Digital Commons Network^™

School-Based Management: Ownership And Responsibility, Greg A. Robinson

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

It has been several years since reports like A Nation at Risk and A Nation Prepared: Teacher for the 21st Century (1986) have been issued. Many reforms were initiated as a result of these reports for students receiving services in regular, compensatory, and special education programs.

All of these reports included recommendations for school districts to become more decentralized and consider giving teacher and parents more input into the decision-making process on school-related issues.

In an effort to comply with these recommendations, school districts began to study the possible implementation and consequences of site-based management and shared decision-making. The results …

The Necessity Of Addressing Attitudinal Issues When Training For School-Based Shared Decision-Making, David Schweitzer

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Many relevant issues arise when orchestrating the training for school-based shared decision-making. Granted, on occasions there is no training. In some instances, the training begins with in-services which teach staff members to conduct meetings or help them refine their goals and visions. Other approaches rely on critical thinking or public relations. Perhaps this training involves background in statistics, assessment, finance, educational law, or public policy. Apparently, school personnel often devote more time, thought, and energy to training than to the actual decision-making. Thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours are dedicated to determining and defining the roles, responsibilities, and skills …

A Principal's Pivotal Role In School Shared Decision-Making, Connie S. Tesar

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Schools across the country are implementing school-based shared decision-making in a concerted effort to improve classroom instruction and student achievement. This movement is based on the premise that those closest to the problem should be part of the solution, and that those who made the decision will then feel a sense of responsibility in carrying out the plan. This process can only be successful within a school with the principal as a driving force, guiding her staff through the school improvement planning process.

Finding The Patience To Allow School-Based Shared Decision-Making To Grow, H. Alan Heisterkamp

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

I once heard that a bamboo tree shows no signs of growth or maturity for the first four years after it's planted. Then, during its fifth year, the tree shoots up as high as 80 feet.

Due to the realities of human nature, we are not programmed to wait patiently for results and/or change. How incredibly tempting it must be to pull up the roots of a young bamboo tree, to find the cause or reason(s) for its delayed growth. And so it is with educational reform many programs planned, organized, and instituted to promote change and improvements are often …

Challenging The Element Of Time In The Change Process Of School Improvement, Kaye Huff

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Educators, administrators, and staff in small-school Iowa find themselves working longer hours due to increasing demands. The normal 8-hour day has become a 10- to 12-hour day for many educators. These hard-working, value-driven educators are staggering with rising expectations: serving the load of students with multiple needs and problems, teaching an increasing number of subject areas, marking, evaluating, consulting, conferencing, examining, inservicing, supervising, directing, collaborating, individualizing, psychiatrizing, policizing, bureaucratizing, curriculumizing, meetingizing, report cardizing, and on-going professionalizing (Clamp 1992). Such obligations lead to decreasing quality family time, increasing job burn-out, and increasing health risks due to stress.

Using Shared Decision-Making To Merge Educational Beliefs With Practices, Allen A. Kurland

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

During the past few years, many initiatives to change American schools have been unveiled. Several of these have been shaped in Iowa school districts and schools. A common characteristic in these ambitious changes the desire to improve student performance.

School-based shared decision-making is one of the best ways to produce meaningful, broad, and lasting improvement in student performance. However, it is often a tedious, time-consuming method. That is why conscious efforts must be made to construct effective communication. With effective communication, people can discover time together and the time can be used effectively.

How To Accomplish Time Release For Shared Decision-Making, Doris Maurer

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

When transformation activities begin and develop in a school district, the level of staff involvement mushrooms. Teachers who are interested in sharing information, discussing issues, examining alternatives, and deciding action are provided a new breath of professionalism previously inexperienced. Their enthusiasm is excitingly contagious. These 'movers and shakers' must be provided time release to accommodate the additional commitment before disillusionment and burn-out set in.

A Preferred Vision For Administering Elementary Schools: A Reflective Essay, Denise M. Pape

Graduate Research Papers

When a colleague asked me what prompted my decision to pursue a degree in education, it was simple to answer. I have always had an educational career path in mind. Working with children has always been something that I enjoyed and I felt that I could put my talents to use in the teaching profession. It has turned out to be the right choice for me. Helping children to reach their full potential and watching them as they achieve success is such a rewarding experience. Knowing that I am making a difference in some child's life keeps me going when …

A Preferred Vision For Administering Elementary Schools: A Reflective Essay, Cynthia F. Rabbitt

Graduate Research Papers

Throughout my graduate studies my mind has continually been stretched. If I finished my Master's degree and never became an elementary principal, I would not regret the time and money spent on my education. The opportunity to reflect upon who I am as a person and as a professional educator has been invaluable. Through my studies I have identified several different roles I believe to be essential to effective leadership. In this essay I will discuss the elementary principal as communicator and leader.

