Explains the role of senior congressional committee staff members--people recognized as very knowledgeable or influential. Two key limitations: they may be fired at will and must closely represent their bosses' views. Staff members' jobs have four aspects (connecting, collecting, initiating, and implementing) associated with forming national…

Although principals should be playing a pivotal role in activating educational reform, their voices have remained relatively silent. Principals have been noticeably absent from national report commissions. Principals can exercise more political clout by building important relationships; aggressively pursuing strategic, usable information;…

Reviews Democratic and Republican party platform statements relevant to education between 1900 and the present. Currently, the parties are struggling to resolve government's role in relation to the individual. Reducing government does not necessarily secure development of strong individuals. A consensus to improve education for all students may…

American students devote only about 20 percent of their waking hours to learning tasks. Academic effort in high school is generally not well signaled to colleges and employers. Educators can make studying pay off by offering school-based rewards, providing diplomas certifying various competencies, and challenging college-bound students with…

Schools must operate in the same external environment that shapes change in the business world. R.H. Watherman identified eight organization renewal themes: informed opportunism, direction and empowerment, friendly facts and congenial financial controls, enlightened curiosity, teamwork, stability in motion, attitudes and attention, and causes and…

Principals and others involved in strategic or operational planning decisions need a data collection process with a systematic internal and external scanning structure. Internal data originate from students, school climate, finance, and human resource variables. External data include demography, government finance and budgetary allocations,…

Personnel references, comprising a major component in the employee screening and selection process, are viewed from three perspectives: types of information contributed, use of such information in decision-making, and legal implications of contributing the information. Advice is provided for reducing the probability of a successful suit. Includes…

Principals must realize the positive effects that marketing can have on improving schools and building support for them. Market analysis forces clarification of the competing needs and interests present in the community. The four marketing phases are needs assessment, analysis, goal setting, and public relations and advertising. (MLH)

An NASSP survey of experienced and beginning principals examined differences in the two groups' responses to questions about time allocation, leadership roles, authority, parent and community involvement, influence groups, administrative "roadblocks," educational issues, and job satisfaction. Recommendations for orienting new principals are given.…

All leaders must develop a basic understanding of personnel motivation, recognizing its complexity and theoretical foundations. Today's administrators can foster effective communication and good human relations, recognize good teaching, define educational goals clearly, and involve teachers in planning. Includes nine references. (MLH)

The attempt to reduce teaching to discrete, observable behaviors is impractical. Checklists fail to capture the intangible qualities (sense of humor, enthusiasm, compassion) differentiating an effective teacher from an ineffective one. For skilled supervisors, the ultimate observation instrument is a blank sheet of paper accompanied by informed…

Teachers are the most effective change agents for improving schooling. The Reading to Learn project suggests ways for administrators to promote collaborative teaching, including encouraging the coaching concept among teachers, creating support systems, offering ongoing teacher training opportunities, setting expectations for experimentation and…

Dublin (Ohio) High School developed a process to assess its program and expand its curriculum. This article describes the roles of consultants, faculty, and the board of education in creating a policy document without specifying procedures for curriculum revision, staff selection and deployment, and time management. (MLH)

Outlines 8 essential components of the communication process and defines 10 categories of questions covered by a communications evaluation instrument, including communications ethics, climate, channels, methods, timing, message content, feedback, information sources, types of information needed, and supervisor-subordinate communication. Provides…

Geography was virtually absent from the secondary school curriculum from the mid-1950s well into the 1980s--despite America's rediscovery of the earth in the 1970s. The 1984 instructional "Guidelines for Geographic Education" stress five interrelated themes (location, place, relationships within places, movement, and regions), forming a sound…