Argues that only when educators understand the mutual interaction of the educational system and the economy, join local and state coalitions to address the underlying issues producing the current fiscal crisis, and work for local control can economic conditions affecting the schools change and allow educational quality to improve. (Author/PGD)

O'Farrell Community School, in San Diego, California, was built on the principles of restructuring, teacher and community empowerment, interagency collaboration, and interdisciplinary teaching. Supported by the Panasonic and Stuart Foundations, the school offers an enriched, untracked three-year academic program for grades six through eight. All…

Reviews the motives behind four Iowa university presidents' decision to drop NCATE (the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education), including budgetary shortfalls, declining program quality, NCATE's "intrusion" into liberal arts domains, antipathy toward accountability, and negative attitudes toward teaching. By acting…

Cites demographic figures showing that U.S. children are an endangered species. Educators alone cannot "fix" the problems of education, because dealing with poverty's root causes must involve health care, housing, transportation, job training, and social welfare bureaucracies. The United States has the resources, if not the will, to reduce the…

The director of the National School Safety Center describes the operations of the center and joins three co-authors to discuss the relationship between school climate and school discipline. The authors define six conditions essential to positive climate and explore methods for involving local agencies in achieving these conditions. (PGD)

Describes the Graduate Urban Education Program collaboratively developed by the school of Education at Florida International University, the Dade County (Florida) Public Schools, and the United Teachers of Dade for teachers in Chapter 1 elementary schools. The program helps teachers apply their professional training sucessfully in the urban…

Reviews the first twenty years of the Education Commission of the States, covering aspects of organization, administration, and activities (including the operation of the National Assessment of Educational Progress from 1969 to 1983). Describes recent changes in the commission's organization and focus, and considers changing expectations for the…

Examines schoolwide improvement programs initiated by four states. Describes successful endeavors of California, Ohio, and Colorado schools to improve curricula and student achievement and the Connecticut schools' strategy to improve principal-teacher communication. Attributes the success of these reform programs to solid leadership skills,…

Through an Essex High School/University of Vermont partnership, students can complete all 33 credits of the teacher licensing program within high school walls. Each three-credit course includes theory-focused class meetings and action-focused practica that inspire students to develop and conduct action-research projects. As a roving education…

Philadelphia schools were the first to engage all 200,000 K-12 students in meaningful service-learning activities aligned with district academic standards and learning goals. This has meant providing professional development for 6,000 teachers, forging partnerships with 2,500 community experts and agencies, and developing an efficient evaluation…

Describes U.S. student body's unique diversity and startling demographic changes to come, considers student achievement data from grade school to graduate school, discusses educators' failures in working with certain students, and indicates what must be done to educate all young Americans. Concentrating efforts on at-risk students (lowest 40%) and…

U.S. education faces productivity and efficiency crisis. Because local, state, federal budgets are limited, schools must accomplish more with less. Few U.S. youngsters see themselves as workers or their school performance as greatly affecting later life. Teacher and student expectations are unreasonably low. Because schools cannot provide social…

Although inclusiveness is the U.S. school system's strongest feature, more is seldom better. This article recommends raising standards and expectations, focusing on outcomes, stressing effort over ability and teacher competence over seniority, individualizing instruction, breaking the age/grade link, expanding year-round learning and early…

In a learning community, students learn to cooperate and make teams work. Past technologies (print, photography, film, and computers) have enabled idea sharing, but are one-way communication modes. Broader learning communities have been made possible through electronic field trips, online mentoring, science investigations, and humanities…

Universal school choice would strongly benefit all children, including the disadvantaged, by promoting candid and demanding relationships among teachers, parents, and students. So concludes the author's study of a privately funded voucher program, the Student-Sponsor Partnership Program in New York City. Individual sponsors pay tuition for…