The passage of ESSA has ushered in a new era of educational governance and leadership, but questions remain regarding how well the new law will protect students' rights to an equitable education. Lance Fusarelli and Jennifer Ayscue examine key provisions of the law, provide an update of states' implementation, and speculate about whether ESSA will…

Considering the key role of social-emotional and character development (SECD) competencies in college, career, and life success--and considering that many of those competencies are teachable--there is no excuse for failing to incorporate them systematically into our education system. That would be the equivalent of depriving children of oxygen.…

Instead of doing less with less during these fiscally challenging times, school districts can seize the moment to usher in school transformation that will leave the schools, families, and communities better off. They could follow the lead of districts such as Baltimore City, Syracuse, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg to think outside traditional cost…

Delphi technique as used by the University of Virginia School of Education. (LR)

Reviews the accomplishments, goals, and problems of the commission during its first ten years. (IRT)

Focuses on identifying policies and practices that may have been crucial to successful implementation of the Houston plan or may have contributed notably to it, and describes several interrelated issues in urban education raised in the course of establishing the magnet school program. (Author/IRT)

School boards epitomize the U.S. tradition of representative local government. A 1992 National School Boards Association statement recognizes four major school board functions: envisioning a community's future educational program, establishing facilitative organizational structures and community environments, ensuring performance assessment…

Educational policy climate of the 1980s is being shaped not by educational research but by appeals to public opinion that emphasize standardized achievements, local classrooms, heightened yet vague requirements of teachers, technological solutions to educational problems, and private school methods. (JW)

Explores problematic charter-school characteristics that must be changed to improve American education: lack of innovative practices and improved academic outcomes; disproportionate administrative costs; segregation of students by ethnicity, income level, and special needs; and deplorable physical learning environments. More competition, planning,…