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A series of sometimes-theatrical hearings this month on union contracts in New York City has spotlighted what leaders of the city's schools say are major barriers to improving instruction. In five public meetings, ending late last week, the City Council's education committee graphically dissected the three agreements that govern the work lives of the teachers, administrators, and custodians in the 1.1 million-student system. The scrutiny comes as Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein are struggling to overhaul the system's governance, giving central-office administrators greater control over instructional issues.

Focuses on the policy adopted by philanthropy organizations to promote leadership stability in order to protect their investments. Policy adopted by managing director of the Board Foundation Dan Katzir to hold up million dollars grant for a comprehensive planning study of the New York City schools; Views of William Porter who serves as the executive director of Grandmakers for Education, network of charitable group.

Focuses on the support of private school vouchers in New York City by Reverend Floyd Flake, an African-American. Opposition to the vouchers by African-Americans and organizations including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons; Information on Floyd Flake, founder of the Allen Christian School; Success of Flake's church in the community; Opposition to Flake's pro-voucher stance.

The article reports that New York City Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein has unveiled plans regarding grading of 1,400 public schools in the city on the basis of student performance and the quality of instruction. In the new rating system, schools will get grades from A to F, based on factors related to achievement and school climate. Test scores and surveys of parents and students will be part of the mix. In addition, schools will get ratings based on annual site visits. With the help of outside experts, the district is planning to give schools more flexibility.

The article states that questionable spending has come to light in more than a dozen school districts in New York state in the wake of a high-profile fraud case in a Long Island district. Prompted by the alleged theft of $11 million in Roslyn, New York, state Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi has sent auditors into 46 districts in recent months. Auditing school districts on a regular basis has not been part of the comptroller's job description in New York for 20 years. Hevesi's office worked with a coalition of education organizations to craft legislation to strengthen financial oversight by school districts.

Borrowing a strategy from the corporate world, Virginia plans to form an elite cadre of principals armed with the skills needed to jump-start improvement in low-performing schools. In what's being pitched as a national model, state officials last week picked the University of Virginia to run a training program that will let an experienced school leader earn a credential as a "turnaround specialist." Continuing support for the principals will come from a group called School Turnaround, an initiative of the Rensselaerville Institute, a nonprofit group based in Rensselaerville, New York, that works with human-service organizations to do strategic planning aimed at improving performance.

Mayoral control of the New York City schools was at the center of renewed debate last week, after Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg replaced two members of the city's education policymaking board to ensure enough votes for a controversial plan he backed to end social promotion. Bloomberg ordered the changes on the Panel for Educational Policy after some of his own appointees said they opposed the proposal to have students repeat 3rd grade if they fail key tests. The mayor appoints eight of the 13 members of the panel, which replaced the city's board of education when he gained control of the school system in 2002.

Focuses on the problems facing New York City schools, which faces the challenges of a shool system in which approximately half of the city's schools are led my principals with less than three years' experience on the job. Details of efforts by education officials to help these principals survive their early years in this position; The 'Circular Six' provision in the union contract negotiated by the United Federation of Teachers; Discussion of coaching and monitoring programs; Challenges of principalship; Effect of the late state budgets on the long-term planning of principals.

This article reports that Joel I. Klein, the chancellor of the New York City schools, has said that he would rather pay a group of assistant principals to do busywork than to send them to schools that do not want them. At issue are about 50 "excessed" assistant principals who lost their jobs because of school restructurings or other reasons, and who are guaranteed similar positions in the 1.1 million-student district under their union contract.

This article reports that all of New York City's public schools have hired Roger Brown, a Cambridge, England-based expert to evaluate schools's performance to help design a process for judging how well schools make decisions about instruction. Adapted from the school inspections used in England, the quality reviews are slated to become part of a new accountability system in New York in the 2007-08 school year. About 100 of the city's 1,400 schools, including the Prospect Heights international school in Brooklyn have opted to take part in a pilot test designed by Brown. The aim is to balance outputs, such as tests scores with a more qualitative snapshot of how schools are functioning.

The article reports that prosecutors investigating the alleged embezzlement of millions of dollars by leaders of the Roslyn, N.Y., public schools have seized more documents from the 3,300-student Long Island district. The criminal probe of the Roslyn system has been widening since July, when the Nassau County prosecutor filed charges of grand larceny against the district's former superintendent and a former assistant superintendent. Along with a district account clerk charged since then, the suspects stole more than $2.3 million, prosecutors allege.

In most states, becoming a principal requires completion of a training program that includes of mix of coursework and some kind of internship, usually through a college of education. Whether those regimens produce administrators who can improve school performance is, for the most part, anyone's guess, contends Linda Darling-Hammond, an education professor at Stanford University. With a grant of nearly $1.25 million from the New York City-based Wallace Foundation, Darling-Hammond is leading a new study of the effectiveness of training programs for school principals. In examining eight such programs, the scholar's research team plans not only to inspect their content, but also to evaluate the on-the-job performance of people who went through them. about changing the rules that govern how administrators are groomed.

