This qualitative study examined organizational change including the necessary steps that a large school district took in planning and implementing a reform effort. This project told a story of one school district's experience. The study covered a five year period from 1990 to 1995 in the 30,000 student Salem-Keizer School District of Salem, Oregon. The examination included a description of school board action in 1989 where a staff recommendation to reform middle schools and move sixth graders to middle schools with a seven-eight grade configuration was denied. The study then continued with an examination of the change process during which sixth graders were moved to middle schools, reforms were implemented, three new schools were opened and five schools were remodeled to accommodate the new programs. This reform, however, was not without problems. Those issues were discussed in the study. The retrospective part of the study reflected upon the project through the analysis of district documents and the results of nine field interviews of middle school principals using a set of seven questions designed to reveal the principals' perceptions of the process. The study then triangulated the results of the interviews by examining information from a focus group comprised of Salem-Keizer curriculum directors and staff development specialists who were asked the same seven questions. The study answered the questions: "Did the district do what the community asked it to do in creating middle schools that afford students a more effective educational program?" and "What are the implications for the district in undertaking a major reform effort?" Themes that emerged from the study included the following: organizational change is highly personalized; change should have a literature and research foundation; stakeholders must participate in the change process; communication must be consistent and must be "two way"; one person must be the individual in charge of the change; a change process requires vigilance, constant reevaluation and refinement; staff development is crucial in a change process; and if a district wants new thinking, then new people must help in organization change. / Graduation date: 1997

Currently there is a national policy debate on the issue of appropriate educational programs for language minority students. This study addresses the issue at the state level, asking: Are ESL/bilingual education policies in Oregon school districts providing equal educational opportunity for language minority students? The purpose of the study is to document ESL/bilingual policies in Oregon school districts, and to analyze them in terms of their contribution to equality of educational opportunity. Policy analysis serves as the theoretical framework for the study because of its potential as a synthesizing paradigm for studies in educational administration. The Policy Process Model (Heflin, 1981), incorporates three stages: (a) policy formulation, (b) policy implementation, and (c) policy impact. The research questions correspond to these three stages, and seek to analyze policy in eight areas pertinent to ESL/bilingual education. (1) Identification and assessment; (2) Instructional programs; (3) Primary language usage; (4) Exiting and mainstreaming; (5) Recognition of minority group cultures; (6) Parental involvement; (7) Personnel requirements; (8) Program evaluation. Survey research was chosen as an efficient method of gathering data from a large number of subjects throughout a widespread geographical area. The design of the survey instrument included an analysis of legal and theoretical bases for educating language minority students, expert input, and field testing. The entire population of 305 Oregon school districts was surveyed. A 93.8 percent response rate was obtained. The analysis of data produced the following conclusions: (1) There is a large and growing population of limited-English proficient (LEP) students in Oregon schools. Although most districts provide some type of programs for LEPs, district policy is rarely mentioned as the reason for doing so. (2) Implementation varies widely from district to district, in the absence of clear statewide standards for effective education for language minority students. (3) Only nine percent of districts reporting LEP students implement ESL/bilingual policies that apparently are in complete compliance with federal and state laws. (4) Only two percent implement policies that concur with basic principles for educating language minority students. (5) A district's level of compliance with the laws and concurrence with basic principles do not correlate with district size; rather with numbers or percentages of LEP students in the district.