DESCRIPTORS

This paper describes the complex envir^nment of federal, state, and independent agencies within which school districts operate, and suggests how these agencies, with their demands and resources, can contribute to school improvement when local decision-makers use them for this purpose. Features of these external governance and support systems are reflected in the school systems; one example cited is the parallel differentiatiun of spheres of authority in the regulatory and support agencies and of program domains within districts and schools (e.g., compensatory, vocational, and special education). Despite the complex and pervasive influence of these external forces, local decision-makers can work productively with outside agencies, requirements, and resources in the following ways: (1) develop strategies for what they wish to accomplish and how external systems can help; (2) match outside resources to the nature of the p7anned improvement and to the internal resources available