-
ED 395 384
AUTHORTITLE
INSTITUTIONSPONS AGENCY
REPORT NOPUB DATECONTRACTNOTEAVAILABLE FROM
PUB TYPE
EDRS PRICEDESCRIPTORS
ABSTRACT
DOCUMENT RESUME
EA 027 574
Quellmalz, Edys; And OthersSchool-Based Reform: Lessons from a
National Study. AGuide for Sctool Reform Teams.SRI International,
Menlo Park, Calif.Department of Education, Washington, DC. Office
ofthe Under Secretary.ISBN-0-16-048415-495LC9003500185p.U.S.
Government Printing Office, Superintendent ofDocuments, Mail Stop:
SSOP, Washington, DC20402-9328.Guides Non-Classroom Use (055)
ReportsResearch/Technical (143)
MF01/PC04 Plus Postage.*Educational Change; Elementary Secondary
Education;National Surveys; *School Based Management;
*SchoolDistricts; *School Effectiveness; *SchoolRestructuring;
State Action
This guidebook was designed to be used as a resourceby teachers
and school administrators interested in implementingschool-based
reforms. It provides examples of promising reformstrategies and
lessons learned from a national study of school-basedreform. The
congressionally mandated study of Effective SchoolsPrograms was
conducted by an independent firm for the United StatesDepartment of
Education during the 1991-92 school year. Data wereobtained through
a mail survey of 1,550 school districts, mail andtelephone surveys
of administrators at all state education agencies,and case studies
of reform efforts in 32 schools in 5 states. Thestates included
California, Connecticut, Kentucky, South Dakota, andWashington.
Following the introduction, the recond section describesthe lessons
learned from the case studies. The successful examples
ofschool-based reform shared a core set of characteristics: a
clearfocus on creating more challenging learning experiences for
allstudents; a school culture in which teachers worked
collaborativelyand had a voice in decisions that directly affected
their ability toimprove classroom practice; and opportunities for
teachers andadministrators to gain knowledge and build their
professionalcapacity. The third section provider more detailed
examples ofschools involved in promising reforms. The fourth
section discusseswhat district staff Can do to support school-based
reform: (1) serveas an initial stimulus; (2) assemble resources;
and (3) offer abroader professional forum. Contains an annotated
list of researchand how-to resources. (LMI)
***********************************************************************
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best That can be madefrom
the original document.
***********************************************************************
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LESSONS FROM A NATIONAL STUDYA GUIDE FOR SCHOOL REFORM TEAMS
Edys Quelimals
Patrick M. Shields
SRI International
Michel:pi S. Knapp
University of Washington
With tho assistanco of:
Jorry D. Hamburg
Univorsity of Washington
Leo Anderson
Evelyn Hawkins
Laura Hill
Joan Ruckus
Choya L. Wilson
SRI International
.1J
-
Proparod for:
Planning and Evaluation Serviceoffice of the I .nder
Secretary..S. Department ()f Education
Washinwon. D.C. 20202
199;
This report Was prepared by SRI International pursuant to
Contract NumberI.C9003C001. U.S. Department of Education (Nancy
IA)y, Project Officer).
The views expressed in this report. developed under contract to
the LS.Department of Education. do not necessarily reflect the
position or policyof the Department, and no official endorsement by
the Department shouldbe inferred.
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Acknowledgments
Section 1 - Introduction
vi
1-1
Federal Legislation 1-2
The Purpose of This GuideThe Study of Effective Schools
Programs:The Basis for the Guide 1-3Key Features of Promising
Reforms 1-3
How to Use This Guide 1-4
Section 11 - Practical Advice:Key Features of Successful Reform
Strategies 11-1
A Portrait of South Mission High School:Building on the
Effective Schools Model 11-3
Create Challenging Learning Experiences for All Students
11-6
1. Set High Expectations for All Students 11-8
2. Develop Challenging Curriculum 11-10
3. Consider Alternative Configurations ofStudents and Teachers
11-12
4. Track Student Progress with aRange of Outcome Measures
11-13
Build a School Culture That Nurtures StaffCollaboration and
Participation in Decision Making I1-16
I. Find Ways for Teachers and SchoolStaff to Collaborate on
SignificantChanges Needed in the School II-17
2. Seek Ways to Reformulate the Rolesand Authority of Teachers
and Administrators 11-18
3. Consider Reformulating Staffing, Resources, andTime and Space
to Increase Staff Collaboration 11-20
lit
-
Provide Meaningful Opportunities for Professional Growth II-
)11. kkntily and Primittze the Topics and
Types of Staff Devek)pment That WillPromote the School's Retbrm
Goals 11-21
2. Plan a Coherent. Sustained Program tin. Professional
GrowthThat Will Provkle Time and Expertise Ibr Staff toAcquire.
Implement. and Reflect on New Approaches 11-25
3. Explore a Variety of Methods forDeveloping Expertise
11-26
Summary 11-28
Section III Examples of Promising School-BasedReform Efforts HI-
1
Changing a School from the Classroom Out:Cicely Elementary
III-)The Little Engine That Could: Arbor Elementar: 111-5On the
Way: Empire High School 111-6Too Much. Too Quickly: Attempts to
ChangeEdgemont junior High 111-9Slow Going: The Beginning of Change
inPetersburgh Elementary I11-10Summary 111-12
Section IV Beyond the Schoolhouse:What Districts Can Do to
Support School-Based Reform IV-1
Providing Professional Development Opportunities IV-2Setting and
Waiving Requirements IV-3Managing Forces and Conditions outside
theSchool's Control IV-4Garnering Resources IV-7Summary IV-8
It
-
,I.R.2.1r4.10111,77111rWr.
INTIODUCTION
References R-
Appoodix: Resources sk-1
1 Research Resources A-1
Research on School-Based Reform A-1Case Studies of Successful
Reform A-4
11 1 low-To Resources A-5
Guidelines fc w School-Level Reform A-5
The Role of Principals in School Reform A-11The Role of Teachers
in School Reform A-12The Role of Parents and the Community inSchoc
)1 Ref( wm A-14
Curriculum Reform A-15
Assessment Reti)rm A-20
P".
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c:ASED REFOR., tION1 '1)
41. Cr St 311, WWe wish to acknowkdge the Naluablecontributions
4)1 the lumber, )1 ilk.\\iwking (;naip for the !study I )1Effective
Scho(ils Pn)grams:
celesta Brandon. National Causortiunif Chapter .2 Vale Advisoo
Committees
)I)en t. I ri.silCurry tichind
Richard . Elmore. Harvard 1 !liwisitl.omilliate s'ainal of
Education.lov A. Frechtling. WestatFlenore Freedman.
cgarsuilantReverie catit..e Glenn.
1111VINily .SChogol (y Wm:it/ionAnne T. I Ienderson.
Natianalumnnittee Citi:ens in EducationNlichael Nlurphy. State of
Idaho.Department of EducationFred NI. Newmann. National Ctmeran
Effi!ctive Secondaiy SchoolsJ( )an Shoemaker. State of
Connecticut.Depannwnt Ethic-anonThonlas A. Teewr.
ilivervityArkansas at Little Rock
In addition. we would like 't( I thankRichard I lardebeck of the
TexasEducaticm Agency, Austin. Texas. andthe li)llowing indivkluals
froin theI ',S. Depannlent of Ethication for theirhelpful
k'0111Mentti:
Carol ChelemerBathara OnitesAlicia Coro'Humus (iMAS inTerry
l)(rzierJulie EdmundsRobert KastnerNancy LoyTheresa MahoneyValena
PliskoValerie RogersZulla Miley
Z.. MI 20) GI 3112 3Nir ZWe also wish to thank the members ofthe
panel of pracfitioners whoreviewed the guide:
Mary Cassey-Goldstein. program coor-dinator. Centerjhr
Schools.
truchingkmSteve :happuis. Centml Kitsap SchoolDistria
administrator and jOrmer sw-am/art. school principalCyndi
Curran-Bamburg. special educa-tion teacher lacoina School
DistrictJack Dale. assistant superintendent.Edmmuls .s.choal
DistrictLinda Fishe. elemental). sclmol
Belletile Scho4d DistrictJill I learne. elementaiy directm:
SeattleSchool DistrictWanda Johnson. elementag principal.Bellevue
School DistridGene Nledina. superintendent. PortTownsend School
Districtanda Morrison. assistant high schoolprincipal. South Kitsap
School DistrictLiz Pearson. assistant high school prin-cipal.
