School administrators' decisions to examine available research depends on a problem's magnitude, the match between problem and solution, and evaluation considerations. Likely sources of good educational practices are research syntheses, current implementation research, and student learning research from developers or publishers. Administrators…

Two superintendents explain how they use educational research. The Jericho (New York) Union Free School District used research to help reopen a school and change a junior high to a middle school. The Orange County (Virginia) Public Schools superintendent feels that certain areas of practice (staff development, grading, grouping, and evaluation)…

School administrators should immediately inform representatives and senators in Congress about local construction needs in their own school districts. Administrators should also lobby for renewing the landmark Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), particularly the Chapter 1 program. AASA will push for a new ESEA that tackles poor…

Retired superintendents have the potential to be the best and the worst board members. Although some board members value a former superintendent's background and perspective, many think that retiring superintendents should go right out the door and not look back. Former teachers and superintendents serving on boards often have difficulty shifting…

Although Lakeview (Arkansas) School District's health services originally targeted teenage pregnancies, its school-based clinic now offers varied health improvement services and contributes to decreased substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, dropping out, injuries, homicides, and suicides. Tips for forming clinics are provided, along with…

The 1990-91 AASA/National Staff Development Council Award for Outstanding Achievement in Professional Development went to Hattiesburg (Mississippi) Public Schools. Top educational research honors went to graduate student Dianne E. Ashby, for an HIV project at Illinois State University, and educational psychologist Lou Ann S. Dickson, for a project…

Forcing the left-wing educational extremists' agenda upon innocent school children is unacceptable. Parents' legitimate curriculum complaints have been largely ignored. Christianity is the majority U.S. religion. Citizens for Excellence in Education boasts 1,350 chapters and 185,000 active parents. CEE's agenda is returning academic excellence,…

Amid growing legal liability concerns, school districts are experiencing an upsurge in sexual abuse complaints against educators. Cases leading to teacher convictions in several states are summarized. Sidebars investigate why certain districts face multiple allegations and report on necessary actions for unprosecutable offenses, teacher defenses…

Virginia sued the U.S. Department of Education over withdrawal of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act funding in a dispute involving discipline of a disabled student. Disciplinary safeguards for students with disability-related misconduct are well established by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in "Honig v. Doe." Congress…

A California school superintendent presents clever savings tips, including boosting average daily attendance, sparing new hires, bird dogging insurance interest, disposing of surplus school property, recruiting students attending nonpublic schools, creating more classroom space, contracting for part-time help, reducing vandalism, marketing staff…

School administrators, like politicians, ministers, and police officers, inevitably draw critics because they hold highly visible jobs. Their Achilles heel is their children, who frequently suffer physical and emotional abuse, unreasonable scrutiny, and even anxiety attacks resulting from controversial decisions reverberating through the…

The 1983 "education at risk" booklet pushed by Reagan-Bush regime left nothing but the timidly obedient Terrell Bell, the feisty, right-wing true believer Bill Bennett, the pitiful Lauro Cavazos, the self-centered Lamar Alexander, and monstrous national debt built on trickle-down economics. President Clinton's plan to…

The Japanese are setting new achievement standards for their competitive American peers; meanwhile, Japanese students in American schools are learning to be more creative and assertive. Teachers adjust their instruction to make the classroom more comfortable for Japanese students raised on rote learning. A sidebar describes five elementary school…

Describes the coping responses of three administrators who dealt with various school tragedies, namely, a senior's suicide, a classroom hostage situation involving a bomb explosion, and a tornado that collapsed a cafeteria wall. A sidebar outlines one district's crisis plan. (MLH)

Despite all the talk about improving education over the past 10 years, the president and the Congress have irresponsibly cut Chapter 1 and Head Start program funding. A partial solution is for educators to send the government a form specifying exactly how "discretionary" withholding taxes should be allocated. (MLH)