Diana Lam, the known administrator at the forefront of the New York City schools' overhaul of instruction, resigned last week amid accusations that she had helped her husband gain employment in the 1.1 million-student system. The uproar also claimed the job of the system's top lawyer. Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein asked for Ms. Lam's resignation March 8, after talking with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and reading an investigative report on the matter. Mr. Klein, whom Mr. Bloomberg picked as chancellor after the mayor gained control of the system two years ago, chose Ms. Lam to help lead a thorough revision of the system's curricula and governance.

The Wallace Foundation is expanding a 3-year-old initiative aimed at crafting state policies that better support the work of principals, superintendents, and other local school leaders. Through its State Action for Education Leadership Project, the New York City-based philanthropy plans to award a total of $24 million in a new round of three-year grants to as many as 20 states by this summer, as of January 7, 2994. Launched in 2001 with $8.9 million from the foundation, the project so far has supported teams of officials in 15 states in rethinking how their laws and regulations affect the ability of school leaders to improve student learning.

For months, Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein has said he wants to steer more of New York City's best principals to its lowest-performing schools. His remarks have fueled speculation that contract talks with administrators might yield changes in the way the system deploys its school leaders. Officials of the union Council of School Supervisors and Administrators that represents principals and other educational administrators in New York say they have reached a tentative agreement with city negotiators on a contract that includes no other provisions aimed at moving principals around within the 1.1 million-student district. The chancellor suggested paying $25,000 annual bonuses to experienced principals who agreed to spend three years helping to turn around low-performing schools. The plan was for participants in the bonus program to mentor aspiring principals who would take over the schools after the third year. The idea was neglected in the contract talks over whether the bonus money would be pensionable. The change is aimed at creating incentive for educators in the system to move into administration.

Focuses on the training program for principals in Washington D.C. The performance of principals in the program; Tested ways of apprenticing principals in New York City by non profit organization New Leaders for New Schools; Details of the requirements and goals of the training program.

Reports on the appointment of John F. Welch as chairman of the advisory panel of the Leadership Academy of the New York City Schools chancellor Joel I. Klein. Aim of the Academy; Career profile of Welch; Other employees appointed to various posts in the Academy.

Reports on the arrest of Michael Lee Allen Jr. for assaulting boys at residential high schools in New York and New Jersey. Sexual abuses committed by Allen; Robberies and other crimes committed by Allen; Investigations conducted by the police.

Reports that low-income students in New York City who used scholarships to transfer to private or parochial schools outperformed their counterparts who remained in the public system. Significance of the research; Comments from researcher Paul E. Peterson; Information on the students that were studied.

Reports on a proposal by local education officials in Rochester, New York which would give parents a say in the performance evaluation of teachers. Claim of teachers' union that parents shouldn't be evaluating a teacher's use of pedagogy or knowledge of subject matter; Dispute as the last stumbling block to contract negotiations in the area.

Reports on the number of parents who applied for the scholarship program offered by New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in New York. High perception of the need for the program; Feasibility of the scholarship program; Opportunity the program provides for education researchers.

Reports on the scholarship grant available to students from Washington Heights of New York City which will allow them to study at the State University of New York in Stony Brook. Dennis Mehiel as benefactor; Use of donation to ensure that the students receive help they need to get through high school and into college.

Reports that Democratic leaders of the New York Assembly have joined New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and other state and local officials in calling for the elimination of the current school board of the city. Criticism on the district's lack of accountability at its top levels and for political patronage and corruption.

Looks at the views of New York City central administrators to an offer made by the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in New York, on May 16, 1998. Description of a 10-point plan, presented by American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, for improving Public School 63, What the union's plan calls for in terms of class size, literacy programs, professional development and curriculum; The percentages of Hispanic and African-American students at the elementary school.

Presents New York City public schools' utilization of a bilingual approach to deaf education emphasizing the American Sign Language (ASL). Advantage of using ASL; Brief description of the ASL.

Unveils the annual conference of the National Association of Independent School (NAIS), focusing on the relationship between schools and families in New York. Theme of the event; Integration of the lessons of the civil rights movement; Other topics being discussed during the conference; Publications released by NAIS.

Focuses on the scholarship offered by a pro-voucher group to Giffen Memorial Elementary School in Albany, New York, called `A Better Choice' (ABC). Comprehensive improvement plan of the school; Why the school was chosen for the scholarship program; Goals of the ABC.

Presents news briefs on education in the United States. Approval of the Massachusetts state school board for bilingual education; Posting of released sexual offenders in all New York City community school districts; Settlement of the Washington state district of a federal civil rights lawsuit by a former student.