Describes partnership with out-of-state universities to recruit teachers to school district in Lake Havasu, Arizona. (PKP)

Describes customer-service audit of school district's internal and external communities that included site visits and inspection, focus groups with parents and students, a staff survey, and mystery phone calls to assess phone skills. (PKP)

Describes four school districts that operate year-round schools: Socorro Independent School District, Texas; Valley View School District, Romeoville, Illinois; Murrieta Valley Unified School near San Diego, California; and Rock Island-Milan School District in northwestern Illinois. Briefly describes three tracks of year-round education:…

Describes what public school administrators in several states, many from high-performing suburban districts, are doing to express their opposition to state-mandated high-states tests, which they believe are harmful to students and will significantly alter the school curricula. (PKP)

Offers advice on selecting online vendors, such as determining quality, graduation credit, course articulation, delivery equipment, teacher support, handicap accessibility, pricing methods, and grading functions. Includes a selected list of vendors of online courses. (PKP)

Describes how the Liverpool School District, a suburban school district in New York, created its own online courses for distribution statewide. (PKP)

Offers superintendents several suggestions for helping building-level administrators to cope with the physical and psychological stress they often experience following a violent incident in their schools. (PKP)

The number of school districts using instructional coaches is growing at a staggering rate. Coaching is becoming popular, in part, because many educational leaders recognize the old form of professional development, built around traditional in-service sessions for teachers, simply does not affect student achievement. By offering support, feedback,…

The Alliance for Arts Education, formed by an agreement between the U.S. Department of Education and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, D.C.), aims to advance arts education for all U.S. students through networking activities. This article highlights center activities, suggests fine arts leadership strategies, and…

Outlines the important role that schools have in teaching students ethical considerations in computer use. Describes how the Cupertino Union School District developed a computer curriculum that includes ethics as a major component. Includes computer listings of crime definitions and a computer ethics policy. (MD)

Awards for exemplary staff development programs from the National Center for the Improvement of Learning are announced for 17 school districts, selected from 55 submitted to the award competition. Nine of the programs are featured in this issue; the remaining eight will be described in the March issue. (MLF)

Superintendents must become adept at selecting an in-house attorney or outside counsel, anticipating legal-service costs, and spotting red flags. Although the school attorney's most regular contact is the superintendent, the school board is the client. Mutual respect is essential. Preventive law's primary goals are keeping the district out of…

Reducing brain research from the neurosciences to prescriptive teaching strategies shortchanges the immense promise this research holds for education. Educators should remain cautious, since researchers often disagree about conclusions and theories; neurological research operates at a concrete, mechanistic, or reductionist level; most researchers…

Describes how three New York administrators--two principals and a superintendent from separate districts--provide each other advice through email using an electronic mentoring approach called a journal triad. (PKP)

Notes in recent decades, child advocacy has failed to support a cohesive group of committed congressional representatives and to rally existing organizations to common causes. Suggests the proliferation of advocacy organizations for specialized programs was counterproductive and that future efforts should provide adequate funding for existing…