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This paper examines the power and energy needs of a small-to-medium sized (35,000), one industry, midwestern community and how that community overcame the communication obstacles which prevented fulfillment of its energy needs. The paper outlines the background on the communication situation being described, then provides a chronology of the key events followed by a description of the events in the diffusion process, and concludes with an analysis of the entire matter from the initial problem to its final solution. (RB)

System-wide school decentralization is now implemented both in New York City and in Detroit. It is important, therefore, to inquire into alternative explanations of the origins of the school decentralization movement with a view to constructing models of school organizational behavior and change which may have utility either to other school systems facing the decentralization question, or to other problems of organizational behavior. Two such models, the sequential and the organizational, have been proposed for these purposes. The sequential model postulates a sequence of key events leading to the decision to decentralize a school system. Its interesting implication is that the goal of the community control movement is greater citizen participation in organizational decision-making. The logic of the organizational model implies that greater authority for organizational decision-making be delegated to local administrators. What is at issue here is the distinction between community control and administrative decentralization. The tension between these two not necessarily compatible models for the restructuring of educational governance is at the heart of this paper, and at the heart of the disappointment with the results of school decentralization in New York City and Detroit now felt by many of its early proponents. (Author/JM)

Comparative data on the perceptions of objectives and the performance of schools in meeting these objectives among the various status groups involved in secondary education that extends previous research efforts by offering a combined measure of dissatisfaction is reported in this paper. The proposed measure of satisfaction with the school system involves a combination of the perception of appropriate goals or objectives and of the perception of the performance of the system with regard to these goals. The findings are based on data gathered from secondary school students, the parents of students, and teachers of Pontiac, Michigan. When the total respondents in each of three status groups provide the basis for analysis, parents of secondary school students expect the school system to address a more pervasive set of goals than do teachers. Among the conclusions are the following: on the average, substantial majorities of teachers and parents and a substantial minority of students are dissatisfied with the extent to which school performance corresponds to objectives, racial differences on the average are small compared to the differences between status levels in the school system, and in terms of distributive justice, there do seem to be differential perceptions of the extent to which the educational system is meeting client needs. (Author/AM)

Proposed in the Michigan legislature is the establishment of a new institution to be known as Wolverine State College: an institution without a campus or principal location. The proposed legislation articulates three distinct state policy objectives: (1) Under the umbrella of a single institution, the development of a meaningful alternative for individuals pursuing their own educational objectives; (2) adult and continuing off-campus education which could be financed through a system of dual enrollments as well as other procedures; (3) the application of coordinated planning in off-campus education and the extension of off-campus services to new populations, thereby avoiding non-essential and possibly costly duplication of effort on the part of institutions statewide in their field. In addition, the concept of regional learning centers and the integration of the State Library is also embodied in this bill. Furthermore, cable television is central in two important ways. First, a multiple channel system with two-way capability could be employed to tie the proposed regional learning centers into a coherent statewide system. Second, the regional system can be expected to tie community cable systems operating on a commercial basis and thereby touch the homes of adults, for use as needed. (WCM)

In an effort to reward excellence and discourage mediocrity, an accountability-based salary system has been implemented for all administrators in the Kalamazoo school system. Administrator salaries are adjusted for performance and/or reclassification reasons. Judgments of performance are based on the extent to which an administrator achieves meaningful performance objectives and on comprehensive feedback from relevant reference groups. Reclassification is based on the scope and function of the position. Evaluation of administrators is coordinated and finally determined by the superintendent after careful analysis of extensive input from other appropriate administrators who, in turn, utilize information generated by relevant reference groups. For the 1974-75 school year, salary percentage changes for administrators vary from 0 to nine percent. These percentages, the basic salary ranges, and other specifics of the performance evaluation components for administrators are reviewed and updated periodically. (Appendixes may reproduce poorly.) (Author/WM)

This study is designed to compare the school normative climate of white and black urban elementary schools relatively matched on socioeconomic status (SES) and achievement. With this design the researcher sought to: (1) find if there are differences in normative climate between white and black schools; and (2) generate further tentative insight into variables which may affect the differential academic performance of students in white and black schools. A nonrandom sample of schools was selected through the aid of the Michigan Department of Education State Assessment Program. The department provided aggregate scores of all fourth-grade students, by school, on achievement and SES, as measured by a questionnaire of family consumption patterns, education, mobility, and student's future aspirations. Data were collected in 1970-71 via questionnaires from 16 schools with a total population of 2,743. The 1970-71 fifth-grade students whose achievement and SES data were collected by the State department in 1969-70 were the primary student sample in each school. An additional sample of fourth- and sixth-grade students in each school was included to obtain a wider range of student reports. Measures of school climate were sociopsychological scales and factors derived from the student questionnaire. (Author/JM)

The political behavior and orientations of 1027 fifth-grade students in 18 inner-city, racially segregated, low socioeconomic status elementary schools were examined in two Michigan cities in 1970. The political effects of racial composition were different for each race. As elementary schools became increasingly black, average student political orientations were reported as more nonsupportive of the political system, and political behavior was more activist. In those schools where classes were increasingly white, political orientations were more supportive, and political behavior was less activist. Students of both races in predominantly black schools knew more about political problems and candidates and were more skeptical of government and political authority than students of both races in predominantly white schools. This research shows that black, racially segregated, low socioeconomic status schools are positively beneficial for black and white students when using the criteria of participant political behavior. It may mean that the political effect of racial integration of black people is to depoliticize the black American people, which, unfortunately, for many Americans is a desirable goal. (Author/JM)

College IV is a four-year, undergraduate, liberal arts, state supported college which does not possess a schedule of classes, a time base, a grading system, or a course structure. Utilizing a curriculum matrix of auto-instructional learning packages called modules, College IV is entirely self-paced. The curriculum is all "on-line," and students may enter the college at any time throughout the year. Modules are used largely for the Freshman-Sophomore materials, and contract study for the junior-senior years. College IV extends into the community through programs in the county jail, and through a module mobile which carries curriculum to off-campus sites. The major short range problem is student motivation, and one significant challenge is developing a model to determine the"value-added" for nontraditional students. New arrangements for faculty appointment, productivity, and accountability are being explored. (Author)