This paper presents a political analysis of school-based management reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). School-based management (SBM), based on the principle of school autonomy and community participation, is a school governance system introduced in many parts of the world, including post-conflict nations. Such a phenomenon seems to follow the…

Comparing the nation's populations health problems with high school graduation rates may seem like a stretch, but just as obesity poses a real threat to the nation's future, so does the inability to graduate students who are career and college ready. Reversing the trend of obesity will take time and so will the goal of graduating all students from…

Where does education happen? In classrooms. Teachers can provide the ultimate reform of education and teachers can be the ultimate reformers of education. Still, teachers cannot create all of the needed improvements in education alone. Input from, involvement from, ideas from, and participation from many other people can combine with what only…

It has long been thought that the United States education system is the great equalizer, lifting less advantaged children out of poverty and improving their chances for success in adulthood. The opportunity for economic and social mobility depends heavily, however, on access to high quality education. Recent research has raised concerns about…

In response to public pressure, urban districts in the USA have initiated reforms that aim at redrawing the boundaries between the school system and other major local institutions. More specifically, this article focuses on two emerging reform strategies. We will examine an emerging model of governance that enables big-city mayors to establish…

In 1941, members of the local unit of the Florida State Teachers Association (FSTA) met in Tampa to plan a lawsuit against Hillsborough County's school board for paying African-American teachers less than white teachers. Hilda Turner, who taught history and economics at Tampa's historically black high school, agreed to serve as plaintiff; she was…

Since the early 1980s, educational policy has increasingly been focused on improving student performance (Conley, 2003, Murphy, 1990). School governance in general, and school boards in particular, have often been viewed as either the means of implementing needed reforms or as roadblocks in their way (Boyd, 2003; Delagardelle, M.; 2008; Howell,…

Invitational theory presents the concept of invitations as related to five factors: people, places, policies, programs, and processes (Purkey & Schmidt, 1990). In this article, the author proposes the addition of a sixth "P," politics. The assumption is that without addressing the political aspect of schools and school systems,…

Serving as an effective school board member today requires time, a sincere interest in public education and a commitment to improving student learning for all. This guide, written for new and prospective school board members, addresses such topics as the governance role of school boards, the board-superintendent relationship, leadership…

Leadership is crucial for effective, lasting school improvement. Although research has established that strong, competent principals are vital for high-performing schools (Hallinger, 2003; Leithwood, 1994), attention is turning increasingly to the importance of effective district leadership, including school boards and their contributions to…

Highly rated urban schools are often held up as models for lower-rated urban districts. These high-scoring urban schools, both district and charter, get results on Ohio's standardized tests that shine compared to results many schools get in districts struggling with the effects of concentrated poverty. Administrators, journalists, and policy…

Policy Matters Ohio looked at schools rated the highest over a two-year period in each of Ohio's eight largest urban districts. State, school, and district data were used to examine schools--district-run and charter--that were rated Excellent or higher for either the 2010-11 or the 2011-12 school year or both. The number of schools examined ranged…

A newly signed law in Georgia that gives the governor the power to remove school board members in a district that does not have full accreditation is bringing fresh scrutiny to the role of AdvancED, a private agency that accredits schools in that state and 48 others. The target of the new law, signed by Gov. Nathan Deal, is the 48,000-student…

This historical analysis provided an opportunity to appreciate Chicago's course in the national school reform landscape. This study helped to understand the effects school reform efforts had on school leadership policy in Chicago. It verified a roster of superintendents in Chicago during 1983-2008, established a chronology of school reform events…

The central office is both a physical place and a state of mind. In some school systems, the central office is a separate building located away from schools. In other communities, the office is housed in one of the school buildings. When someone mentions "central office," they may not be referring only to the building. They may also mean the tip…