The purpose of the study was to determine the attitudes of parents of students enrolled in non-IGE elementary schools of the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township, relative to existing educational programs provided in district non-IGE elementary schools, educational alternative preferences for elementary school students, and reporting of pupil progress to parents. The study population consisted of 1,244 parents from the 3,522 households having children enrolled in district non-IGE elementary schools. A survey instrument was developed consisting of fifty-five statement items, each utilizing a Likert scale with forced response. One instrument was sent to parents in each of the 8,522 households having children enrolled in district non-IGE elementary schools.The following summary of the findings is based on an analysis of parent responses received from the study population.1. Most responding parents expressed pride in the Washington Township non-IGE elementary schools and perceived the overall educational program quality of the schools as high, with children learning what parents preferred children to learn in school.2. Parents responding were generally satisfied with child-teacher relationships, student instruction, the degree of respect for individuals in school, and the degree of difficulty of educational materials.3. The majority of parent respondents perceived children as comfortable with the classroom atmosphere, experiencing successful school progress, and eager to go to school.4. Parent respondents generally indicated school rules, regulations, and policies were reasonable and that order and control in school should not be more strict.5. Most parents responding expressed positive attitudes toward existing parent-school relations.6. A majority of parent-respondents expressed satisfaction with the appropriateness of the report card parents received regarding student progress and did not perceive an over emphasis on grades by the school.7. Most parents preferred being kept informed of student progress through the use of parent-teacher conferences and written evaluations. The types of written evaluations most preferred by responding parents were check lists of specific skills in particular subjects and report cards utilizing A, B, C, D, and F grades.8. A majority of parents responding to survey items relative to alternative programs expressed interest in alternative educational programs for children.9. Parent respondents interested in alternative educational programs for children were almost evenly divided in opinion relative to a willingness to have children transported at least thirty minutes each way in order to attend preferred alternative educational programs.10. Parents expressing interest in alternative educational programs indicated a willingness to send children to schools with the following alternative educational programs, in descending order: Continuous Progress, Basic Fundamental, and Creative Arts.11. A majority of the parents expressing an opinion relative to the need for at least one junior high alternative educational program available to all junior high students in the township expressed a willingness to consider sending children to a junior high school with an alternative educational program.Study research and findings support the contention that school officials can advantageously survey parents as a means of securing parental attitudes, views, and expectations to plan more effectively for future educational programs.

The purpose of this study was to examine an intradistrict school choice program in an urban setting through the use of three independent variables regarding school principals' perceptions. The independent variables were gender, years of experience, and the building or grade level assignment of school principals. Another purpose was to examine whether school principals saw positive or negative outcomes in student and teacher performance since the school choice program began. Areas explored included student achievement and behavioral performance, teacher attitude and morale, principal and teacher interaction(to facilitate change), and special education.The study's population consisted of the principals of the Indianapolis Public School Corporation, Indianapolis, Indiana. There were 80 eligible principals. A return rate of 72.58 was gained (58 respondents). The study's population was sent a survey instrument consisting of seven demographic items and 25 Likert-type items with five possible responses (strongly agree, agree, undecided, disagree, and strongly disagree). The items were designed to evaluate principal responses according to the three independent variables mentioned earlier in addition to the other purposes of the study. The instrument was designed by the researcher with the assistance of a jury of veteran principals familiar with intradistrict school choice from Bartholomew Consolidated School District (Columbus, Indiana).A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to determine any significant relationships between the independent variables and principal perceptions about intradistrict school choice. Further, mean data was examined and compared.The following conclusions were drawn from the study's findings:1. A statistically significant relationship was found with principal perceptions by the independent variable of building or grade level on the special education items of student attendance, less parent complaints, and teacher professional development activities as determined by a MANOVA.2. A statistically significant relationship was found with male principal perceptions about principal/teacher interactions within a change environment by the independent variable of building/grade level.3. A statistically significant relationship was found with male principal perceptions about principal/teacher interactions within a change environment by the independent variable of experience level.4. Mean analysis would suggest that there were no changes in student academic or behavioral performance two years of program implementation.5. Mean analysis would suggest some positive change in teacher attitude after two years of program implementation.6. Mean analysis would suggest some positive change in informal principal and teacher interaction to facilitate program change after two years of program implementation. / Department of Educational Leadership