This quasi-experimental study examined the adoption of the Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines in 23 high schools. After training, school administrators and other staff members demonstrated substantial increases in knowledge of threat assessment principles and decreased commitment to zero tolerance approaches. Schools using the…

Decisions regarding school improvement are based on observations of adults. A more accurate picture of institutional assets and limitations emerges when observations of students are also considered. This presentation shows how student polling can help principals enhance conditions of learning and safety. Implications of Cyberbully Poll results at…

Supervision based on collaboration, participative decision making, and reflective practice is the hallmark of a viable school improvement program that is designed to promote teaching and learning. Action research has gradually emerged as an important form of instructional supervision to engage teachers in reflective practice about their teaching…

This article focuses on data-based decision making at the school level and provides guidelines for principals. Necessary prior conditions, methods for developing a data-oriented culture, and expected outcomes are discussed. By using data, administrators can analyze programmatic decisions and promote empowerment of staff.

U.S. foreign language education encompasses many languages, cultures, and perspectives. The ACTFL "Proficiency Guidelines" and National Standards/Assessments provide common measures and goals that enhance students' language progress as they enter higher education. NCATE Teacher certification guidelines and organizational communication dilemmas are…

When assessing teacher candidates, there are eight computer-literacy areas to consider: word processing, databases, spreadsheets, presentation programs, online service access, e-mail, trouble-shooting common computer problems, and computer software usage and evaluation. Finalists should be able to demonstrate these competencies. (MLH)

The current standards movement cannot succeed unless a school's culture is committed to helping all students achieve excellence. Principals must build a schoolwide culture of quality focused on learning projects. Teachers should design projects backwards, using standards and assessment rubrics based on actual student products and performances.…

Recommends institutionalizing curriculum policy initiatives for gifted learners at state and local levels that are compatible with new state standards and assessments and also consider flexibility, differentiation, and articulation in planning and implementation. Support structures such as grouping and teacher education must also be incorporated.…

In "This We Believe," a National Middle School Association position paper revised in 1995, 12 beliefs were identified that would "clarify a vision that will guide the decisions of those responsible for determining young adolescent educational programs." Middle schools across the country have used these beliefs as guidelines. (MLH)

In tomorrow's schools, technology will strongly determine how and what teachers will use for instruction. Literacy requirements will include accessing, thinking, and communication skills. Curriculum planners will grasp real-world requirements and will set guidelines for needed skills. Children will begin education in their cribs surrounded by…

The goal of technology education is universal technological literacy. Technology study in middle school must be more than an added science curriculum unit. Three instructional approaches predominate: student projects, technological problem solving (design under constraint), and modular technology education. The National Middle School Association's…

Today's school counselors are educated and trained in knowledge- and skill-based programs that emphasize counseling, guidance, consultation, coordination, and referrals. Counselors address three categories of student needs (social/personal, educational, and career) and tackle tough problems that interfere with the learning process.…

Clearly established procedures for sending, receiving, and responding to e-mail begin with planning and scheduling its use. Administrators should make appropriate choices of communication methods; use the address-book feature for individual and group e-mail addresses; use word-processing software to prepare lengthy documents and the attachment…

To motivate students, teachers should involve students in setting objectives, individualize objectives, set priorities, demonstrate a subject's relevance, help students learn to learn, create positive first experiences, introduce the unfamiliar through the familiar, appeal to student interest and curiosity, reward success, vary strategies, and…

Concerned about improving beginning principals' professional development, the Minnesota Administrators' Academy initiated an administrative mentoring program in the early 1990s. A recent evaluation found that successful mentoring relationships involved mutually respectful pairs that met at least monthly and participated in various activities…