A regional workshop was held in which educational researchers and practitioners shared their innovations, successes, concerns, and progress in using research and development to promote excellence in their state and local education agencies. This document reports its proceedings. "School Improvement: What the Research Says," by David P. Crandall, draws upon recent research to list and debunk 10 "myths" about school improvement. "School Improvement: Issues and Answers" by Harriet Doss Willis, addresses school improvement from three perspectives: shared assumptions, common recommendations, and change strategies. Shirley M. Hord describes research on principal styles in "The Effects of Principal Styles on School Improvement." Fenwick English provides an overview of curriculum management and the auditing technique of curriculum mapping in "Curriculum Mapping and Management." Finally, Jane Stallings provides numerous suggestions for increasing excellence in schooling and teaching through using time effectively in "Effective Use of Class Time." Appendixes provide the handouts that were distributed for each presentation. (TE)