Summarizes key issues explored at the Northwest Symposium for Charter School Policy. Issues discussed included accountability and student evaluation, school autonomy, sponsorship and the charter approval process, school choice and parent involvement, equity concerns, opposition from teachers' unions, and startup issues. Sidebar profiles the…

After Deer Valley School District (Arizona) adopted a whole-language, discovery-based curriculum, parents who believed in a traditional "basics" curriculum established Valley Academy, a charter K-9 school serving 455 students. After struggling through administrative and financial problems, bad publicity, and interpersonal conflict, the principal…

Draws on the experiences of two migrant families to discuss the reluctance of rural schools in the Northwest to accommodate Hispanic migrant students. Explains problems with educators' ignorance of the law, student documentation, diminished funding, untrained teachers, and discrimination. Explores potential solutions, including availability of…

Draws on interviews with local citizens, Hispanic former migrants, and school staff to examine problems and successes associated with Hispanic integration into the community and schools of Mill City, Oregon. Emphasizes the efforts of educators, parents, businesses, and citizens to provide equitable education through cultural awareness,…

Describes the successful bilingual education program at Socorro High School, Texas. As a result of site-based management, teacher-collaborative strategic planning, widespread ESL certification, and a parent-student-teacher school improvement team, students (98% Hispanic, 90% poor) consistently score above state averages; fewer than 2% drop out,…

Briefly describes federal legislation, federally funded programs, and publications supporting the inclusion of limited-English-speaking (LEP) programs in schoolwide programs. Includes a list of regional, state, and national sources of assistance in designing programs for language-minority students. Notes the growing trend toward systemic inclusion…

Applied learning projects at George Middle School (Portland, Oregon) include landscaping the school courtyard, helping scientists study pollution in the Columbia Slough, inventorying wildlife around Portland lakes, studying urban ecosystems and sharing information in Spanish with Mexican schools, and planting trees. Describes other school…

Reviews current trends away from multiple-choice testing to alternative forms of student evaluation. Discusses elements contributing to these trends: emphases on critical-thinking skills and active learning, research supporting a constructivist view of learning, efforts to develop academic standards and companion performance-based assessments, and…

Describes the shift to portfolio assessment in Juneau (Alaska) schools, including teacher-developed assessment guidelines for language arts in elementary school and the use of portfolios in a special interdisciplinary high school program. Lists items that the district requires in elementary language-arts portfolios and recommendations to other…

Most states have expanded their statewide testing programs to include alternative educational assessments, and two (Kentucky and Maine) have completely abandoned the multiple-choice format. However, over half of states designing alternative assessments are encountering major difficulties related to the high cost of performance-based assessments,…