate years. Though such efforts are most commonly called P-16, they are in some cases referred to as…

The Key Learning Community in Indianapolis was the first school in the world to base its approach on the theory of multiple intelligences. Ms. Kunkel, Key's principal, reflects on the school's continuing growth and success--even in the face of pressures to standardize--and shares the history of its founding. (Contains 5 endnotes.)

Describes the design and compilation of a directory of inservice programs on curriculum to schools in 13 districts in northeastern Indiana. (Author/WD)

Compares a 1975 study of the attitudes of secondary principals and school superintendents in Indiana with a similar study conducted in 1957. Although there was a high degree of similarity, some attitudes did change. (Author/IRT)

Reports the results of a survey of librarians in 71 Indiana high schools concerning controversial topics and books that they thought would cause their constituents the greatest concern. Concludes that censorship is taking place and that librarians sometimes acquiesce in indirect censorship, thus denying some students access to important literary…

An assignment taken from Robert Marzano's "Tactics for Thinking" sparked a protest movement in two southern Indiana school systems in Spring 1988. Seven Gibson County women viewed the focusing assignment as mind-control and tied Marzano's book to the "brainwashing" New Age movement promulgated by Marilyn Ferguson's book…

In 1985, Indiana University established the Cummins Engine Foundation Writing Project, a writing-across-the-curriculum project for nine school corporations in the Columbus (Indiana) area. This article presents 14 conclusions and observations drawn by seminar directors after the project's first three years. Includes a bibliography of 20 books. (MLH)

The development of the positions of nurse practitioner and physician assistant is a good example of differentiating staffing and practice to meet individual needs in an effective and cost-efficient way. This type of differentiation has been confined to the healthcare industry, principally to health maintenance organizations, but perhaps those in…

In reaffirming "The Declaration of Principles" from a 1995 meeting, the Corporation for National Service and the U.S. Department of Education have pledged their commitment to service as a means of improving schools, enhancing student achievement, and meeting citizenship challenges. Programs exemplifying six service-learning principles…

Reports on a study of 50 urban and 50 rural Indiana districts covering school district characteristics, liability actions against either the school district or professional personnel, liability insurance coverage, employment of legal counsel and fees paid, and opinions of respondents regarding the potential impact of educational malpractice…

All students except the mentally handicapped are required to show by examination that they are able to read, speak, and understand ordinary English; write a simple, correct, intelligible paragraph; and perform with reasonable mastery fundamental mathematical processes. (Author)

Since 1970, 12 states (California, Oregon, Minnesota, Nevada, Iowa, Kentucky, Georgia, Indiana, Wyoming, West Virginia, North Dakota, and Hawaii) have created autonomous boards directly accountable to legislatures to control standards and practices for education professionals. These boards are establishing rigorous academic and professional…