Snoquahnie School District
BEST COPY AVAILABLE
-
/ncreasingly, over the past decade. edu-cational reformers have
called fir fun-damental shifts in what takes place inclassrooms and
schools. These argu-ments follow from the now commonconclusion that
our nation's schools are
failing to provide many students with the high-quality education
needed to become responsi-ble citizens and productive workers:
Toacldress this problem, reformers urge reconsid-eration of
traditional notions of schools as insti-tutions with isolated
classmoms where studentsspend fixed periods of time studying
rigidly dif-ferentiated subjects. Instead, new institutionsneed to
be designed. from the bottom up. limit-ed by neither previous
practice nor burden-some regulations. Doing so, the argument
con-tinues. entails deregulating the educational sys-tem and
transferring authority from the federal.state, and even district
levels to schoolsinreturn for accountability for student
results.
These arguments are reflected in nearly everycurrent reform
effort. At the local level, thereare numerms experiments with
school-based
I POD UCT ION^
Thc lessons from this studyshould bc useful in planningand
carrying out thc rcforms
envisioned in thc rcccntfederal education legislationand ongoing
statc and local
school rcform efforts.
Vs.
management strategies (e.g., Dade County. Fla..and Santa Fe,
N.M.). At the state level, strate-gies as diverse as Kentucky's
sweeping educa-tional reform act (KERA) and South Dakota'stargeted
reforms share this common focus onschool-based change. Nati(mally.
there are aseries of coordinated effortsthe ComerSchools,
Accelerated Schools, and the Coalition
-
'iCrtOOtBAEC, .ESSON; A NATIONAL 7DY
( )1. ESsenti I 4 I I I 6.a. tat ..)CUS on the clever()pment of
+chool-level and school-specificitnps etilent strategies.
Federal Legislationsupp n- school-level improvement has
long been .1 Illainst:ly ICtiCral educationagenda. Title I of
the newly enacted Impro itigAmerka's scho(ils Act t N% Inch
amendsChapter I I fl the Elmental). and SecondaryEducation Act t
ESEA). !,trongly encourages theIlse of its hinds h schoolwide
impr()vementefforts in schools with high concentrations
(ifdisadvanuged children. Other pn)grams autho-rized in the new
legislation (e.g.. the Dwight D.Eisenh()wer Professional
DevelopmentProgram) emphasize schoolwide reform andprovide school
staff with flexibility to designand implement school-specific
improvementstrategies. Goals 20(X): Educate America Act.the
federally supported framew()rk for educa-tk)n reform also enacted
in 1994. encouragesand supports school-level change and
directsprofessional development resources to scho()l-level
educators. Both pieces of legislation rec.-ogie that individual
schools are the necessarytargets of successful reform efforts and
thateducators cbsest to the classroom are vital tosustaining these
efforts.
The Chapter 2 program. as reauthorized bythe 1988 amendmems to
ESEA ( P.L. 100-29)and again in IASA (Pt 103-382) in 1994.
isanother example of kderal supp( rt fi)r school-based reform. The
1988 legislation requiredthat states use at least 20 percent of
theirChapter 2 allocations to support EffectiveSchools Programs.
This provision reflectedlessons from the research on unusually
effec-five schools that identified a set of school-levelcorrelates
or characteristics associated withhigher-than-expected student
achievement.The federal goal was to encourage states tosupp)rt
scItool-based reform efforts consistent
1.1
with this research. he Chapter 2 program wasmodified and renamed
in IASA. Title VI(Innovative Education Program Strategies)maintains
the sch(x)l-level fi)ccis ()I the earlierchapter 2 pn)gram but
eliminates the Effective
H Its PIllgrams requirement..These are exciting experiments and
innova-
tive public policies that create new oppIrtuni-ties for k teal
educators to influence the course()I change in tlieit! (iwn
scho()Is. At the sametime. the place a great deal of pressure
onscho()I staff to undertake reform efforts forwhich the often have
neither the preparationnor the resources. A,. with all change
efforts.new opportunities and pressures need to beaccompanied with
!Appropriate assistance andsupport.
Purpose of This GuideThis guide is meant to be a resource
for
teachers and schc)ol administratcws interested inundertaking
school-based refcwms. It prcwidesexamples of promising reform
strategies andlessons learned from a national study of school-based
reform. The remainder of this introduc-tion reviews how the study
was conducted andprovides an Overview of the maim themes thatrun
through the rest of the document. It isimportant to note that the
research that informsthis guide predates IASA and Goals 2000.
Infact. the original study was commissioned inorder to learn
less(ms abc)ut how to improvefederal support for elementary and
secondaryeducation. The lessons from this study shouldbe useful in
i)lanning and carrying out thereforms envisk)ned in the recent
federal educa-tion legislation and ong()ing state and localschool
reform efforts.
(0
-
_The Study of Effective SchoolsPrograms: The Basis for the
Guide
The examples. ideas, and recommendationscontained in this guide
reflect lessons funn acongressionally mandated natkmal study
ofEffective Schools Programs and other sc hoot-based reforms
carried out by SRI Internationalunder contract to the Department
ofEclucation. e study resulted from the kderalChapter 2
legislation. which, as noted above.sum( wted Efkctive Schools
Programs. Data forthe study were collected during the 1991-92sclux
1 year and included:
A mail survey of a nationally representativesample Of 1.550
school districts, in which dis-trict administrators were asked to
respcmd toquestions about district support for school-based reform
efforts and about their imstcomprehensive school-level
improvementefforts.Mail and telephone surveys of all state
edu-cation agencies, in which state-level adminis-trators were
asked to describe reform effortsin their states.Case studies of
reform efforts in five states.16 school districts. and 32 schools.
Theseinvolved on-site visits of appnmimately oneweek, which
included interviews with admin..istrators and teachers. observation
of class-rooms and team meetings, and review of rel-evant
documents. These case studies formthe basis for the vignettes
described in thesecond section of this guide.
The states visited were California.Connecticut, Kentucky. South
Dakota. andWashington. These states were selectedbecause they
covered the range of state schoolreform strategies from traditional
EffectiveSchools Programs (e.g.. South Dakota'sEffective Schools
Program) to change effortspr xnoting iwne fundamental
ret)rganization ofschooling (e.g.. KERA in Kentucky). State
roles
BEST COPY AVAILABLE
and involvement in schools also varied acrossthese states. The
16 school districts and 32schools were located in these states and
wereselected because they. like the sample states.encompassed the
full breadth of differentreforms and demographics. Moreover,
states.districts, and schools were selected with an eyetoward the
lessons they could teach othersalxmt succes.gril reforms. By
agreement withthe local educators who gave so freely of theirtime
and ideas, it was agreed not to publish thenames of any
individuals, schools, or districtsinvolved in the study: therelme,
the namesused in this document are fictitious. A list ofthe
teachers and administrators who reviewedthis report appears in the
acknowledgments atthe beginning of the guide. The research
find-ings and a detaiW description of the methodsused can be found
in the formal technicalreport (Shields et al., 1995).
