In 1994 the Ohio State Legislature established Venture Capital to support school restructuring. The Venture Capital school initiative is a concept borrowed from the business community in which the corporate entity provides risk capital to parts of the organization to stimulate creative ideas and to provide opportunities for local entities to try…

This publication describes Venture Capital grants, which are awarded to Ohio schools for school-improvement efforts. Originating in the business sector, the concept of Venture Capital represented corporate earning or individual savings invested in a new or fresh enterprise. The grants are designed to be long-term, evolving efforts focused on a…

The faculty of one rural middle school in Ohio received professional development funds to implement a 5-year school improvement plan (Ohio's Venture Capital initiative). A study of the project investigated: (1) how the experience affected teachers' perceptions of their roles as reflective practitioners and as resources to their colleagues; (2) how…

As an increasing number of schools undertake restructuring efforts, an instrument to measure teacher empowerment would be a useful took for researchers and evaluators. Such an instrument was used in a census survey of 10,544 teachers in 307 Venture Capital Schools in Ohio to obtain baseline measures of classroom teachers' participation in school…

In Ohio, Venture Capital grants are available to schools to support their school-improvement efforts. This paper presents findings of a study that examined building principals' openness to change in the 307 Ohio schools with Venture Capital Grants. The 307 principals received by mail the Inventory of Change in Organizational Culture (Dunham and…

Teacher empowerment was one of eight criteria required by the Ohio Department of Education for funding as part of its Venture Capital Schools in Ohio program. This report, part of a larger study, identifies and summarizes dimensional definitions of teacher empowerment in school restructuring literature in order to enlarge the vision of Venture…

The assumption that as teacher empowerment increases in restructuring schools teacher job satisfaction will increase was explored in a study using a large sample of classroom teachers working in schools initiating self-designed restructuring efforts. Study participants were 10,544 classroom teachers working in 307 Venture Capital Schools funded to…

A study was conducted to identify and measure theoretical dimensions of teacher empowerment in 307 venture capital schools in Ohio. (The Ohio state legislature established venture capital grants to support school improvement; these grants serve as catalysts for local schools to redesign their internal structures.) Data were gathered from 4,091…

This paper presents findings of a study that investigated educational change within two innovative schools experiencing financial crisis. Data were derived from interviews with 14 educators (principals and teachers) and from observations of school board meetings. The two schools were: (1) the Team Academy, a nongraded K-6 school; and (2) the…

This guide provides basic information for local boards of education and educators on Ohio's school-to-work system. It contains an overview of the system, a self-assessment tool that can be used in the community, a sample resolution for local boards of education, and other information to assist educators to forge local partnerships. The four…