Reallocating Resources

Book excerpt: Chapter 1, "Step 1: The Change Process," focuses on the change process and describes why and how schools engage in program restructuring and resource allocation. Chapter 2, "Step 2: Defining a New Educational Strategy," discusses decisions that must be made about the regular education program and how the various schools adopted, adapted or created curriculum and instructional strategies. Chapter 3, "Step 3: Organizing and Staffing the School to Support the New Educational Strategy," shows how core educational strategy decisions determine the cost structure of schools. It addresses such issues as student grouping, class size, planning and preparation time, and professional development. Chapter 4, "Step 4: Deciding How to Serve Students Who Need Extra Help," describes the resource requirements of choices for serving special needs students, including expensive new strategies funded through resource allocation. Chapter 5, "Step 5: Paying for the Changes," reviews the resource allocation strategies to pay for expensive new educational programs by such staff categories as regular classroom teachers, regular education specialists, remedial specialists, pupil support specialists, instructional aides, and other staff. Chapter 6, "Step 6: Effects of Resource Reallocation and District Roles to Support Such Change," examines how reallocation and restructuring strategies at two schools helped increase student achievement. (Contains 87 references.) (TEJ)