This article describes an innovative approach, developed by North Carolina State University, to prepare leaders specifically for work in rural schools in high poverty districts. Operating with Race-to-the-Top funding, the Northeast Leadership Academy is a selective program with embedded practice and focused summer community internships. The…

School districts across America have responded to the accountability movement by increasing professional development activities, including the utilization of onsite coaching strategies for educators. But who is mentoring the mentors? This descriptive study in one Western state found that 56% of instructional coaches reported they did not have a…

Renovation and construction of Texas public schools is occurring at a rapid pace and at high prices. Business continues to blossom in the area of school construction. Several factors influence the need to renovate or construct schools, but the impact curriculum mandates have on school construction is seldom explored. This study investigated the…

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,…

The purpose of this qualitative, narrative study was to investigate the role of the superintendent in leading the district to be more culturally proficient, resulting in the narrowing of the achievement gap in culturally diverse small districts. Eight superintendents of small school districts were purposefully selected based on their district size…

In 1997, the Illinois legislature passed House Bill 542 (Public Act 90-548) which changed teacher tenure requirements to a four-year, multi-tiered system that called for the accumulation of professional development credit for all teachers. The primary purpose of this study was to examine district responses to the 1997 legislation. To what degree,…

The purpose of this study was to assess a statewide cadre of public school principals in terms of their attraction to the job of district superintendent. Two assumptions underlying the investigation were that (1) participant self-reported capability to become a superintendent impacts participant attraction to the job, and (2) participant…

Schools employ educational technology to comply with pressures for greater accountability and efficiency in conducting operations. Specifically, schools use "management information systems" designed to automate data collection of student attendance, grades, test scores, and so on. These management information systems (MIS) employed widespread use…

Concern about teacher shortages has been widespread in the last decade. Numerous reports have focused attention on the issue in the United States where the shortage is particularly acute in specific teaching specialties and in urban and rural schools. Attempts to alleviate the shortage have taken place at multiple levels. School districts with…

Over the past few years, as part of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) reform on the one hand, and the increased demands for school accountability on the other, more and more schools have launched a school website aimed at enhancing educational activities, supporting student-teacher communication, contributing to school marketing…

The increasing use of school advisory councils for budgetary decision making is an obvious trend in new patterns of school governance. As decision makers, council members are lobbied by groups and individuals desiring funding for their particular interests. Problems that need attention are judiciously considered as competing interests vie for…

Designed to address school safety concerns, the Unsafe School Choice Option (USCO) is another less publicized and brief component of the No Child Left Behind legislation, the centerpiece of Pres George W. Bush's educational agenda. The legislation mandates that state education agencies and local education agencies develop policies and procedures…

The philosophy of Nebraska's School-based, Teacher-led Assessment and Reporting System (STARS) is based on the premise that the purpose of assessment is to drive curriculum and instruction to produce student academic achievement gain. It is a locally driven system designed from the classroom up, which recognizes that improved student achievement…

Scott and Bagaka's examine the connection between teachers' participation in professional collaboration activities and in professional development and their perception of the effectiveness of the district reform efforts. They also determine the extent to which teachers' assessment of the effectiveness of school reform efforts can lead to school…

The purpose of this article is to discuss an approach to analyzing the interactive effects of multiple reform efforts within a school or school district. The approach resulted from an intensive study of reform in one district in a state characterized by a strong accountability system. First, the authors present a brief history of educational…