The Massachusetts Innovation Schools initiative authorized educators to operate with increased autonomy and flexibility. This descriptive case study examines the early experiences of teachers in one innovation school. We explore the innovations teachers leveraged to build capacity, with particular attention to how they enacted teacher leadership…

This article calls attention to the overreliance on research about the Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT)--often labeled edTPA's predecessor--as justification for the edTPA. The article argues that the distinctions between the assessments are too vast to rely on PACT data to support the edTPA, given the localized nature of PACT…

One of the most difficult problems that educators face today is dealing with bullying. This pervasive issue occurs in classrooms, lunch rooms, unsupervised areas, on playgrounds, and through electronic media. Based on the principles of protecting the child and establishing a safe environment for all students, this paper investigates the causes and…

With the increasing number of undocumented workers entering the United States and the costs associated with educating their children, bilingual education may soon become the target of opponents of illegal immigration. Furthermore, recent leftist shifts in Latin American governments have provided an impetus for an educated biliterate population…

Discusses two educational issues: the constitutionality of competency-based education and the compatibility between this policy and contemporary scientific thought. The author presents her personal views on competency-based education and discusses the need for educational accountability on the part of teachers and other educational professionals.…

Examines the fundamental points established by case law in the area of search and seizure of property of public school students. Federal and state court cases are analyzed; and a review of the literature establishes additional points of emphasis. (CT)

Asserts that existing accountability policies assume that a single behaviorist theory is the one best system for effective education. Examines the pitfalls of the one-system approach through the examples of John Stuart Mill's utilitarian upbringing and "Gradgrindism" in Charles Dickens' novel "Hard Times." (SK)

Reviews claims of proponents of school vouchers; addresses issues of constitutionality and separation of church and state. (SK)

Traces the roots of outcome-based education in mastery learning. Considers such obstacles as lack of reform preconditions, poor understanding of program features, teacher resistance, teacher domestication, staff mobility, and routinization. (SK)

Court litigation, state legislation, school board policy, and public opinion clash over sex education in public schools. However, rising teen pregnancy rates and AIDS make the availability of uncensored health and sex information in schools a necessity. (SK)

California's Bilingual Theoretical Framework, an attempt to establish "one best system" for educating language minority students, sets up self-fulfilling prophecies that hinder monolingual teachers' effectiveness. A chronic shortage of bilingual teachers and an influx of low-incidence language minorities create a need to move beyond the…