Key Features of Promising ReformsThe national study showed that
districts and
schools throughout the country were paying agreat deal of
attention to school-based reform.In fact, depending on how one
defines reform.somewhere between a fifth and two-thirds ofthe
districts reported having school-basedreforms under way. For
example. 40 percentof districts reported having reforms that
focusedon increasing student learning, improvingteachers, and
developing schoohvide problem-solving and planning capacity.
Yet, when the researchers actually visitedschools in the case
studies, the amount of mean-ingful change taking place was (Alen
much 1-ss
than advertisedsuggesting that these nationalincidence figures
may overestimate the amountof reform that was actually txturring.
In someschools, reform translated into nothing mcge thanchanges in
teacher routines and meeting times.In many, however, school reform
meant some-thing: a reorganization of school routines to
-
LE5:0'.5 " :M. A -t..:.-
supp(wt learning. new attitudes among teacherst(Avard student
al)ility. inure challenging class-
nn practicvs. and exciting learning experiences1(w students. The
case study data suggest thatthe successfill examples of
school-based retrm-lured a set ( 4 core characteristics:
fear t( us 4 4n reating in, we 4. liallenginglearning
experiences for all students.A 5,-114)(41 culture in which teachers
.A4 wkedcollaboratively and had a voice in decisionsthat direcdy
affected their ability t(1 improve
lassr444)111 practice.4 )PPUrt inn jes for te.ichers and
administratorsto gain knowledge and build their Proles-sic mai
capacity in subject areas. classroompedawigy, and Lkcision-making
strategies.
These three (haracteristics are used to struc-ture much of the
practical advice offered in thesecond section of the guide.
Now to Us. This GuidThis guide is divided into ibur sections.
fol-
lowed by an annotated bibliography. The sec-ond section
describes the basic lessons learnedfrom the case studies in 32
schools across thenation, lessons that reform-minded school
staffshould consider as they seek to improve theirown schools. This
section is organized lw thethree characteristics oil promising
reforms listedabove. The third section provides fuller exam-ples of
schools involved in promising reforms.These portraits are meant to)
help the readerunderstand how the \ark nos haracteristicsreform
work to )gether to) propd a schoo 41 t w-ward. The tburth section
discusses what dis-trict staff can do to support
school-basedreform. Finally, an appendix provides anextensive
annotated list of published resourcesfor practitioners and
researchers alike.
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KEY FEATURES OF SUCCESSFUL REFORM STRATEGIES
PRACTICAL ADVICE:KEY FEATURES OF
SUCCESSFUL REFORM STRATEGIES
rire he schools studied orchestratedltheir reform efforts in
manyways. The catalysts for change.key actors, problems
addressed.strategies attempted. andrest mrces used varied
dramatical-
ly. Although each school's story unfolded inunique ways. some
common elements werediscerned. 'Iltis section extracts from the
casestudies of 32 schoc As lessons that reform-mind-ed schools
might consider incorporating intotheir improvement efforts. It is
important tonote that in many schools that consideredthemselves
involvt'd in reform, little changewas taking place. In other sites,
though,school-based retintn has involved fundamentalchanges in the
daily lives of school staff. Yet,change in some schools was not
necessarilypc)sitive. Without clarity of purpose. cotntnit-ment,
collaboration, support, and leadership,
Without clarity of purpose,commitment, collaboration,
support, and leadership, reformcfforts may sputtcr and die.
Without sustainzd nurturing,enthusiasm may fade
to burnout.
-
re torni
Vr.4,42M SSONS iPOM NA1ICA4.1.
Teachers held highexpectations for all
thcir students.
efforts Illa spLIIICE ,Ind Iii. Withoiasustained nurturing,
enthusiasm nia\ lade it,burnout. lberefore. the prat nt .11 atI\ it
c pro-\ ided in this guide is Lira\\ n irimi the stin which changes
were both signii Rant an(teffective.
In general. the successffil lkreforms studied had three key
features:
( 1) challenging learning experiences forall students
(2) a school culture that nurtured staffcollaboration and
panicipation indecision making
(3) meaningful opportunities forpr()fesskmal growth
The first feature, challenging leamtng experi-ences. tended to
emerge from foil: coordinatedelements. First, teachers held high
expecta-tions f()r all their students, breaking the vicic niscycle
of watered-d(mn curricula FA.achieving students. They shared a
visi()n ofwhat their students coukl achieve and li(Av thesch()( l
w()tikl promote success. Second. theseinnovative prc)grams
presented challengingcurriculum, often in integrated.
interdiscipli-nary curricula. Third, the sclu)ols were explig-ing
an exciting variety of alternative configura-tions of students and
teachers. Founh. s()ineof the schools were beginning to use a
range'of alternative measures to track students'pr(wress. Although
it is too soon. f( r the nu)stpart. to measure the impact of these
reit Wills onstudent achievement, schools were beginningto document
different, 111(11V productive interac-
BEST COPY AVAILABLE
tion patterns among students and teachers inthe dassr()om.
Schools were also beginning toreport changes in equity and access
for all stu-dents to high-quality instruction.
The second key feature observed is that theinc)st successful
scho()l-based reforms devek >pedeffective techniques for
nurturing staff collab-oration and participation in decision
mak-ing. The scho( As created cultures of collegialitylw finding
ways l'or staff and the community towork together on significant
changes.needed intheir schools. Time and funding to supp(mworkint1
groups. access It) it were cornerstones(If successful school-based
ref()rms. Nuallyimportant to shared decision making was
thereformuLation of the roles and authorityexercised by teachers
and administrators.Scale principals welcomed teachers'
c(mtribu-tionsi others gave up control grudgingly. Thesenew
divisions of labor and clout created newresponsibilities and
obligations for school staffbut also strengthened professionalism
andmorale. Leadership for these change processescame from a variety
of sources: teachers, princi-pals, and district or state personnel.
Theadvances in staff c(Alaboraticm and participat(wydecision making
Were often achieved by anarray of creative changes in staffing
patterns andallocations of resources. time, and space.
Providing meaningful opportunities forprofessional growth is the
third major featureshared by successful school-based reforms.
Inthese schools. teachers set staff devel(pmentpriorities keyed to
their vision of the reformgoals in their schools. Typically, staff
develop-ment topics related to technical areas such ascurriculum,
instruction. and assessment. or tomanagerial areas such as
scho()Iwide planningor collaborative decision making. In
someinstances, teacher teams developed strategicplans that selected
staff devek)pment topicsand methods alkming sustained,
coherentimmersion in an area. Forsaking a grab bagof one-session
workshops, teachers sought the
4
-
expertise and time necessary for the schoolstaff to acquire.
implement, and reflect on inno-vations on an ongoing basis. The
methodsused for staff development ranged fir andwide.
Trainer-of-trainers models createdcadres of teacher experts in the
school: team-ing and coaching arrangements allowedschool faculty to
learn from experts and fromeach other: visits to classes in their
Own andother schools allowed teachers to see newideas in action:
alliances with universitiesbrought expertise to the schmls and oppt
muni-ties for growth and advancement to teachers:some schools
pooled resources to share train-ing expenses and persohnel.
