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This 112-page publication, Preparing Schools and School Systems for the 21st Century, presents characteristics of schools and school systems capable of preparing students for a global knowledge/information age. Order copies of this publication for board members, administrative team, staff, and community leaders. Use it to build support and stimulate discussions that will help you take leadership in reshaping your schools and school system for a new millennium. Characteristics of 21st century schools were identified by a distinguished council of 21 leaders in business, education, government and other fields during an historic Mount Vernon Conference. The council was under the honorary chairmanship of Senator John Glenn and was directed by the American Association of School Administrators. The study was made possible by financial support from AMP Incorporated and the Electric Power Research Institute.

Today's children are an endangered species. As a result of the reductionism spawned by Freud and the homogenization of the stages of human life that followed, many children seem to have lost their childhood and been thrust into the confusing and chaotic world of adults. Eugene Schwartz presents an incisive analysis of the ways in which the errors of the first third of our century have come back to haunt us at the century's end. After carefully examining Sigmund Freud's tragic misunderstanding of childhood and tracing its consequences for today's parents and educators, the author points to the radically new paradigm of childhood development offered by Rudolf Steiner and embodied in Waldorf education. Parents, teachers, and child psychologists will find a wealth of insight concerning such diverse subjects as the nature of play, the causes of ADHD, computers as teachers, and the power that love and imagination will have in the education of the Millennial Child.

This paperback edition, with a new introduction, offers a powerful, compelling, and unassailable argument for reforming America's schooling methods and ideas--by one of America's most important educators, and author of the bestselling Cultural Literacy. For over fifty years, American schools have operated under the assumption that challenging children academically is unnatural for them, that teachers do not need to know the subjects they teach, that the learning'process'should be emphasized over the facts taught. All of this is tragically wrong.Renowned educator and author E. D. Hirsch, Jr., argues that, by disdaining content-based curricula while favoring abstract--and discredited--theories of how a child learns, the ideas uniformly taught by our schools have done terrible harm to America's students. Instead of preparing our children for the highly competitive, information-based economy in which we now live, our schools'practices have severely curtailed their ability, and desire, to learn.With an introduction that surveys developments in education since the hardcover edition was published, The Schools We Need is a passionate and thoughtful book that will appeal to the millions of people who can't understand why America's schools aren't educating our children.

Questions whether, and how, community colleges confront the challenges of diversity and provide real opportunities for upward mobility.Community colleges are positioned to play a critical role in the process of upward mobility in American society. Yet despite the “open door” accessibility of these institutions, the question remains as to whether or not community colleges enhance the social mobility of working class and minority students.The contradictory and often paradoxical nature of research on community colleges suggests that making generalizations about the sector as a whole is perhaps misguided. This book takes an important step toward developing a more nuanced understanding of the rich and varied cultures inherent in community colleges. The contributors approach this task by examining community colleges as “cultural texts,” using critical qualitative frameworks to address the question of whether, and how, community colleges confront the challenges of diversity and provide real opportunities for upward mobility.[Contributors include Marilyn Amey, Eusebio Diaz, Stanford T. Goto, Berta Vigil Laden, Dennis McGrath, Laura I. Rendón, Robert A. Rhoads, Kathleen M. Shaw, Armando Trujillo, James R. Valadez, and Bill Van Buskirk.]Kathleen M. Shaw is Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Temple University. James R. Valadez is Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Washington and the coauthor, with Robert A. Rhoads, of Democracy, Multiculturalism and the Community College: A Critical Perspective. Robert A. Rhoads is Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Administration at Michigan State University and the author of Community Service and Higher Learning: Explorations of the Caring Self, also published by SUNY Press.

The United States annually spends over $300 billion on public elementary and secondary education. As the nation enters the 21st century, it faces a major challenge: how best to tie this financial investment to the goal of high levels of achievement for all students. In addition, policymakers want assurance that education dollars are being raised and used in the most efficient and effective possible ways. The book covers such topics as: Legal and legislative efforts to reduce spending and achievement gaps. The shift from'equity'to'adequacy'as a new standard for determining fairness in education spending. The debate and the evidence over the productivity of American schools. Strategies for using school finance in support of broader reforms aimed at raising student achievement. This book contains a comprehensive review of the theory and practice of financing public schools by federal, state, and local governments in the United States. It distills the best available knowledge about the fairness and productivity of expenditures on education and assesses options for changing the finance system.

With sample lesson plans, student assessment forms (with rubrics), and other practical materials, this book shows how the principles of the Paideia Program can result in student learning and understanding.

