Abstract
The purpose of this study was to measure the effectiveness of the meetings of the Local School Leadership Councils (LSLC) in the four Los Angeles year-round high schools during their first year (1989-1990). The design of this study was a questionnaire ("Meetings" by Matthew B. Miles) survey of perceptions of participants of four Local School Leadership Councils. Differences between teachers' perceptions and other members' perceptions within each school's LSLC was investigated. Differences among the four LSLCs were also examined. The statistical treatment of the data included ranges, percentages, means, standard deviations, t-tests, ANOVA, and Sheffe tests. Overall, the members in all four schools perceived the LSLC meetings as functioning fairly well during their first year. Two of the four schools had the same two areas (Solution Generation and Climate, Sentiments) which indicated significant differences in perceptions between the "teachers" and "others" groups. Teachers perceived the LSLC meetings functioning at a more effective level than did the other members in both cases. All four schools indicated that more time should be spent on problem-solving during the LSLC meetings. Significant differences among the four schools were found in the areas of Decision-Making Effectiveness, Problem-Solving Adequacy, and Commitment (involvement). School A was a performance leader in two areas. Four common areas were found to contribute most positively to meeting effectiveness: A general desire of most members to benefit the schools/students; a published and followed agenda; good, organized leaders; and the selection of committees to assist with the work. Nine common threads ran through the comments of things which hindered meeting effectiveness with the most frequently mentioned being poor parent/community attendance. The schools were performing at a low-average to above-average range in the problem-solving stages of effective meetings during their first year (1989-1990). The LSLCs need to give attention to the following areas: Participation, Resource Utilization; Solution Adequacy, Productivity; and Climate, Sentiments. The problem of lack of commitment (involvement) scored the lowest in all four schools and the LSLCs might consider seeking assistance in the areas of team building and trust formation. Additional research is recommended to assess both attitudes and productivity or outcomes of SBM meetings at varied intervals over a period of time in order to determine changes since change occurs slowly (three to five years).