Descriptions of lessons learned from the 32schools open with a
view of one school's suc-cessful integration of the three key
elements.Following this complete portrait of one school,the guide
"zooms in" to sets of focusedvignettes that illustrate variations
of these ele-ments found in a number of schools during the1991-92
school year,
A PORTRAIT OP SOUTH MISSIONHIGH SCHOOLs ROILDINO ON Tinmums
SCHOOLS MODIL
The reforms at South Mission High Sc lux)lexemplify a successful
adoption of the EffectiveSchools model, which focused on the
sevencorrelates identified in the body of EffectiveSchools
research: (1) clear and specific purpos-es, (2) strong educational
leadership, (3) highexpectations for students, (4) mastery of
basicskills, (5) frequent monitoring of studentprogress, (6)
positive climate for learning, and(7) partnership with parents and
community.Taking advantage of the many instruments andprofessional
development oppcmunities basedin the Effective Schools research.
school statTimplemented a number of key changes in theschool and
established methods for continuallyimproving their work.
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KEY FEATURES OF SUCCESSFUL REFORM STRATEGIES- -----
The restructuring effirt at South Missitm Highrepresents a
top-down strategy that seemed tobe working. South Mission's
superintendent ini-tiated the refiwm process with a
prepackagedprogram of how the scht)ol improvementprocess sliould
prtweed. South MitiSiOn'sretbrms addressed seven wrals derived from
theseven correlates of Effective Schools detailedabove in the
introduction to the school's portrait.
Seven subcommittees were set up to addressthe goals, and
structured instruments wereavailable to assess needs and progress
towardthe w Ws. At first, the creation of the sevencorrelate
committees by decree left some com-mittees floundering for lack of
a recognizedneed. Although he usually approved, commit-tee
recommendations, the principal made thefinal decisions.
Support for professional growth throughoutthe years, however,
has paid off in teachers'involvement and commitment to
EffectiveSchools tenets. In general, the teachers feltgood about
the changes instituted through theEffective Schools process and
about their abilityto provide input in the process of
identifyingproblems and solutions.
11.3
Teachers at South Mission Hightook responsibility foreffective
instruction andongoing improvement.
-
P.A.ED .ESSONS F.?..-um A NATIONAL STUDY
The reforms at South Mission I Ugh permeat-ed classrooms.
creating challenging learningexperiences for all students. The
school culturewas one of high expectations for students anda belief
that all students can learn. The schoolclimate and sense of
pers(mal safety hadimpr )ved. and the needs of the increasing
lim-ited-English-prt)ficient yulation Wert! beingaddressed. There
tv:ts still little evidence of
coordinated curriculum planning. but partidpa-tion of teachers
from various disciplines on thecorrelate committees had lxigun to
stimulateinterest in interdisciplinary collaboration. Someteachers
were not positive about eliminatingtracking. but they recc)gnized
research support-ing it and sought additional training in
theteaching l heten)genec pnpulat ions.
Context South Mission High School, with 2,200 students, is
located in what oncewas a predominantly rural, white, agricultural
area that over the past decadehas experienced rapid growth,
particularly in the number of Latino students (whonow make up a
third of the district's enrollment). In 1987, the newsuperintendent
led the district into the Effective Schools process. The district
hasreduced the number of district and school staff coordinators of
programs andpassed categorical funds directly to the schools and
teachers. At SouthMission High, federal Chapter 2 funds are used
for tutorials and staffdevelopment.
CreatingChalengingLearningSituationsfor aChangingPopulation
MakingDecision:Together
The first set of reforms relate to classroom practices. A
"Welcome Center"has been created as a transitional period for new
immigrant students toexpose them to basic English and the rules and
procedures of American highschools. These students also now have
access to a series oi English as a SecondLanguage and bilingual
classes. An extra tutoring session has been set up andbusing
schedules adjusted to accommodate students who stay late for
thesesessions. Teachers assert that the most rnportant change has
been thereaffirmation that all students can learn. Throughout the
school, teachers hovechosen to eliminate tracking, with the
exception of the advanced.placementcourses and the Welcome Center.
If students are not succeeding, it is theresponsibility of the
teacher to modify his/her instructional practices. Teachersreport
that classroom observations have focused the entire school on
improvinginstructional practices.
Despite the decline in average family income over the years,
student scores onthe standardized tests continue to rise, with
current performance in the 79thpercentile for reading and the 81st
for math.
Teachers work together to improve South Mission by serving on
seven teacher.staffed subcommittees, each of which assesses how
well the school is doingregarding that committee's mission. They
forward their recommended changes
1 6
-
Teachers at South Mission High took responsi-bility for
effective instrucUon and ongoingimprovement. Tests of student
achievementsupported the success of this refwm effort.
LearningtoChong.
KEY FEATURES OF SUCCESSFUL REFORm STRATEGIES
South Misskm I figh illustrates how oneschool integrated the
three key features of suc-cessful school-based relmm. The
sectionsbelow offer practical advice linked to each ofthe three key
features, and selected igneuesdescribe specific approaches used by
the casestudy scho(thi.
to the school council, then to the principal. The first set of
reforms addressed
safety and school climate. To reduce the number of students out
of class at the
same time, a split lunch period has been created. The campus is
closed to
outsiders, and a student leadership team discusses concerns
among different
student groups. Another vehicle for collaboration has been eight
observations of
teachers by administrators per year. Teachers report that these
have opened up
communication between the administration and teaching staff
about classroom
matters.
Over the years, the superintendent has taken board members,
buildingadministrators, district administrators, the teachers'
union leader, one elementary
teacher, the high school Effective Schools council members, and
department
chairs out of state to a four-day annual workshop on Effective
Schools. All staff
ore required to go through Effective Schools training, and
principals are
evaluated on the extent to which the seven correlates are
present in their schools.
In the first year, administrators conducted eight classroom
observations per year;
the second year, the school added a needs assessment; the third
year, the
Effective Schools council and committees were established.
Two-thirds of the
teachers now actively participate in either the council or the
correlate
committees. Besides the Effective Schools summer conference,
seven pupil-free
days are devoted to staff development each year. The topics for
three of these
days are chosen by the school. Teachers have been trained in
Effective Schools
correlates, particularly thc all students can succeed. They hove
read research
on student grouping and the adverse effects of tracking.
Teachers receive
release time to participate in the school council and funds for
summer curriculum
development and participation in state pilot projects.
To provide practical examples of specific reforms such as
mastery learning and
detrocking, teachers were given the opportunity to see such
efforts in action at
other school sites.
JEST COPY AVAILABLE
II-s1"v
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,:1-10(7.1 bASED e:SONS NATIONA,
CREATE CHALLENGING LEARNING EXPERIENCES FOR ALL STUDENTS
1. Set High Expectations for All Students
2. Develop Challenging Curriculum
3. Consider Alternative Configurations of Students and
Teachers
4. Track Student Progress with a Range of Outcome Measures
The hean of school reform is the improve-ment Nt Went learning.
If school-l\v,vdreform does not affect classroom practices.
iIIelf(ms will he for naught. Although this claimmay seem obvious.
according to the study, asmany as 20 percent of the reform
eff(wtsnationwide do not appear to be changing stu-dents classroom
experiences. however. in thebest examples of school reform. changes
ingoals. curricula instrucUon and teaching. andassessment were
significant. Teachers werequeStioning their traditkmal approaches
toinstruction and learning, and investing signifi-cant time and
energy to design new methodsfor reaching their students.
Schools placed increased emphasis on NW-dents' acquisition of
higher-order reasoningstrategies and computer literacy. Students
with
Ncwcr curricula tended toemphasize thc processes of
solving problems and thinkingcritically rathcr than simply
gctting one right answer.
BEST COPY AVAILABLE
these new curricuki fonind that they wererequired to think in
different ways alx)ut thesubjects they studied. More was required
ofthem than filling in the blanks on a mimeo-graphed worksheet or
answering the questionsat the end of the chapter. Rather than
regurgi-tate facts, students analyzed significant phe-nomena. made
extensive comparisons, devel-oped interpretations. drew
conclusions, andevaluated issues. Newer curricula tended
toemphasize the processes of solving problemsand thinking
critically rather than simply gettingone right answer.
