This case study describes how the University of Chicago's Center for Elementary Mathematics and Science Education and its Urban Education Institute partnered with each other and with two charter schools and seven Chicago Public Schools. "Tools" were developed to disseminate knowledge and expertise through "models" that allowed for this knowledge…

Using data from a self-report survey of juniors and seniors, we document statistically significant growth of a student engagement culture on our campus after a three year period following implementation of an institutional Quality Enhancement Plan. Twenty-three of 45 individual variables, scores on four of 10 multivariate engagement factors, and…

Evolving purposes for the United States educational system have driven legislative policy over the past 40 years, beginning with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, reauthorized as the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in 2002. However, researchers have demonstrated US policy intents are often unrealized in educational practice,…

"Central High School," a rural school composed largely of students of color from low income homes, experienced a quick, remarkable turnaround of student academic success, measured by State and Federal accountability standards. This turnaround began with an external restructuring grant initiative that required a state-approved external consultant.…

This article reports findings from formative assessments of one state's administrator mentoring and induction program during two years of program piloting in 2002/03 and 2003/04. The purpose of this evaluation research was to establish baseline data and to detect problem areas, so that changes could be made in subsequent years. More broadly, the…

Accountability and assessment are critical components to the success of schools today. As leaders of school districts, superintendents in Texas and across the nation are faced daily with meeting this challenge. While doing so, they must remember that their priority commitment is not to testing programs, but to helping children achieve.…

This article reports on a study of Illinois school board presidents' perspectives on teacher tenure. It begins with an historical overview of the development of teacher tenure from its roots in the 1880s civil service legislation through the establishment of teacher tenure in the United States to an examination of current teacher tenure laws and…

An essential administrative responsibility accorded to state and district-level education leaders is the task of planning for staffing needs, including the recruitment of competent leaders to fill principal vacancies. Here, Winter et al develop empirical measures to allow state departments of education and school districts to assess their…

This case study aims to identify the organizational culture of an effective California school district's management style as experienced by its administrators. Questions addressed shared values, common perceptions, and beliefs. Data showed that a strong culture based on cooperative competition exists among district administrators. Includes the…

Surveyed professors of educational administration, interns in educational administration, and practicing administrators who had hosted interns, to determine the degree of consensus on criteria for evaluating administrative interns and to determine the perceived importance of affective criteria. (Author/IRT)

A chronic problem in quick visits to "innovative" schools is discerning whether something is happening. This article presents some guiding principles for recognizing the meanings, organizational structures, and effects of change. Accompanying School Restructuring Profile offers busy practitioners conceptual outline or set of "must sees" for…