A Personal Vision For Administering Elementary Schools: A Reflective Essay, Catherine L. Schwab

Graduate Research Papers

As we near the year two thousand, now is an exciting and challenging time in education. There has been a dramatic change in our schools' populations and the statistics on the numbers of cruel realities our children face daily are staggering. Each day in America, over one thousand students dropout; two thousand students are abused; twenty seven children die of poverty; and thirteen million live in poverty (J. L. Doud, personal communication, June 14, 1993). The role of the education system is being reexamined constantly and more and more demands are being placed on the structure to fix all of …

A Preferred Vision For Administering Elementary Schools: A Reflective Essay, Joellen Nugent

Graduate Research Papers

One of the fundamental elements of society is education. From the earliest stages of my educational program I've experienced a desire to be an influential part of this process. I have been blessed with a stable, loving family life and an educational experience filled with instructional leaders that instilled in me a desire to learn. To be a small piece of a child's life in this same sense would be the ultimate high for me. Green (1987) pointed out that effective, quality leaders possess a conscience of leadership. "By conscience I mean simply the many ways we have to be …

Administrative Evaluation : What Will It Take To Succeed?, Steven J. Cose

Graduate Research Papers

What is a leader? According to Guthrie and Reed (1991), " A leader is an individual who accepts the authoritative expectations of others to responsibly guide the activities and enhance the performance of an organization." As education changes, the leadership role is taking on new dimensions. What will it take for me to become an effective educational administrator? As I look back on my coursework, the one issue that continuously appeared was the idea of establishing a vision. The key point made in each class was that to be an effective leader, an administrator needed to develop both short and …

Conflict Resolution, Donnette Ann Abbott Long

Graduate Research Papers

Almost every day children experience some type of conflict with their peers. As counselors and educators, many of us are concerned about a lack of classroom harmony and inadequate interaction and conflict resolution skills among our students. This paper explains some of the definitions, causes, and developmental issues of conflict. It will also explain some of the conflict resolution styles children use. Various conflict resolution programs and the implications for counselors and educators will also be explored.

What Is An Effective Leader?: A Reflective Essay, Diane M. Fisken

Graduate Research Papers

What is leadership? Wiles & Bondi (1986) describe leadership in the following way: Leadership is an approach, a way of working with people within an organization to accomplish a task. Persons in supervisory roles must understand the conditions of an organization, possess a vision of what can be done to improve that organization, and interlock the behaviors of others with that organization's structure. (p.26) In their studies, Hersey & Blanchard (1976) have found that: Over the last few decades, people in the field of management have been involved in a search for a "best" style of leadership. Yet, the evidence …

Religion And Sex-Guilt: Implications For Women, Gail M. Althaus

Graduate Research Papers

In the therapeutic environment, clients present issues of sexuality at continually increasing rates (Bruess & Greenberg, 1988; Gordon, 1976). Current research supports the hypothesis that religion influences sexuality across a wide range of attitudes and behaviors (Bullis & Harrigan, 1992). The mental health professional, in order to create effective interventions, must be prepared to understand and address clients' religious and sexual issues (Bullis & Harrigan, 1992; Gray & House, 1991).

A Preferred Vision For Administering Elementary Schools: A Reflective Essay, John S. Beeck

Graduate Research Papers

The principalship: What does this mean? As I have proceeded through my career as an elementary teacher seeking to become a building principal, I have asked myself this question over and over. What does it really mean to be a principal? Why would I leave the fulfillment of classroom teaching to become a principal?

United States Americans With Disabilities Act Of 1990 Education, Higher College Students With Disabilities -- Legal Status, Laws, Etc. -- United States College Student Records -- United States, Michelle Hesseling

Graduate Research Papers

Imagine, for example, that you are an individual who is blind. You want to attend a class but cannot read the syllabus. Or you are deaf and cannot hear your instructor's voice. People with disabilities have been confronted with these barriers for years when they have tried to participate in our educational system. Now, however, there is legislation that has been passed to tear down these barriers. On July 26, 1990, President Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law. This act protects individuals with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities (Beziat, 1990) and will have direct impact on …

Pls Update, Winter 1994, University Of Northern Iowa. Malcolm Price Laboratory School

Malcolm Price Laboratory School Newsletter

Inside this issue:
-- PLS Resource Program
-- Integrating Math and Science Curriculum
-- Reaching Out: Making Teacher Education Connections

1994 Northern Iowa Football, University Of Northern Iowa

Athletics Media Guides

Contents:

--Contents --1
--UNI Quick Facts --1
--1993 Results --1
--Credits --1
--Media Information --2
--Traveling With the Panthers --2
--UNI Facilities: Among 1-AA's Best --3
--No Place Like Dome --3
--UNI-Dome and Sheriff Field Facts --3
--Northern Iowa and 1-AA -Looking for 5 Straight/Post-Season Appearances --4-5
--UNI in the 1-AA Polls --5
--The University of Northern Iowa: At Northern Iowa, Great Teaching Makes the Difference --6
--President Constantine Curris --7
--Athletic Director Chris Ritrievi --7
--Head Coach Terry Allen --8
--Allen's Teams --8-9
--What They're Saying About Coach Allen --9
--Allen Against His Opponents --9
--The Assistants --10-11
--The …