As we enter the 21st century, colleges and universities are in great flux. Fiscal shortfalls, a suspicious public, a more consumer-driven market, and a host of other concerns demand that postsecondary institutions restructure themselves. Building the Responsive Campus offers a critique of modern academia, as well as a proposal for making campuses more effective -- that is, better at meeting clients and customers′ needs. Author William G. Tierney addresses the problems that many academic institutions have today in clinging to the practices and organization of the past. He argues that institutions of higher learning are in demand of dramatic organizational changes. The chapters look at key critical issues -- faculty roles and rewards, presidential leadership, strategic planning, assessment, and evaluation-utilizing the latest ideas to bring about structural reform and high performance. The timely volume takes a data-driven approach, using research derived from ethnographies, case studies, and interviews carried out over the past 15 years. By outlining many of the organizational problems that colleges and universities face today, Tierney reveals workable solutions.

With a foreword by Thomas Sergiovanni, this book exposes the myths about school leadership which impede educational improvement. It also profiles 8 successful schools at which student achievement has flourished after collaboration was introduced.

This book documents the shocking state of public education in the United States, including the high rates of school violence, the decline in student achievement, and the politicization of the educational process. By comparing the performance of public schools with private schools (which spend less than half per capita than public counterparts), the book reveals areas in which public education might reduce administrative overhead, eliminate internal segregation of students, and provide a safe and disciplined learning environment. Also suggested are ways in which public schools might learn from the experience and traditions of the past, including the essential elements of learning in the one-room schoolhouse and the integration of students of different ages. The role of the judiciary is critically reviewed, as well as Supreme Court decisions in the areas of racial discrimination, school discipline, bilingual education, special education, and school financing.

This book presents optimistic alternatives to the current educational reform movement, which has not produced substantial improvement. Dwight W. Allen advocates structural reform of education in virtually every aspect--organization, staff, curriculum, and political accountability. His central proposal is for the establishment of a national system of experimental schools, well-funded for research, experimentation, evaluation, and demonstration, but with realistic operating expenses.The biggest obstacle to reform is the lack of confidence in those who might establish, coordinate, and implement it. The establishment of an extensive, coordinated national experimental school system with voluntary participation by all those involved would provide a relatively nonthreatening environment in which to try new alternatives in all aspects of public education. The first requirement is a new vision of education--one that has the capacity for quick implementation of new curricular and instructional programs. Allen advocates the creation of a well-designed national curriculum which would enhance local control of schools. With a portion of the curriculum standardized, local school districts and teachers would have the time and resources to develop local curriculum options.

Schlechty shows both educators and parents how to envision reform and design quality educational systems. He explains how the visioning process must be rooted in real shared beliefs, how mission statements must unpack visions into concrete goals that are connected to action, and how the results of reform can be usefully assessed. Drawing on the author's vast experience in the day-to-day work of implementing school reform, Inventing Better Schools offers new approaches for setting standards and ensuring accountability--and includes samples of actual mission statements and strategic plans of successful school districts.

A'tale from the trenches'of educational reform, this book chronicles a year in the life of four teachers as they implement an innovative new program.This remarkably candid'tale from the trenches'follows four teachers as they implement'Connections'--an interdisciplinary, inclusive program option for ninth-grade students at'Cedar City'High School. As Sheryl (English), Dan (science), Bernie (social studies), and Tim (special education) forge bonds of community, collaboration, and collegiality, their experiences take on the dimensions of an epic journey, or odyssey. Interpreted through an ecological lens, this book offers important insight into the world of teaching in an era of school reform.The Connections journey was marked both by stories of triumph and tales of crisis. The stories reflected an emerging vision not only of Connections as an interdisciplinary program, but of the teaching team as a collaborative, collegial community. By illuminating the real world of Connections, this book offers insights for teachers and administrators, policy makers and students, and all who value community, collaboration, and collegiality in schools.Nina G. Dorsch is Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Northern Illinois University.

