For more than a decade, education reformers have admired the achievements of the Edmonton Public Schools in Canada, and school districts across the United States have attempted to replicate Edmonton's success with school-site decision making. However, most districts have stopped short of implementing one policy that is central to Edmonton's…

An AASA report says 80 percent of the nation's superintendents are evaluated annually and 12 percent more often than that. However, comprehensive assessments are rare. Most are done in closed session and are rather perfunctory. Reluctant to use student outcomes, boards are trying more detailed approaches. (MLH)

Three key ingredients contributed to the opening of Tigard-Tualatin (Oregon) School District's middle schools: a growing population, a new superintendent, and a committed board of education chair. Central administration can maintain an effective middle school by recognizing that young adolescents are unique, finding programs to address their…

A Colorado school district approved a mill levy that tied additional future funding to improved student performance on the Colorado Student Assessment Program. In a single year the district met more than half of their 3-year goal and credits success to a focused, data-driven approach, a bipartisan citizens committee, a strategic plan, a plan for…

Provides advice to superintendents considering a position with another school district; includes suggestions from search consultants and other superintendents. (PKP)

The culminating meeting to adopt multi-age grouping in the school district began on a positive note. After months of research, focus groups and communication with the stakeholders, were perched on the verge of making significant instructional and curricular changes to address academic and budgetary needs in the middle-income community where the…

Romantic relationships bud and sometimes bloom in the school district workplace. When those relationships involve a sitting member of a school board or an administrator with responsibility for managing other employees, questions about a conflict of interest will be raised. Most states have laws prohibiting a public official from taking official…

Phil Gainous is in a sticky spot. The board of education in Montgomery County, Md., decided this was the year when sugary sodas and non-nutritious snacks must disappear from high school vending machines, replaced by healthier options. Gainous isn't against promoting healthy habits. But as the veteran principal of Montgomery Blair High School, the…

The Jenks School District applies a continuous improvement approach that focuses on academics, arts, activities, athletics and attitude, weaving in leadership, professional development, technology and data-based decision making to prepare all learners to be productive, responsible citizens. Since 1998, the Jenks School District has embraced a…

Beginning on the front cover, this article recommends planning ahead and involving the community in surplus school use decisions. It suggests turning surplus schools into projects restoring historic buildings and benefitting neighborhoods. (JM)

When school boards or states have mandated a "moment of silence" in schools, most courts have followed the tenent that if the public perceives the governing body to have approved a daily devotional exercise in public school classrooms, the state is, in effect, advancing religion. (JM)

In 1990, a new ultraconservative religious group in San Diego County began an all-out war on public education. This article describes mainstream efforts to combat curriculum challenges and "stealth" board election tactics devised by Citizens for Excellence in Education and other fundamentalist factions. Meanwhile, the new CEE-majority…

In hopes of shedding light on how public school leaders can better advocate on the state level for the needs of their schools and their students, The School Administrator turned to policymakers in different settings and with different political leanings. They invited a trio--a Republican state legislator from the Chicago suburbs, a rural…

School boards should focus on knowledge, skills, and attitudes students need to function in tomorrow's world, instead of determining what education programs the community wants and can afford. Results-oriented evaluation is a house of sand, because students come from varied backgrounds and most results are caused by the system originating them.…

Successful outsourcing is a learning process demanding careful planning, commitment, and heavy communication. The process also requires a strong leadership and a cohesive school board ready to weather a cultural change. Service employee options, contractors' managerial expertise, increased efficiency, and partnership opportunities are possible…