Schools replaced traditkmal subject-mattertreatments with more
integrated, engaging cur-ricula. Thematic. interdisciplinary
curricula andextended blocks of time were being designedto allow
in-depth exploration of significantthemes and content.
Manipulative mathematics, hands-cm science.issues-centered
history:social science, literature-based reading. and process
writing havebrought with them new
classr(xmiriteractions.Instructional practices included all
students inactive, collaborative activities. Cooperativelearning
and clustering arrangements have revi-talized the settings in which
students learn andthe ways they work with one another.Students in
sites implementing these types ofchanges did not spend the entire
school dayworking in isolation. Especially at the elemen-tary
level, students were seated, not in rowskicing the teacher. but in
clusters of lc Air or
16
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five. Employing cooperative learningapproaches. teachers in
these classroomsassigned roles to individuals that would
enabletheir group to accomplish a task. At some ofthe middle and
high schools, groups of stu-dents shared four or five teachers.
promotingcloser relationships than were possible in thetraditi(mal
setting.
The design of the study did not all(m fc )1.definitive
evaluation of the impact of specificclassroom changes on students.
l'nfortunately,in nu)st Of these sites, assessnwnt issues werestill
in flux, With staff at many schoi As skepticalabout standardiwd
tests but not yet wedded toalternative forms of assessment. There
wereindkations, however, corroborating a growingbody of literature
from other research, that the
Cooperative learning andclustering arrangements have
revitalized thc settings in whichstudcnts learn and the ways
they
work with onc anothcr.
-
100t EASED REFORM LtSSONS FROM A NATIONA,
1. Set High Expectations for All Students
High standards
Emphasis on problem solving and critical thinking
Flexible behavioral standards
Heterogeneous grouping
Deveiopmental appropriateness
Sch(K)Is were conveying their high expecta-tions l( )r all
students in a variety of ways.Challenging perfonnance standards
were beingNo for what ail students slunild he ahle to do.These
perf()Fmance standards emphasizedstrategic reasoning, rather than
memorization of(Invent knowledge. Rigid rules for silent.
indi-vidual seatwork were being replaced by flexi-Ne guidelines for
buzzing. interactive groupwork. Tracking was giving way to
heteroge-neous groups of high- and low-achieving stu-dents workMg
k)gether. Learning envinwimentswen. beccnning more developmentally
appro-priate by easing the transition from single-teacher.
self-omtained classrocnns.
Setting high standards is (me aspect ofscho()Is high
expectations fm their students.Successful reforms were integrating
lists of dis-crete objectives and minimum competenciesinto
statements of what students slunild knowand be able to do. No
longer were thesescho()Is promoting breadth of coverage Overdepth
of inquiry. Performance standards werebeing set that represented
challenging, yetattainable. accomplishment rather than mini-mum
competency.
A hallmark of reform efforts is an emphasison problem solving
and critical thinking.Goals have shifted from emphasis on facts
tostrategies for using inflymaticm to solve prob-k.ms and think
critically. The call for address-ing ream ming comes both fro An
extensive testresults indicating that students are not per-
trming well on complex tasks and fro nuextensive research that
indicates that all stu-
dents can teat n strategies. In fact, relegatinglower-achieving
students to -drill and kill-denies those students opportunities to
learnstrategies t'or reasoning. Consequently.research supports
teaching problem solvingand critical thinking to all students, as
well asintegrating students of all achievement levelsinto
challenging curricula.
Changes in school staffs belief's were notlimited to raising
expectations about- achieve-ment. In some sites, flexible
behavioral stan-dards were revising standards kw -proper-classroom
behavk w and the conditions neces-sary for learning. Along with
more challenginglearning goals, teachers were revising their
per-ceptions of how students should behave. AsOne teacher noted,
-There's more a sense nowof making education more fun for
kids.Teachers are more likely to feel that it is okayto be noisy in
the classroom lwhen students arecollaNwating on a project!:
Teachers were rec-ognizing that behavioral expectations should
beflexible enough to allow for students to interactas they
learn.
School staff took seriously the research find-ings supporting
the benefits of heterogeneousgrouping. Teachers involved students
ofmixed achievement levels in collaborativelearning and peer
tutoring activities. Schoolseliminated the long-used practice of
placinghigh-achieving students in groups or classesseparate from
km-achieving students.
)(14 0
-
Another form of changing expectations isthe developmental
appropriateness ofclassroinn content and organization.Particularly
in middle schools, classroom envi-ronments and subjects were being
reconfig-ured by combining subjects such as languagearts and social
studies into two-hour core sub-jects or by creating "schools within
schools- tosoften the often painful transitkm from ele-mentary to
secondary school and from child-hoc xi to early ackAescence.
iigh expectations fm all students, then, areevident in a variety
of reforms. These includeemphasizing critical thinking, strategies
for rais-ing students' expectations for themselves. and
KEY FEATURES OF SUCCESSFUL REFORM STRATEGIES
mechanisms for eliminating segregated anddiluted instruction for
lower achievers. AtSouth Mission High School, teachers
eliminatedtracking after studying theoiy and research,then
observing in schools where heterogeneousgrouping was being used.
Teachers also reflecthigh expectations by applying flexible behav-k
mil standards to fit the learning activity andusing appropriate
teaching methods to supportstudents' devek)pmental needs.
The Cobblestone Elementary student population shifted over the
past 10 years frommostly white to 25 percent minority. The school
is now a Chapter 1 site where most families,although not on
welfare, are "eking out a living." Although the district had a long
history ofteaching "the three R's," it was rocked out of
complacency by poor showings on the newstate mastery tests. These
test results stimulated the staff to take a hard look at how
theywere teaching. Despite their initial suspicion of any ideas
promoted by the state,Cobblestone staff responded so positively to
a presentation of the Effective Schools reform bystate educators
that the decision to adopt the initiative was unanimous bolstered
by thelow cost to the school and the provision of technical
assistance from the state.
The state facilitator recognized that the Cobblestone staff had
been working hard to helpstudents achieve, yet found that they were
working on outdated ideas. The state facilitatorserved as a
catalyst for teachers to rethink their views of students by
presenting research evi-dence of the successful implementation of
approaches such as cooperative learning and het-
erogeneous grouping practices. The staff began to look at the
effects of environment on stu-dents and came to a consensus on the
goal that high-risk students who spend five years atCobblestone
will experience success.
Cobblestone defined a new mission statement: "G.R.E.A.T." became
the acronym forGrow, Respect, Educate, Achieve, Together, with Tony
the Tiger as the sChool mascot. Thelanguage arts program abolished
its three-track reading groups, replaced basal readers
withhigh-quality children's literature, and is beginning to focus
on strategic reading approaches.As a result, 100 percent of the
school's low-income students score above ihe remedial
level,compared with 53 percent in 1986. At first, the principal was
surprised when the state facil-itator claimed that the progress of
the low-income students was the real measure of theschool's
success. Now, the school is inundated with requests from visitors
curious to see how
the school has managed to be successful with at-risk
students.
II.9
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Fr ORM ltSSONS FROM a 4AfICIP1it iTUDY
2. Develop Challenging Curriculum
Depth over breadth
"Integrated/interdisciplinary
Techrcioay
Curriculum reforms tended to emphasizedepth over breadth, 01.ten
tils nigh interdisci-plinary, integrated thematic units. These
cur-ricula also presented authentic activities inwhich students
applied concepts in meaningfule4intexts. In ;I unit on local riveN
and streams,Ii ir example. 'students interweaved their study(it
science. mathematics. and sockil science asthey measured
pollutants: considered econom-ic. environmental, and social costs
of alternativesolutions: and prepared reannmendations forthe water
commission. These challenging cur-ricula emphasized problem solving
and criticalthinking, often having students synthesize
theirinquiries in oral or written presentations. Insome schools,
technology both presentedengaging activities and suppmed
c(Alaborationand writing.
