A reading observation checklist is presented for principal use in classroom observation. (MD)

Describes the emerging administrative tool of "issues management." Categorizes issues as current, emerging, or ongoing, explains how issues emerge, recommends using word processors and national computer networks to manage many issues, and discusses education's need for issues management. Offers guidelines for starting an issues…

Continued from the front cover, this article offers suggestions about selecting and purchasing microcomputers and software for schools. (WD)

Outlines the expectations of news reporters and school administrators for news coverage of schools and public education. States that conflicts between the two groups can be alleviated through greater understanding and communication. (WD)

The best way to overcome parents' anxiety and possible anger over new assessment methods is to use good teaching practice. This means knowing the teachable population's needs, setting appropriate objectives for them, providing instruction in an appropriate, engaging manner, and giving opportunities to practice and question instructors. A visual…

Superintendents who are knowledgeable about the law, understand its application to school operations, and provide ongoing training of site administrators are less likely to be mired in threatened lawsuits. The school attorney should be a valued, but not pivotal resource driving administrative decision making. Legal basics (including pitfalls)…

The Improving America's Schools Act (the new Title I) is changing the way public school performance is evaluated. The IASA clearly places responsibility for standards and assessments with states. Standards-based assessment assesses students against high, specific standards, determines adequate yearly progress, and demands an accurate…

Describes three lessons school districts have learned about the use of small groups to provide feedback from parents and other community members on major decisions involving education policy and practice: Encourage truly broad-based, large-scale participation; provide structure for small-group discussions; and ask participants to take action, not…

Assistant executive director of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association argues that local school districts, not the state legislature, should develop policies to allow home-schooled students to participate in extracurricular activities. (PKP)

Describes the first school districts to win 2001 Malcom Baldrige National Quality Awards: The Chugach School District in Prince William Sound, Alaska (www.chugachschools.com), and the Pearl River Union Free School District in Pearl River, New York (www.pearlriver.k12.ny.us). (PKP)

Results of California study that indicate, among other things, that hiring more administrators raises verbal SAT scores and lowers dropout rates. Findings also suggest that reducing class size and hiring more teachers but fewer administrators may not raise student test scores--at least in California. (PKP)

Describes four principles to guide superintendents' presentation of data to their schools boards: Insist the board establish districtwide goals for student achievement; assist the board in receiving customized training on analyzing data related to student-outcome goals; insist the board adopt a code-of-conduct policy on data use; and provide data…

Describes efforts by school superintendents to develop dress codes for school employees. Describes link between teacher dress and student decorum. Includes excerpts from staff dress codes from three school districts: Goose Creek Consolidated School District, Baytown, Texas; Denver Public Schools, Colorado; Wake County Public Schools, Raleigh,…

By 2020 demographers predict that minorities will comprise nearly half the school-age population. Court-ordered segregation, the push for bilingual education legislation, and recent demands for massive education reforms have brought multiculturalism to the forefront. The Eurocentric perspective dominating American schooling must yield to curricula…

Journalists need to tell both sides to every story, as examples in this article show. The most important factor in the reporter-school official relationship is honesty. When teachers or administrators undermine the educational process or when government fails to provide adequate school funding, the news media must speak for the children and…