One of 6 state reports generated by the Regional Curriculum Project (funded under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act), the document describes 4 specific projects implemented through the Alabama State Superintendent's Office beginning in 1966. All 4 projects were designed to improve instructional leadership by defining the role(s) of the state department of education in facilitating desirable change in educational programs for children and youth. The first project related to improving communication skills in Butler County, Alabama; with the use of mobile communication laboratories and staff inservice training in language arts, the elementary and high school children taught in the mobile laboratories raised their standardized achievement scores. A second program involved the planning and installation of a comprehensive closed-circuit educational television system in Jefferson County. A third program provided training for teachers of modern mathematics. The final program revolved around language arts improvement in Baldwin County. Each project discussed in the document is described in terms of overall objectives, activities undertaken, findings, and evaluation. (AL)