Educators must make communications a priority if they are to gain public support. Press releases are no substitute for public engagement, which should support district efforts to improve student achievement. School leaders should listen to parents, focus on internal audiences, use effective messages and messengers, and develop strategic…

According to a former community relations director for a Washington State district, there are three key elements of effective public engagement: choosing a focus, acknowledging that employees are a school system's first public, and using feedback loops. Employees are school ambassadors whose words and actions can either build community support or…

The public interest is best served when articulate, credible school leaders and spokespersons work closely with responsible, knowledgeable journalists. Schools cannot forge productive relationships by disdaining or stonewalling the media. People have become cynical about the public engagement process. Blaming the press diverts energy from real…

An elementary teacher planning to teach a multiage class decided to make monthly phone calls to parents to discuss student problems and progress. She called one-quarter of her class's parents every Saturday afternoon, sometimes leaving messages. The process had its drawbacks but kept the teacher up-to-date on her students' lives. (MLH)

Although good will can never replace a good education, certain supporting practices may either advance or hinder the educational mission. They are the ABCs of good customer service: attitude, behavior, and communication. First impressions are vital and often indelible. The good news is that these practices do not require much time or money. (MLH)

The magic of the marketplace is insufficient to guarantee a school voucher system's success or a public-school turnaround. Educators and policymakers must address practical issues such as accountability and instructional space needs. Vouchers may provide a life preserver for a few poor students, but open-market competition does nothing for…

Voucher proposals raise disturbing questions about public information, equity, segregation, and state-church separation. Under Milwaukee's program, which gives poor students public vouchers to attend private and religious schools, participating schools are exempt from open meetings laws, teacher certification rules, statewide testing, and salary…

Educational management organizations (EMOs) are for-profit, private companies that manage schools, including 10% of all charter schools. Major investment houses consider public education a $300 billion industry ripe for picking, due to three driving market forces--cost, quality, and consumer confidence. Three EMOs (TesseracT Group, Edison Project…

Arizona's "exemplary" charter-school legislation illustrates how three underlying ideologies (antibureaucracy, market-based education, and teacher professionalism) play out in practical terms. Although Arizona charter schools are achieving stability via independent financial status and real-time funding, many have monitoring difficulties,…

For-profit charter-school managers may be removing the "public" from public education. A study of 11 Michigan charter schools showed that cost-cutting strategies are adversely affecting student transportation, special education, and the socioeconomic mix of students. Corporations' superimposed bureaucracies have eradicated educators' freedom to…

In Boston, City on a Hill Charter School's commitment to civic education challenges the notion that charter schools are inherently privatizing forces in public education reform. Through expanded choice, inclusive decision making, and localized accountability, charter schools can be a democratizing force that serves multiple publics, including…

Rooted in the turbulent 1960s, Woodlawn School in Arlington, Virginia is an alternative program serving 500 college-bound students in grades 6-12. Students mingle freely with kids from their own home schools, from which they ultimately receive their diplomas. In 1996-97, the school scored higher on the Stanford-9 Achievement tests than the…

Nicholas Tate is chief executive of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority in England, set up by Parliament, in October 1997, to oversee the national curriculum. In this interview, Tate describes the British National Curriculum, national tests, and the promotion of moral education. The national papers publish massive supplements showing…

Federal statutes, regulations, and major least-restrictive-environment cases provide numerous consistent principles that schools must adhere to in promoting inclusive educational practices. There are four major themes: consideration of an individual student's unique needs, presumptive right to an integrated education, educational appropriateness,…

As a political concept, inclusion captures the moral high ground by signifying something more desirable than "exclusion." However, not all parents of children with disabilities view mainstreaming as feasible or desirable. The 1997 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act supports a movement away from full inclusion back to special education's…