Presidential Address As Ritual Transition: An Evaluation Of Carter's Farewell, Glenn C. Getz

Iowa Journal of Communication

One of the most neglected genres of public address is the U.S. presidential farewell. Though notable farewell speeches, such as George Washington's lengthy written address, have received much scholarly attention, the ritual functions and characteristics of the genre have yet to be examined.¹ The classical history of the farewell is not especially helpful when attempting to understand presidential ceremonies. Of the farewells examined by scholars, most involve departing military heroes or criminals allowed to speak before their executions. Notable examples include Socrates' speech in the Phaedo prior to his drinking of the hemlock,² scaffold speeches in England,^{3 …}

Issue Area One: The Current Debate In Public Education: Whose Children? Whose Schools?, Jan Reinicke, Wayne Wolf

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

This group, more than any other at the conference, was polarized around the topic, Whose children? Whose schools? The divisions were great and the beliefs personally and intensely held. The group spent much time identifying the issues and discussing the topic, but in the end failed to reach consensus on any real solution to the problem. Although many suggestions were explored, the dynamics of the group made a satisfactory resolution unattainable. Because there was so little agreement on the fundamental issues involved in this topic, the report from this group will emphasize the issues we did explore, the discussion surrounding …

Parental Authority Versus Government Ownership Of Education, Jill M. Carlson

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Though parents don't own children like chattel, centuries of common law uphold parents' authority over their own children. But that authority is in unwitting conflict with government-controlled ownership of education. And the more centralized the state-run control, the greater the conflict.

As an author, I dialogue with parents from coast to coast through radio and public forums. Parents-some of them educators-say their authority is intact when they help with school bake sales or band-booster clubs. But their authority erodes when they are shut out of pre-curriculum decision making, and their post-curriculum challenges are labeled censorship. Parents don't blame their local …

Divergent Views On The Control Of Schools: An Iowa Dialogue [Complete Monograph]

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

No abstract provided.

The Need For Expanding School Choice In Iowa, Dean W. Lemke

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Allowing parents and students freedom of school choice is the established state policy in Iowa. Because of the success of this policy, further expansion of the existing public funding of elementary and secondary school choice is needed to provide Iowa families full choice of public and nonpublic schools.

My perspective is that of an Iowa native who attended a public school, is an engineering graduate of a state university in Iowa, and has been employed 22 years in public service. My wife is from a family of public school teachers and has taught in public schools for 20 years. Our …

Issue Area Five: Consensus Building In The Community: What Generates Trust And Respect?, Homer Larsen

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

It is not news to say that there are growing tensions in some communities between public schools and citizen groups. How can these tensions be lessened at a time when public trust in the schools is not as deep as it has been in the past?

The first step in building trust and respect in the community is to know ourselves. What do we and our organizations believe? What are our values? What is our vision for education in the community? Only after we have answered these questions can we proceed in a pluralistic culture with a secure spirit and …

Encourage School Boards To Seek Community-Wide Participation, Comments, Helen Van Steenhuyse

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Consensus Building in the Community: What Generates Trust and Respect must be addressed at local levels as we endeavor to build supportive and collaborative communication between the community and the schools.

In preparing this report, I interviewed various people, both in our school system and statewide. I found a wide variance of opinions regarding our public school system.

Our project is to enhance communication with communities to better serve the needs of all the students. It is my belief that Iowa must transform its education system to meet the needs of the high performing, global economy of the twenty-first century. …

Consensus Building Starts With Understanding The Parts Of The Whole, Louise Voss Thurn

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

In The Seven Blind Mice, Caldecott medalist author, Ed Young, charmingly adapted the ancient fable of The Blind Man and the Elephant to the adventure of seven contemporary blind mice as they, one by one, examine what they finally conclude to be an elephant.

As The Seven Blind Mice illustrated, knowing in part may make for a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing and understanding the whole. This tale cleverly illustrates the importance of understanding all the parts before one understands the whole. I believe an analogy can be drawn from this story and how we view school …

The Customer Is Always The Customer, Michael Krumm

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

"The customer is always right" is a disturbing idea to many people in business. Customers may make extreme or absurd demands. Customers also have a difficult time predicting what they want. When they are asked to react to an idea for a new service or product, their responses are often unreliable because they have had no previous experience with the new concept.

Businesses committed to delivering quality service to their customers have changed this old adage to "The customer isn't always right, but the customer is always the customer." This revision acknowledges that the customer is in control of the …

Iowa Journal Of Communication, Volume 26, Number 2, Fall 1994 [Download Entire Issue]

Iowa Journal of Communication

No abstract provided.

Front Matter - Table Of Contents

Iowa Journal of Communication

No abstract provided.