Archived: The Educational System in the United States: Case Study Findings

Attitudes Towards District- and School-Based
Initiatives
District- and school-based initiatives were cited by parents, teachers, and adminis-
trators more frequently than either state or national initiatives. Although the initia-
tives varied greatly in scope, they generally had the support of parents and teach-
ers, because they were perceived as having been created in response to local
needs. In addition, many teachers spoke of the linkage of district and school initia-
tives to city, state, and even national standards, such as Goals 2000 and the NCTM
standards.
Metropolitan School is an innovative school located in the inner city and sur-
rounded by housing projects in Metro City. Approximately 4 years ago, the school
redesigned its calendar in response to an ever-growing school population. Instead
of turning students away and sending them to a school further from their homes,
administrators designed a rotating school calendar based on a 12-month school
year and split the student population into four schools within the school. In addi-
tion, they adopted an accelerated program for students performing at or above
grade level.
Teachers at some of the other high schools and middle schools in Metro City also
spoke of recent school initiatives. In particular, they mentioned efforts to have
middle school and high school teacher’s work together to facilitate continuity of
the middle schools’ and high schools’ curricula.
Another school-based initiative mentioned in Metro City was a program in one of
the more affluent school districts. The program was set up to encourage teachers
to gain facility in the use of computers. The district was offering interest-free loans
for teachers to purchase their own computer and software. The district also of-

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fered computer courses and promised to subtract a certain amount from the loan
in exchange for every 2.5 hours of classroom training the teachers received.
At yet another school, members of the parent council participated in a citywide
curriculum resource committee and brought ideas and materials from this commit-
tee back to school administrators and teachers.
Educators in West City said that the development and implementation of school-
based initiatives was often dependent on the school’s leadership. Generally it was
the principal’s responsibility to provide opportunities for staff development, al-
though some workshops were also provided by the school districts. One example
of a district initiative was the district’s inservice training for elementary and mid-
dle-school teachers of math and science.
The elementary school we visited in East City provided children of working par-
ents with extended day care. The normal school day is from 8:30 a.m. to 2:45
p.m. The enrichment programs were offered before and after school. Children par-
ticipating in these programs could arrive as early as 7:00 a.m. and stay as late as
6:00 p.m. Another local initiative instituted in East City was the year-round cal-
endar at the middle school. The school operated 9 weeks on followed by 3 weeks
off throughout the year. Although the state restricted the ability of the school to
require homework between terms, teachers could assign voluntary homework
over the vacation periods to students who were falling behind their classmates.
According to one teacher, ‘‘the school also encourages teachers to integrate the
curriculum, and use hands-on student-centered learning, and cooperative or lab-
oriented classes in math/algebra.’’ Teachers within the school were organized into
12 instructional teams of 4 teachers each in core subjects.
Even as guidelines for state and national standards have increased in number and
visibility in the last decade, there has been a concurrent emphasis on the return
of decisionmaking powers to schools and teachers. Local and district efforts to im-
prove the academic environment and raise achievement levels have, by their very
nature, encouraged the development of a wide range of diverse programs.