The case study discussed in this article investigated how the district leadership team of one high-performing school district utilized the Baldrige model to implement a system of continuous improvement. Data sources included the district's Baldrige application and feedback report, interviews of the district leadership team, focus group interviews…

Given the important role of local school boards in the school-restructuring movement, this paper presents findings of a study that identified what board chairs in North Carolina knew about school restructuring. The study also examined the extent to which chairs agreed with major ideological tenets of school restructuring and with their…

Legislated change in rural schools districts may be slow and painful. This paper describes the ambience of a rural Texas K-12 school through the eyes of a new science teacher with northern and urban education experience and through the observations of an outside researcher. Attitudes that learning is not important, that hard subjects need not be…

Traces the changing responsibilities of boards of education in response to public attitudes and social change. Examines the impact of research reports on public school reform since the publication of "A Nation at Risk" in 1983. Emphasizes the findings of the effective schools research. (FMW)

An estimated 4,000 members of the politically active fundamentalist Christian Coalition organization met in September 1995. The two-day convention featured speeches from prominent conservative politicians. Ralph Reed, executive director, touched upon the Coalition's growing emphasis on local politics, especially school boards. (MLF)

This report is one of a series produced by a research team at the Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, a national research consortium home-based at the University of Washington. The reports are intended to clarify each leadership issue, while assembling what is known from empirical studies. The information in these reports lays the…

The selection of a superintendent is the most important decision a school board will make. With that premise established, this brief study examines the superintendent search process and the state of the superintendent applicant pool. Data were gathered from 30 practicing search consultants who responded to a mailed questionnaire. The key findings…

School board members will no longer silently accept responsibility for the mistakes of professional educators. Boards, and the public they speak for, are demanding an educational product that can be evaluated and audited for its financial as well as its educational worth. Strong board leadership, a new image of governance, and a relationship of…

A resource document released by the National Association of State Boards of Education recommends standardizing the criteria for approving home instruction and shoring up progress reporting and evaluation procedures. These recommendations have implications for the ways local districts locate and monitor home instruction. (MLF)

School governance has recently come under scrutiny as one of the many areas of public education being examined in the educational reform movement. School boards are being criticized by state governments, educational experts, and the public. Crisis situations have developed in many educational systems nationwide, particularly in urban areas. In…

School boards significantly contribute to the future of education. There are three major elements regarding the role of school board members. First, demographic changes may illuminate school board members to their tasks. Demography reveals changes in family status. For instance, more children live with only one parent, more children are…

In this report to the New York City Board of Education, Chancellor Macchiarola identifies the three overall goals of his administration: (1) a more accountable staff at every level; (2) a system more conscious of the need for productive use of current resources; and (3) students who achieve and value learning. With respect to his first goal,…

This document begins with a brief historical survey of the practice of teacher certification in the United States. PBTE (Performance-Based Teacher Education) as a device in teacher certification, particularly in New York, is also considered as well as inservice evaluation as practiced in New York State. The conclusions that emerge from these…

Vermont's education system in 2006 consists of 311 schools (buildings) in Vermont and 284 school districts led by school boards that vary in size from three to 14 members, totaling over 1,300 elected school board members operating a school system that serves about 95,000 students. There is a clear delineation between the superintendent's role in a…