Lessons from Laboratories in School Restructuring and Site-Based Decision-Making: Oregon's '2020' Schools Take Control of Their Own Reform.

In 1987, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 2020, the School Improvement and Professional Development Program. Designed to encourage innovation and professional development in a select number of Oregon schools, this act was intended to upgrade educational quality and create models for other state schools. Rather than evaluating program success or individual school efforts, this Bulletin examines the 2020 schools as "living laboratories" that demonstrate how educators are translating the rhetoric of site-based decision-making and school restructuring into action. The Bulletin begins by discussing the 2020 grant process, its objectives, procedures, and requirements. Chapter 2 describes how the analysis of goal statements was carried out for the 51 schools awarded grants for the 1990-91 school year. Chapter 3 discusses grant proposal content derived from current analysis performed on all new and continuation grants funded for 1990-91, interviews with principals and site committee members at 14 selected sites, and more intensive onsite work at several 2020 schools. Chapter 4 relates these findings to current research and policy discussions on site-based decision making and school restructuring. The final chapter discusses pitfalls to school restructuring gleaned from this research and from observations nationwide. An appendix lists names and addresses of participating schools. (50 references) (MLH)