Educational leaders speak out in their own words--stimulating, accessible, provocative--on contemporary and controversial topics that range from differing attitudes on diversity to the debate over character education to arguments about education reform.Award-winning writer Anne Turnbaugh Lockwood interviews nationally-known leaders in a new genre of conversations about key issues in education that inform the contemporary debate and the general reader. Topics range from the current debate over character education to multicultural education and from multiple intelligences to national standards. Those interviewed include Patricia K. Anderson, Michael W. Apple, Roland S. Barth, Gloria Ladson-Billings, B. Bradford Brown, Kathleen Densmore, Anne Fairbrother, Lily Wong Fillmore, Howard Gardner, Thomas R. Hoerr, Herbert M. Kliebard, Thomas Lickona, Alan L. Lockwood, Fred M. Newmann, Kent D. Peterson, Deborah Prothrow-Stith, Joseph S. Renzulli, Thomas A. Romberg, Kevin Ryan, Mara Sapon-Shevin, Christine E. Sleeter, Theodore R. Sizer, Wayne J. Urban, and Dennis R. Williams. Considered are violence; values; youth culture; cultural diversity in language, race, and ability; professionalism; leadership; the role of teacher unions; and broad perspectives on the status and history of educational reform in the United States.Anne Turnbaugh Lockwood is an Honorary Fellow in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin—Madison and is Senior Writer/Policy Analyst for the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Her work has been recognized by the American Educational Research Association Interpretive Scholarship Award and by the University of Wisconsin's School of Education.

Government policies at the state, local, and federal levels have always shaped the daily lives of U.S. schools. Issues of equity and access dominate, and the newer issue of global competition is also important. This volume of essays by noted theorists and practitioners considers current educational policy issues. Topics and contributors include: Achievement and Mobility-Aaron Pallas; Tracking-Maureen Hallinan; Dropouts-Gary Natriello; Governing the Big-City School System-Kenneth Wong; International and Comparative Analysis-Rolland Paulston; Politics of a National Curriculum-Michael Apple; School Leadership-James Cibulka; Parental and Community Involvement-Mary Driscoll; Advocacy-Judith Cohen; Reform and Policy-Kathy Borman, et al. An index is provided.

The New American School will emerge from the ashes of the old. An underlying premise of the present book is that such a rebirth will occur in the process of restructuring. Restructuring in education is the designing, staffing, programming, and building of the school around learning, the central function of every educational organization. In the following pages, this definition will be elaborated, and methods will be offered for restructuring schools in order to realize a truly New American School.

Many earlier attempts at education reform have failed, causing some critics to call for a much more expansive wave of reform in which learning becomes a central focus. O'Banion presents an argument for the community college, with its strong penchant for innovation and risk-taking, as the ideal forum for creating this new learning paradigm. He proposes a provocative new concept called'the learning college,'which is designed to help students make passionate connections to learning. The book describes in detail the six key principles that form the definition and character of a learning college. Emerging models of this concept are already in place at a handful of community colleges, and six of these pioneering institutions share their initial journeys in this book. O'Banion provides a practical guide for community college leaders who are preparing their institutions to enter the 21st century.

Revisiting “The Culture of the School and the Problem of Change” provocatively and seamlessly joins Seymour Sarason's classic, landmark text on school change with his own insightful reflections on those same issues in the face of today's crisis in public schools. This is an extensive, monograph–length revisiting.Part I of this book reproduces the second edition of Sarason's ground–breaking work, The Culture of the School and the Problem of Change, in which he detailed how change can affect a school's culturally diverse environment—either through the implementation of new programs or as a result of federally imposed regulations. Throughout, many of the major assumptions about change in institutions are challenged. Specific events and examples demonstrate that any attempt to implement change involves some existing regularity within the school. Dr. Sarason also takes a close look at government involvement in change efforts in schooling—and includes a detailed examination of current efforts to implement PL 94–142 into public schools. He presents compelling evidence that the federal effort to change and improve schools has largely been a failure. Also included are investigations into the purposes of schooling and how these purposes can be affected by change, and the process by which educators and administrators formulate intended outcomes of change efforts.In Part II, Dr. Sarason “revisits” the text and the issues 25 years after the original publication. As he explains in his preface, to him the word crisis means “a point in time when a dangerous situation contains conflicting forces of an intensity or seriousness that in the near term will be dramatically altered depending on which forces win out. When I wrote the book a quarter century ago, I did not regard our schools as in crisis...[though] my intuition... was that a crisis would come sooner or later. It has, in my opinion, come.” Believing that “what happens in our cities and our schools will determine the fate of our society,” Dr. Sarason is deeply concerned that the reform arena is being manipulated by forces that are at best untroubled by and at worst intent on the dismantling of the public school system. That, coupled with his fear that even the system's defenders are not focusing on the real issues, has infused Dr. Sarason's return to the topic of educational change with a great sense of urgency. The important things he has to say will be welcomed by all who truly care about the state of the public schools that America's children attend.

