The events of 2003 in Texas were important to the political history of this country. Congressman Tom DeLay led a Republican effort to gerrymander the state's thirty-two congressional districts to defeat all ten of the Anglo Democratic incumbents and to elect more Republicans; Democratic state lawmakers fled the state in an effort to defeat the plan. The Lone Star State uproar attracted attention worldwide. The Republicans won this showdown, gaining six additional seats from Texas and protecting the one endangered Republican incumbent. Some of the methods used by DeLay to achieve this result, however, led to his criminal indictment and ultimately to his downfall. With its eye-opening research, readable style, and insightful commentary, Lines in the Sand provides a front-line account of what happened in 2003, often through the personal stories of members of both parties and of the minority activist groups caught in a political vortex. Law professor Steve Bickerstaff provides much-needed historical perspective and also probes the aftermath of the 2003 redistricting, including the criminal prosecutions of DeLay and his associates and the events that led to DeLay's eventual resignation from the U.S. House of Representatives. As a result, Bickerstaff graphically shows a dark underside of American politics—the ruthless use of public institutional power for partisan gain.

This booklet contains the stories of six teachers who discuss, step by step, how they each handled a specific restructuring challenge in their schools. They describe what strategies worked and what did not, and provide diagrams and checklists to help other teachers. Chapter 1 describes the implementation of a collaborative school-based decision-making project, the Effective Schools Project, at Centreville Elementary School in Fairfax County, Virginia. Chapter 2, "Matters of Time" (Margaret Almony) discusses how time-management techniques were utilized at Ahuimanu Elementary School in Kanehoe, Hawaii, to make time for a Mastery-in-Learning Project and teacher participation in a site-based-management council. Chapter 3, "Seasons of Change" (Laura P. Krich) describes the implementation of a Mastery-in-Learning Project at Diamond Middle School in Lexington, Massachusetts. Chapter 4, "Bringing a New Order to Things" (Jonathan C. Kieffer) describes how Jackson Road Elementary School (in the Montgomery County, Maryland, Public School System) restructured school time to provide for school-based research and faculty collaboration. The fifth chapter, "Pushing Learning beyond the Classroom Walls" (Jeanne Lokar) examines the development of an outcomes-based education (OBE) program at the Richard Mann Building of the Gananda Community School District, in Macedon, New York. The final chapter, "Rising from the Ashes" (Mike Marriam) discusses how failure to initiate a school change facilitated a growth process for Seneca Middle School in Seneca Falls, New York. A glossary and an appendix containing a diagram of systemic school restructuring are included. (LMI)