Key to these successfulcurriculum changes has been
the time and support provided totcachcrs for staff
development
and release timc to plan,develop, and observe.
BFT "'15YAVAILA
It-te
At Bridge Middle School, interdisciplinaryteaching teams and
integrated curriculum aretwo major components of the school's
vision.The formation of teaching teams with commonpreparation times
facilitated the development ofsuccessful integrated curriculum
units. Whileconsidering how to reformulate existing units,
thesocial studies teachers recognized the potentialof the
seventh-grade Renaissance unit for interdis-ciplinary teaching. One
of the teams, consistingof math, science, language arts, and social
stud-ies teachers, chose to develop the unit. Eachteacher took the
lead in deciding how curriculumgoals for his or her subject could
apply to theRenaissance period. History text informationwas
augmented with a computer simulation ofthe Black Death, filmstrips
on the Middle Ages,and videos on Newscasts from the Past andCastles
and Cathedrals. Language arts goalswere addressed by reading and
performingplays and skits, researching and writing
reports,developing timelines, and making crafts.Students might read
"A Proud Taste for Scarletand Miniver" or "The Door in the Wall,"
ballads,and other poetry and short stories of the times.In math,
the major project was the constructionof castles to scale,
requiring calculations such asperimeters, areas, and volumes. In
science, stu-dents studied health and hygiene, includinginformation
on contagious diseases then andnow, and compared epidemics like
AIDS andthe Black Death. Teachers from physical educa-tion, music,
and art also participated by present-ing activities in their
subject areas related to theRenaissance.
The unit culminated with schoolwide eventsinvolving Renaissance
activities. Students, teach-ers, and parents went for a night to
a.commer-cial establishment called Medieval Times, wherethey had a
traditional medieval feast and weretreated to a jousting
tournament. The seventh-graders also planned a Medieval
TournamentDay and a Medieval Faire Day. Tournamentevents included
Dress a Knight, Musical Chairswith period music, Tug-O-War, Rescue
a Damsel,
-
KEY FEATURES OF SUCCESSFUL REFORM STRATEGIES
880 Yard Joust (dash), a Sack Race, and Javelin sentations, and
collaborative skills were improv-
Toss. The Faire involved plays (English litera- ing and that
students were becoming very activeture), bartering of medieval
items (math and and persistent in their learning activities.
"Theysocial studies), and exhibitions of "creative approach things
more logically than their peers
anachronisms" (science and social studies). In other classes,"
she remarked. The teacher
The authoring team piloted the unit, which plans to develop
additional thematically integrat-was so successful that all
seventh-grade teams ed units and to make more use of
videotaping.
are using it. The unit hos been modified toaccommodate student
needs and share teacher A move middle school, MeA Ivey,resources.
For example, a language arts developed interdisciplinary units
around the
teacher with a specialty or preference for a par- themes of
Pride in Place, Uniqueness andticulor novel might switch teams to
teach that Commonality, Communication, Independence
novel. and Dependence, Interdependence, andChange. Students also
worked on a
Heartland Elementary is developing the HyperCard-based
(computerized) adventurefirst computer-assisted classroom in its
stote, fund- game in which they could be in one of five civi-
ed by a grant of $35,000 from the district. A lizations selected
to reflect the ethnic/culturalconsultant from the state technology
project, situ- backgrounds of McAlroy students. Studentsated in
Heartland's city, periodically visits the worked in teams of two in
social studies classes
classroom to offer assistance with hardware and to research the
occupations, past times, govern-
software needs. ..,.A,... - : :.: 4, ment, lanc3uage,
measurement systems,. trading
A randomly assigned group of fourth-graders Sistenii, homes,
fOod, clothing, religion, dirnate,started in the classroom in the
fall of 1990 and geOgral forms of transportation, ; 11*..-..;-
..-:1will stay together through the end of sixth grade. weapons
tools, and historic lijures/*Sonti'OfIn the first year of the
experiment, the teacher., ;4:each period. Inkmpage-arts
claskiitticlents .1
abandoned basal readers and spelling and- '-''..".:riiiiiiir
aiia iliscusied the elinentiOf tin elife .- .il
handwriting texts in favor of a literature-based !.-4:rdventite
and created overall story lins, faiths
the computer, including other subjects as We as -:', k.' 14- 'Me
Hipeirdirel incl.'''. 'reading approach. Students write
extensiveW"on'..*' ri;i14ini4: .W.iiirli -Clalig 'Mks. 1
literature. .The teacher reported students' kei=.:".boarding
speeds of '30 words per minute,"Coiii:.
.st' 4 -. 1.;°.. :, .4`.1.1.11 ' ....r,r
'1.'7.1)L.4440 1, st;v4. :r.,K," Nigix ..-*J itc4
s nu
4 . ,i',,I, i:L''''1,...
..4 .
pared with 10 hondWritten words per rnintisi: .,'e, .1 10,-1
41::41A 4,:.i
f I: % u .. '" S"". II 14
, n .',i
science, students Were using Voyage of the Mirni...., ,... 110
44'.
r Ir.- In: ws
and writing about their studies. Som. studeins ''.14 . : t:A.71
. .; ! Eq., :- . " 0^:44A VEAwere using the coMputer simulation
Logo Logo tobuild machines such cis a merrygo-round, wash-ing
machine, ccinieiar belt, or robotic .arMi'ATdesktop publishing
program allows students tOdevelop creative presentations of their
comPoii="tions and projects.
Students have made significant gains on Stan- . .7dardized
achievement tests in all subject areai nnand in comparison With a
control group of the '51tri, icfkinal.
., 47 ,-...r ,,,,,,, ., ee- -',school's same-grade noncomputer
classrooMi. '..6'-' nificant 4
The teacher noted that students' writing, oral pre:' '''''-
.i.A.:,. ,: ,.4,1,4
. . ..
:7-1."1.WOS.
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23BEST COPY AVAILABLE
-
tAr.D REF'f'RFA .E::ONS FROM A NATO'4A1. UDV
3. Consider Alternative Configurations ofStudents and
Teaskors
Block Scheduling
Teom Teaching
Collaborative Learning
Along with new curricular apprcmches havecome new ideas alnnit
(nganizing students andteachers days. For example. block
schedulingwas impletnented in several of the schools.Rather than
all(icating .to) minutes per day to aNubject. block scheduling
reserves more time(usually about two hours) for students to
investi-gate topics in greater depth. This approach is inconcert
with the Coalition of Essential Schools'philosophy that "less is
more": the school expe-rience for students becomes less fragmented
ifthey concentrate on learning a few things well.The extended time
periods require students toapproach the curriculum in a different
manner.According to teachers at some of the case studysites, block
scheduling had worked well in
Cubberley Elementary has become a dis-trict demonstration site
for a new learningCenter designed io serve mainstreamed stu-dents
with special needs. The Learning Centerstarted as a district
response to a state compli-ance review requirement to mainstream
spe-cial education students. The school was cho-sen as the pilot
site partly because the princi-pal and a number of the staff were
specialeducation certified personnel. As the majorspark for the
change effort, the principalarranged two days of in-service
training for allstaff on the concept. The Learning Center hasfour
fulkime special education and unassignedregular teachers known as
the TeacherAssistance Team (1m). These teachers teachcooperatively
with 11 of the 16 regular class-
science, where they now had time to d( Inc wethan set up the lab
equipment bk,.1( we the less( wovas (wen It had also worked \\.ell
in languagearts. where students could read literature, discusstheir
reactions and interpretations in depth. andengage in thoughttill
writing.