A comprehensive discussion, from multiple perspectives, of the complex nature of school collaboration efforts.This book provides a more comprehensive discussion of collaborative school efforts than any other single source currently available. Specifically, multiple disciplinary perspectives are presented, addressing the complexity or “promises and pitfalls” of school collaboration efforts. The book is organized in terms of major considerations in school collaboration initiatives—the organizational structure; the change process; inter-agency and intra-school collaborative efforts; and implications for instruction, leadership, and leadership preparation. Also, the book informs the design of educator preparation programs emphasizing collaborative schools and cross-disciplinary teaching.The chapters address many issues regarding school collaboration, such as which organizational structures will enhance collaborative efforts; which change processes are important in building school collaboration; the costs (in effort, energy, time, or other resources) of collaborating with other external agencies; how teachers'work can be redesigned to enhance collaboration between teachers and the anticipated outcomes for teachers and students; how educators can overcome their separate role socializations to build collaborative work relationships within schools; and the implications of school collaboration for teaching and learning, school leadership, and leadership preparation. The closing chapter offers five synthesizing issues or dilemmas for school collaboration.Diana G. Pounder is Professor of Educational Administration, University of Utah.

When it comes to educational performance, the United States does not fare well in comparison to our global competitors. Numerous challenges, such as our increasing dependence on technology, and the ongoing difficulties we face in providing cost-effective, good quality public education, point to the need for changes in our educational system if we are to provide a competitive workforce in the future.

In this brilliant, controversial, and profoundly original book, Benjamin R. Barber fundamentally alters the terms of the current debate over the value of opportunity in American education, politics, and culture.Barber argues that the fashionable rallying cries of cultural literacy and political correctness completely miss the point of what is wrong with our society. While we fret about'the closing of the American mind'we utterly ignore the closing of American schools. While we worry about Japanese technology, we fail to tap the more fundamental ideological resources on which our country was founded. As Barber argues, the future of America lies not in competition but in education. Education in America can and must embrace both democracy and excellence.Barber demonstrates persuasively that our national story has always comprised an intermingling of diverse, contradictory, often subversive voices. Multiculturalism has, from the very start, defined America. From his gripping portrait of America poised on the brink of unprecedented change, Barber offers a daringly original program for effecting change: for teaching democracy depends not only on the preeminence of education but on a resurgence of true community service.A ringing challenge to the complacency, cynicism, and muddled thinking of our time that will change the way you feel about being an American citizen.

In this timely and thought-provoking book, the authors engage each other and the reader in an ongoing dialogue questioning the purpose and role of the contemporary university as bureaucratic, corporate, and diversified. Written as a series of conversations between the authors, two Chicano scholars at a western university, Debatable Diversity chronicles their own experiences as academic activists who struggled for decades to transform an American university system based more on entrepreneurship and the business model than on a dedication to the ideals set forth by a social awareness and support for civil rights that came out of the 1960s and early 1970s, a time when hope and faith in social change permeated college campuses. Instead, as Padilla and Montiel reveal, this commitment was never realized, and the lack of responsiveness of most American universities to the realities of shifting demographics and cultural diversity is the rule rather than the exception. Posing a challenge for all of those interested in transforming the university into a place that reflects the realities of the American cultural landscape, including growing minority populations, the challenge of maintaining a sense of humanity in the face of the information age, socioeconomic and class inequality, and the growing presence of minorities on campus, Debatable Diversity challenges readers to reexamine the purposes, goals, and functions of the American university in light of the ongoing social transformation from modernity to postmodernity. Not only do the authors offer an insider's look at the inner workings of academia, but also of academic activism, with the goal of renewal and reconfiguration of the contemporary'multiversity.'

The editors have collected original papers dealing with the impact of commissions on educational policy and reform. This book is a combination of the perspectives of practitioners directly involved with writing or reacting to commission reports, and scholars analyzing the significance and impact of educational policy. Chapters are written by some of the country's leading authorities on education. This book will prove to be a valuable resource for educators, administrators, political scientists, sociologists, and others interested in the state of education. Includes a foreword by Paul E. Peterson of Harvard University.

'ASCD stock number: 1-95038'--T.p. verso.

Two powerful forces are driving American's demands for better schools -- one longstanding force is idealistic and the other is'new'and economic. The current group of young Americans is in danger of being the first full generation to consistently make less money and enjoy fewer worldly rewards than their parents. The intersection of idealistic and pragmatic forces has produced an era of calls for reform in U.S. education that is unparalleled -- calls that have resulted in the creation of the New American Schools Development Corporation (NASDC). The chapters in this book highlight the path traveled by NASDC -- a private, non-profit corporation charged with creating new,'break the mold'school designs for the 21st century -- and describes the first three years'accomplishments of nine NASDC development teams.

