It used to be that the superintendent and business manager would put their heads together, develop a budget, and present it to the school board for approval. But today, an entirely new approach to budgeting is required—one that supports data-driven, collaborative decision making. There are too many needs and too few resources available to be able to budget effectively any other way. Program priorities must be set, and system stakeholders must help allocate resources with accountability for results.

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has focused school districts on student learning as defined by high stakes tests. Having every student pass these tests is crucial for every school district. If you want your students to pass the high stakes test, the curriculum your teachers teach must be deeply aligned with the test.

This two-day seminar is built around the SchoolView, a diagnostic data-gathering tool that principals and other school leaders can use to gather trend data regarding curricular and instructional practices in the classroom. The purpose of the SchoolView is to provide school-based leaders with observational data for needs assessment purposes, as well as data regarding changes in classroom practices as a result of staff development initiatives. Principals, assistant principals, and district-level administrators will find multiple uses for the SchoolView, as the tool can be tailored according to the specific needs of each school.