Fight songs such as "The Victors" and "Notre Dame Victory March" have become part of the American music lexicon. Along with their sister songs, alma maters, they stir memories of carefree college days, elicit feelings of pride, and sometimes--especially fight songs--poke fun at athletic foes. They are the embodiment of…

One modern definition of "corporate diplomacy" states "executives engage in the private sector version of international diplomacy... advancing their objectives through interactions with the leaders of other corporations, governments, analysts, the media and interest groups." The smog in Donora, Pennsylvania, brought the…

Professional educators--whether in the classroom, library, counseling center, or anywhere in between--share one overarching goal: seeing all students succeed in school and life. In this regular feature, the work of professional educators is explored--not just their accomplishments, but also their challenges--so that the lessons they have learned…

Reviews the Equal Access Act of 1984 presenting the two major requirements of the act. Discusses the issues raised (in relation to the definition of what constitutes a public forum) in the Pennsylvania case "Student Coalition v. Lower Merion School District." Includes options for schools to consider when establishing "open" or…

Arlene C. Ackerman, who took the helm of Philadelphia's public schools a little more than a year ago, is pushing for changes that would upend how teachers are paid and assigned to schools. The veteran urban superintendent is battling tradition in the 167,000-student system, but insists that increasing the effectiveness of the city's nearly 10,700…

Relations between the public and private sectors of higher education are discussed. In the first chapter, John W. Gardner provides a historical perspective to the recent conflict in some states between public and private colleges and universities. In addition to discussing the pluralism and diversity that have characterized U.S. colleges and…

This paper contains an analysis of case law as it relates to the scope of bargainable issues and its possible impact on public two-year postsecondary institutions in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania's Public Employee Relations Act defines three categories of collective bargaining issues: (1) mandatory subjects of negotiation, (2) permissive issues of…

This report gives the results of a major research effort by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) in support of the work of the governor's study commission on public employee relations. The PDE and study commission staffs developed an opinionnaire that sought reactions of respondents to the individual bargaining experiences of their…

Intended primarily for educators, legislators, and the general public in the state of Pennsylvania, this public affairs brochure addresses the question of whether binding arbitration should be legislated in that state as a means of resolving labor disputes between a local school district and its employees. The brochure reviews the history of…

Teachers, superintendents, principals, and school board members in a number of Pennsylvania districts have come up with positive solutions to deal with challenges facing public schools. Although the problems they were faced with differed, educators found that by working together for a common goal in school cooperation committees, they could arrive…

The "ISSS Annual Conference Proceedings" is a peer-reviewed professional publication published once a year following the annual conference. (Individual papers contain references.) [For the 2009 proceedings, see ED504973.]

This publication provides information and guidelines on the way Pennsylvania school boards should meet and conduct business under Act 84 of 1986 (the Sunshine Act) and Act 20 of 1993. The first section provides a brief history of the passage of the Sunshine Act, which mandates an open-meetings statute for public agencies. The second section offers…

This booklet contains six short papers prepared for a symposium on collective negotiation in education. The opening paper presents a national overview of the subject, while the subsequent articles mainly discuss experiences under the Pennsylvania Public Employee Relations Act of 1970, which granted state and local employees full collective…

IN PART I, GUIDELINES FOR FULLER INTEGRATION OF THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE GIVEN. THE PURPOSES OF DESEGREGATION AND IMPROVED QUALITY EDUCATION ARE INDEPENDENT AND SHOULD BE PURSUED SIMULTANEOUSLY. EACH SCHOOL SHOULD ENROLL PUPILS FROM VARIED BACKGROUNDS BY ELIMINATING NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS, DEVELOPING A SYSTEM OF THREE SCHOOLS…

On July 28, 2006, a panel of experts briefed members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on the putative benefits of racial and ethnic diversity in elementary and secondary education. Four experts presented written statements to the Commissioners that assessed the social science literature on this issue. They also addressed whether or not…