Holland says comparing public and Catholic schools is pointless, since they have different values, financing, admission practices, and political realities. Paserba and Bennett, two Catholic superintendents, disagree with Holland, citing similarities in negotiating labor contracts, serving special-needs children, satisfying accreditation…

Professor of community pediatrics at the University of California at San Diego describes several cost-effective approaches to implementing a school health program. Includes, for example, taping underutilized community resources, carefully screening school health requests, prioritizing student health problems. (PKP)

Superintendent of Antigo Unified School District, Antigo, Wisconsin, explains the use of school-level and community-level data to build support for bond and budget referenda. Describes the benefits of data-driven decision-making. (PKP)

Argues that schools and school districts should use a developmental approach to accountability that focuses on continuous growth rather than relying solely on the attainment model proposed for the accountability mechanisms in the No Child Left Behind Act. (PKP)

Superintendent offers several practical suggestions for dealing more effectively with negative school personnel and situations: Visualize success, know the realities, appreciate humor, surround negative people with positive staff members, be an absolute role model, understand psychology, reframe negative into positive energy, and use your…

Offers three questions that administrators should ask themselves before adopting an administrative rule aimed at reducing the detrimental effect of negative employees: What is the purpose? Will this actually accomplish the purpose? How will our most positive and productive staff members feel about it? Describes two scenarios wherein the three…

Personal account of her first-year experience as superintendent of Washington County Public Schools in Hagerstown, Maryland. (PKP)

Personal account of his first-year experience as superintendent of the South Hamilton School District, a small rural district in Jewell, Iowa. (PKP)

Joseph A. Spagnolo, Virginia's new state superintendent, has boldly reorganized the state education department in ways unmatched by other states. He has eliminated 99 of the agency's 531 jobs and hopes to transfer the responsibility for adult education and proprietary schools to other agencies. In this interview, Spagnolo discusses his…

Describes the plight of two risk-taking principals who drastically improved their schools' academic performance, only to be defeated by bureaucratic regulations and business-as-usual attitudes. Allowing schools greater flexibility in exchange for increased accountability will free talented teachers and principals to restructure schools and solve…

According to this reporter, news is not solely information that shocks and rivets but a reflection of people's chosen lifestyles and the effects those choices have on us. No public institution better mirrors the fabric of our society than the school classroom. Today's education deficiencies require school leaders' rapport with TV reporters. (MLH)

Profiles some principals of year-round schools. One calls the experience a merry-go-round with no starting or ending. Even principals who strongly endorse the concept say there is no time for long-term planning. Research results on benefits to students and cost savings are also mixed. Year-round schools are gaining wide acceptance, particularly in…

Sweetwater High School's adoption of a year-round schedule was not related to overcrowding, but was designed to serve the needs of Chula Vista (California) schools' highly transient, bilingual population. Despite some problems with scheduling meetings and student teacher visits, the program seemed to deliver instruction effectively. (MLH)

The 1990 AASA Recognition Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Leadership Preparation by Colleges and Universities went to Boston Leadership Academy (Boston University) for its case study training methods applied to urban settings; and to the Meadows Principal Improvement Program (East Texas State University) for training experienced teachers to…

To achieve the national goals for education, we must exert the same energy, time, money, and practice on education basics as we devote to sports, video games, rock music, television viewing, shopping, and other diversions. Modest suggestions, such as a law that switches off TV nationally during early weekday evenings, are provided. (MLH)