When schools are being hit with staff turnover, budget cuts, and changing priorities, how do you ensure that improvements stick, educators keep learning, and student performance continues to advance?In this follow-up to her ASCD best-seller Building Leadership Capacity in Schools, Linda Lambert answers that question and explains how to sustain a learning community where everyone takes ownership of improvement efforts and acts with a shared sense of purpose. Use the charts and action steps to analyze your school's leadership capacity, spot the participation patterns in your community, and identify new professional development opportunities for building leadership.Real-life examples from schools with high leadership capacities offer tips on how to overcome the resistance to change, find time for teacher collaboration, and encourage parents to take on leadership responsibilities. Handy rubrics and surveys help you assess and guide the leadership capacity of any school.Note: This product listing is for the Adobe Acrobat (PDF) version of the book.

Focuses on two major themes: the imporvement of teaching practice through collaborative research, and reflection on the process of collaboration itself to understand its role in educational change.The efforts of collaborative inquiry and community building in education are described by exploring a multitude of collaborative experiences in educational settings. The authors reflect upon many types of collaborative experiences in ways that will ring true for readers. They challenge educators at all levels to think about the multiple meanings and implications of collaboration by telling real stories about real people involved in collaborative experiences within schools and educational institutions.The four editors, teacher educators at the University of Regina, are involved with collaborative projects locally and internationally. Their interest in collaboration continues to grow as they participate in learning communities in their professional and personal lives.

Educational Outcomes for Students With Disabilities provides readers with the most current perspectives on outcomes that are certain to have an influence on the services they provide. A shift from a focus on the process of education for students with disabilities to a focus on measurable outcomes is occurring and is permeating every level of education, from policy on down to the classroom. This book helps readers think about and prepare for changes in how they provide services.To begin preparing readers for change, the book presents a wide range of topics, beginning with clarifying definitions and historical groundings for the emphasis on outcomes. The authors cover everything from a perspective on the controversial Outcome Based Education (OBE) approach to guidelines on how to use existing data on outcomes. Ways to think about outcomes beyond academics and in alternative settings are addressed as well. Chapters also address different perspectives on what outcomes should be for even young children with disabilities.The contributing authors of this book represent a range of professionals--researchers, policymakers, advocates--whose work helps support student attainment of positive educational outcomes. Individual subjects addressed include: assessment data collection standards opportunity to learn outcome based education (OBE) school reform alternative programs indicators accountabilityEducational Outcomes for Students With Disabilities is a current synthesis of what specialists know about educational outcomes for students with disabilities. It highlights how new ideas will change how school personnel--school counselors and psychologists; supervisors; social workers; speech and language therapists; occupational and physical therapists; and SEA/LEA administrators--educate their students with disabilities.

The common view today is that state schools are not good enough, and that something must be done to make them better. Setting academic standards is one way to raise the educational achievement of students. Jennings gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at how congress and the Executive Branch have wrestled with this issue, and reviews the major debates about whether or not there should be testable national standards for all American schools.

Reform of American education is largely motivated by concerns about our economic competitiveness and American's standard of living. Yet, few if any of the public school reform agendas incorporate economic principles or research findings. Improving America's Schools explores how education and economic research can help produce, in the words of Harvard's Dale W. Jorgenson,'a unified framework for future education reform.'This book presents the perspectives of noted experts, including Eric A. Hanushek, author of Making Schools Work, on creating incentives for improved school and student performance; Under Secretary of Education Marshall S. Smith on the Clinton Administration's reform program; and Rebecca Maynard, University of Pennsylvania, on the education of the disadvantaged. This volume explores these areas: The importance of schooling to labor market success. The prospects for combining school-based management with teacher incentives to gain the best of both approaches. The potential of recent innovations in student achievement testing, including new'value-added'indicators. The economic factors involved in maintaining an adequate stock of effective teachers. The volume also explores why, despite similar standards of living, France, the Netherlands, England, Scotland, and the United States produce different levels of education achievement. Improving America's Schools informs the current debate over school reform with a fresh perspective, examples, and data. This readable volume will be of interest to policymakers, researchers, educators, and education administrators as well as economists and employers—it is also readily accessible to concerned parents and the larger community.