Following the legislature's passage of the 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act, the statewide Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership was established. The 700 graduates form a small cadre of activists who are informed about standards-based reforms and how to make them work for their children. (MLH)

This qualitative study utilized a grounded theory methodology to assess the conceptions about the school counselor role held by 26 administrators employed in public elementary, middle, or high schools. The study was designed to build a deeper understanding of how school administrators conceptualized the school counselor role. Four distinctive role…

School effectiveness and improvement research shows that leadership plays a key role in ensuring the vitality and growth of schools. Yet, there is growing appreciation (Elmore 2000, 2) that "public schools and school systems as presently constituted are simply not led in ways that enable them to respond to the increasing demands they face under…

This paper describes the process of principal licensure reform in Iowa. Upon adoption of the ISLLC standards, the state department of education required revision of all principal preparation programs to conform to state code and guidelines developed by an external review panel. This paper analyzes the review process and compares five programs that…

This paper, the fourth in a series, looks at the critical role that teachers play in the success or failure of educational change. The most powerful impact on learning occurs when teachers change their practices and beliefs. The paper describes the experiences of two K-6 Pacific schools--Waialae (Honolulu) and Blanche Pope (Oahu) with systemic…

With the eventual aim of developing a "Total Army School System," the U.S. Army requested an independent and objective assessment of the operation of the Reserve Component (RC) training system. The first portion of the analysis dealt with the extent to which RC Training Institutions (RCTI) were successful at meeting units' training…

This document is composed of two parts: a bibliography of community organizing and support materials and a directory of community organizing resource centers. The 25 bibliographic entries are grouped according to subject, and include author, title, publication date, publisher, number of pages, annotation, and ordering information. Subjects…

Strategies for changing the organization and operation of school districts to create high-performance learning communities are presented. Chapters address the following areas: (1) the need for systemic and systematic change in school reform; (2) the attributes of high-performance learning communities; and (3) the knowledge base, acts of…

The Inclusive Education Project was a collaborative demonstration project between the Division of Special Education and Rehabilitation at Syracuse University and the Syracuse City School District, in New York. It was designed to meet special problems of children with severe handicaps in regular education settings. Project goals included: (1)…

Educators from around the United States convened for a conference focusing on youth leadership. Participants included classroom teachers, independent education consultants, school administrators, individuals affiliated with universities, and educators affiliated with such institutions as the YMCA, the YWCA, exchange programs, and museums. Two…

This two-volume report describes three 8-hour training packages designed to provide trainees with some of the knowledge and skills necessary to function effectively as educational change agents. These modules, described in volume 1, can be adapted to include information from the client system's change activities for use in several of the training…

Participants of the twentieth Lake Okoboji Educational Media Leadership Conference examined various issues in the field of instructional technology, and suggested new directions. This report presents descriptions of general meetings and group studies. Ten subtopics were discussed: (1) humanizing education via instructional technology, (2)…

This unit is concerned with problems and strategies involved in achieving systemwide improvements within a school district rather than having such improvements occur only in a fraction of classrooms or schools. A person who completes this unit should be able to accomplish the following objectives: define diffusion within a school system and…

Experience has shown that providing instructional, emotional, and managerial support to new principals by giving them experienced, expert principals as mentors can help to a large extent. Over the course of a year, New Visions for Public Schools studied six types of principal mentor programs offered to new and needy principals in six New York City…

A growing number of organizations--from school districts and businesses, to universities and community groups--are forming partnerships to improve elementary and secondary education. Varying in both structure and goals, these collaborative enterprises provide a valuable forum for addressing areas of mutual concern about education, including…