In most Of the instances of block scheduling.teachers engaged in
team teaching, w(wkingtogether in interdisciplinary teams. Often,
stu-dents fn nn two grades worked together. CicelyElementary. for
example. divided its studentsinto multiage -quads.- where f(nir
teachers des-ignated two rocnns for integrated thematic sd-ence
curriculum, reserving the other two momsfor technology and science
labs.
Collaborative learning and cross-age andpeer tutoringkey
instructional strategies thatintegrate students previously
relegated to pull-out programs such as Chapter I or special
edu-cation into the "regular" classroomsprovidedanother
reconfiguration of students stimulated byschools' commitment to
challenging curriculumfor all students.
,r
11-12
room teachers, making it possible to reducedramatically the
number of student pull-outs.The TAT, which previously had a pro
brmafundion in referrals to special education, nowserves as a quick
turnaround mechanism forobserving students with learning problems
andrecommending interventions. Teachers andadministrators at
Cubberley emphasize thatthe Learning Center is available to, and
usedby, all teachers and students as a learningresource. After some
initial resistance anduncertainty, the faculty now seems to
supportthe new program. The program serves as aprototype for the
district. Two more school-were scheduled to adopt the program
in1992-93; all schools in the district were sched-uled to have
learning centers by 1993-94.
-
4. Track Studnt Progress with a Rang ofOutsam. Measures
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT FEATURES
Authentic, integrated tasks
Multiple interpretations
Focus on process
Collaboration
Ongoing assessment
TYPES OF ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
Portfolios
Projects
Investigations
In a few of the sites, school-level staff weremoving ahead with
alternative curricula withouthaving developed appropriate
alternative testinstruments, thereby creating difficulties.Teachers
were becoming conscious of the lim-its, uses, and impacts of
traditional testing.
In particular. teachers appeared concernedthat limitations of
standardized tests did notallow students to fully demonstrate their
knowl-edge. The complex, authentic, integrated tasksin which
students use inquiry and critical think-ing tend to pose problems
that allow multipleinterpretations, not one right answer.
Regular and critical analysis ofstudent 13rogress was built
into
thc reform effort.
'IL777177, ,
KEY FEATURES OF SUCCESSFUL REFORM STRATEGIES
Furtherm(we. the thinking processes studentsuse have become
assessment targets that arenot measured well by traditional tests.
In manyof the new curricula, students collaborate andmake group
presentations of what they havelearned. Consequently, collaboration
and pre-sentatk m skills represent additional assessmenttargets not
measured by traditional tests.
To measure the expanded outcomes of thenew curricula. teachers
are seeing the need forthe inclusion of performance or
alternativeassessments as well as frequent tracking ofprogress.
Although the maiority of the sites hadnot yet obtained. designed.
or implementedthese new assessments. some sites did have inplace
student assessments that differed from thetraditkmal, standardized
multiple-choice tests.Building on the lead of large-scale
writingassessments, writing portfolios were becomingmore common as
a method of assessing perfor-mance in language arts. The portfolios
allowongoing assessment of student progress On arange of projects
and investigations through-out the year, rather than an annual,
brief look.
In two of the case study states, statewideperformance
assessments in mathematics, sci-ence. and social science were also
under devel-opment. Portfolios of classroom assignmentswere
components of both of these assessmentefforts. In some of these
sites, it was difficultto ascertain whether the curricula led to
theassessment instruments or whether the assess-ment drove the
curricula. Some local-level staffwere revamping curricula to align
them withthe new tests. When interviewed, teachers andprincipals
praised the tests and stated that-teaching to the test" was clearly
desirablebecause the tests measured the most significantelements of
the curriculum.
II13
-
CHOOL BASED REFORM LESSONS FROM A NATIONAL STUDY- _- - -__
Other forms of student assessment were seenin some areas. Some
teacher teams developedmore traditional forms of tests but tailored
themto their curricula. eachers using masterylearning and
outcome-based e(ucation pr()-grams might take this appn xich.
Qualitativeforms of assessment that call for more teacherjudgment
were also being tried. Narrative eval-uations rather than typical
repcnt cards werebeing developed in the elementary grades. Inthese
narrative report cards, teachers mightwrite comments about a
student's progress inreading mre challenging books as well ascheck
off proficiency levels that described thestudent's reading along a
continuum of cate-gories ranging from emergent to
developing.competent. and independent reader.
Looking carefully at test results for variousgroups of students
was another tack taken bysome of the schools in the study. In
particular,progress of lower-income, special-needs.
andlimited-English-speaking populations was beingexamined to
determine the impact of detrack-ing and in-class service models.
The case stud-ies identified schools at three stages of assess-ment
reform. In one set of schools, evaluationand a focus on student
outcomes were virtuallynonexistent. Their reforms were often just
get-ting off the ground, and school staff had notyet focused their
efforts on evaluations. In asecond set of schools, teachers were
consciousof the need to assess student outcomes, butthey believed
that the tests being used in theschoolstypically standardized,
multiple-choiceinstrumentswere inappropriate to measure
the effects of their new approaches to instruc-tion. Even when
schools and districts wereexperimenting with alternative forms of
assess-mentincluding portfolios of student work
andperformance-based assessmentteachers werestruggling to
understand and interpret thesenew measures. In these cases, the
focus onstudent outcomes was often mirt. in discus-sions about
appropriate measures. in a thirdset of schools, regular and
critical analysis ofstudent progress was built into the
reformeffort. Many of these schools had begun byfollowing the
Effective Schools model, with itsclear outcome focus and regular
cycle of needsassessment. planning, and evaluation. Theywere
beginning to use new forms of assess-ment as additional evidence of
their students'achievement, as the following
examplesillustrate.
114 4
The first-grade report cardshave bcnchmarks that spccifywhat
students arc expected to
attain. The school is working toimplement rcport cards at
allgrade levels that arc alignedwith thc curriculum goals.
26
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At Ross Primary, approximately 110 chil-dren were randomly
selected to participatein a nongraded, multiage,
developmentallyappropriate primary program. Five staffmembers
volunteered to teach the pilot pro-gram. The team is developing
integratedthematic units, whole language units, and acurriculum
monitoring/student assessmenttool, the narrative or continuous
progressrecord. The new report.cards focus on stu-dents'
developmental progress. Studentsare assessed on component areas
withineach subject. language arts includes read-ing and writing,
listening (following oraldirections and comprehending oral
lan-guage), and speaking (expressing ideas incomplete sentences and
contributing to dis-cussions). Social studies includes
compre-hension of the significance of selectedevents in history,
identification of geographi-cal concepts and facts, and
demonstratedunderstanding of the individual's role in thefamily and
community. Rather than receiv-ing letter grades based on on average
oftest scores, students aro rated "E" for emerg-ing, "P" for
progressing, or "M" for master-ing. Also noted on the report card
areactive participation in art, media, music,and physical
education, coupled with vari-ous indicators of social and emotional
&vel .opment, such as a positive self-image, inter-action with
peers and adults, and adapta-tion to changes in school routine.
There aresections for handwritten comments from theclassroom
teachers and other special area
E 1, FEATURE& OF SUCCE5SFUl REFOIM STIATEGIES
teachers. The principal sent a draft of thenarrative report card
home to parents andheld a meeting, which 25 to 30 parentsattended.
Currentli, the school is institutinga longitudinal por olio that
will gather a stu-dent's work over the course of three years.
The tAcAlroy School (grades 6-8) teacherteams have designed
their own student assess-ment instrument to be used in lieu of the
districtreport card. The instrument takes into accountprocess as
well as outcomes, and includes anarrative description of student
progress.Students are assessed at the end of each the-matic unitsix
times during 1990-91. Pre andpost comparisons of McAlroy's first
yearshowed improvements in students' attitudestoward school and
learning.
Birch Elementary teachers break downscores on districiwide tests
by grade andinstructional area. The school uses the infor-mation to
adjust its instructional program. Inaddition, there are regular
classroom assess-ments and quarterly report cards. The first-grade
report cards have benchmarks thatsmtcify what students are expected
to attain.The school is working to implement reportcards at all
grade levels that are aligned withthe curriculum goals. To provide
informationon Effective Schools correlates and theschool's
identified Essential Elements ofInstruction, the district
administers an EffectiveSchools survey annually. The results aro
usedto identify areas that need attention.
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SCHOn. BA(. OFFORM SSONS FlIOM A NATIONAL STUDY.-
BUILD A SCHOOL CULTURI THAT NURTURES STAPP COLLABORATION
ANDPARTICIPATION IN DICISION MAKING
1. rind Ways for Teashom and !WNW Waft I. Collabsrateon
SIgnifkant Changes Needed I. the Umbel
2. Seek Ways I. Ihsformelato the Roles and Authority of lbanhers
and Administraton
3. Consider Reformulating Staffing, amens's, Thom,and Space to
increase Staff Collaboration
Perhaps the mo)st common compoment ofsclwol-based reform found
in this study wasorganized efforts to) increase interaction
andconmninication among teachers and betweenteachers and school
administrators. Collegialcollaboration, of course, is a central
strategy ofthe Effective Schools model, based on researchthat shows
that unusually effective schools aremarked by productive
communication and jointwork among staff members.
The shift to shared decision making, respon-sibility, and
authority creates new opportuni-ties and pressures for many school
staff. Onissues surrounding curriculum and instruction,teachers
bring their technical training andclassroom experience to the
table. Strategiesfor productive collaboration in planning
andteaching, however, pose a challenge for some.
Successful school-basedreforms deve/oped ways for
school staff and administratorsto focus on significant
changes
needed in the school.
For issues of school governancei.e., runningthe schoolteachers
seek strategies for effi-cient management and shared decision
mak-ing. Administrators contribute their trainingand experience in
these areas, but they strug-gle to share authority and facilitate
conflictresolution.
Three strategies seemed key to building aschool culture that
nurtures teacher collabora-tion and shared decision making. First,
suc-cessful school-based reforms developed waysfor school staff and
administrators to focus onsignificant changes needed in the
school.Second, the school reformulated the rolesand authority o:
teachers and administratorsto facilitate shared decision making for
goals,plans, implementation, and monitoring. Third,the schools
designed quite different alloca-tions of staff, resources, time,
and space topromote the joint work of staff.
When the pieces came together, teachers andadministrators
reported newfound enthusiasmand rapport. "We're a family." "We're
in thistogether." The advice below draws on theirexperience.
11.1h
BEST COPY AVAILABLE
28
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I. rind Ways for Tachers and Sawa Staff teeCollaborate en
Significant Cleavages Needed I.the Sawed
Informal arrangements Councils Committees
The ways staff collaborate may be informaland unstructured,
growing fixmn an innovationpiloted by a few enthusiasts. In other
cases.such as South \fission I ligh's Effective Schoolsapproach.
formal committees and proceduresare created as part of a
programmatic reformblueprint. The creation of a leadership
councilor some form of scho(il-based decision makingwas quite
common in the case study schools.Committees and task forces focused
on
KEY FE MIMI S OF SUCCESSFUL REFORM STRATEGIES
specialized areas of interest and expertise: Theformat (4
interactions appeared less importantthan the degree to which school
staff felt own-ershipthat they initiated or controlled thechange
process. The surveys and interviewsrevealed that two-thirds of
sclux A-based reformefforts were initiated at the state and
districtlevels. but the most successful ones weredesigned and
mirdinated on a day-to-day basisby school staff. Certainly, the
mere existenceof these mechanisms to stimulate interactiondoes not
guarantee that involvement will takeplace, but the successful
retbrms studieddevised a number of promising strategies.
Cicely Elementary's reforms began when ...he school year by a
leadership team Of admin.
eight teachers volunteered to pilot an ahem& _rators,
teochers, 'classified staff, and parents.
tive science curriculum. To participate in theexperimental pr.
!ram, the program required Illiochers..4:0 tlearlicrd howl
ongol.that the entire agree to support the pilot
.Z.:4:,7;OPpodunititis le; ailkiboroin `.. 7teachers in their
effort. The piindpal worked ,t0,:get this commitment for the first
eight teachers4i.Athe,introduction.uta.nety.appcoach- is forThe
pilot teachers Made a ihree.year commit. 17,;twO teachers to ieek
Spe-Cla4edliail ni in it
ment and began by participating in a twoweie thento pass
th*.stratogiei on .to thtir cot.training session in-the surnmer to
develop the Slackers *sue training 4.4Sotkonitiestheme for the
year. The district augmented th. their own areas of interest.
ooperaliy.
grant that funded the summer training with twO',.=,..:::4Jami
for eXaMple was skirled and Tiis.
to three release days per month for additional, 'Aained by the
efforts of two leachers serve
trainim and coaching. District staff develop. 114i
COOperOtWiekorntiiileachisrment days were alio provided to school
staffl??1or the rest:4164A Musteiyfor inservice training on related
curriculum cog:2 -.newer effort, is this pit project of a leather
and
tent and instructional methods. As th. pilot principal
Th..$SOCher is piloting ..siveral .1
teachers developed their team oøroach, they. mastery learning
units in Jar own clam; 11,e ;
spread word of the program to r c is enhating Other leathers to
nd
leagues. ln the third year, over 70 percent in the. fain,:the
facuhy partiCipatul in the program. InstruCtiOnatila hiri!ilbeen
mPor.
together with hvo retreats, which included sup!.... Teacheri
discuss:pi* Weti an4:Ckely also has brought the-staff closer ,.
mechanisnilat cOoidinating these
port staff and parents. Funded by a grant Iran- :storm about
odsting *grOtis.. soiiPorting
a private corporation, the first retreat focused ...and
channeling teacW -st,iergles offectItmly, the
on developing a school vision and ,building v .'Principal has
assiMbled hicrissivo- foster of
consensus around a set of reform thitiatives. ChangeThese
activities are carried forward throughont gial innovation and
collaboration amø norm.
'4. '.
.
' 71: 444. ' lw-
MST COPY AVALABLE
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SCHOOL BASED RE'OiM LESSONS FROM NATIONAl STUDY
2. Seek Ways to Reformulate the Rehm andAuthority of Toadtors
and Administrators
TEACHER VOICE IN:
Staff development
Curriculum and materiak
Budgeting
Personnel
Shared decision making
'Aimed school management
leam teachincj
Administrator.facilitators
The pattern of teacher involvement inschool-based decision
making was made possi-ble by a growing movement among districts
todevolve more authority to the school level.More than half the
districts in the national sur-vey sample have given schools more
authorityin the areas of staff development and selec-tion of
curriculum and materials. A relative-ly high percentage of
districts have givenschools more discretion over scheduling
andstudent assessment: fewer than a third of thedistricts, however,
have been willing to handover authority in areas related to
budgetingand personnel action. A small percentage ofdistricts also
grant schools waivers from variousdistrict and state requirements.
such as use ofni )rm-referenced. standardized tests.
BEST nnov mfAll arm E
In most of the schools visited, the principal'srole vis-il-vis
teachers, central office staff, andpeers was being redefined, in
some cases witha struggle. At South Mission High. althoughteachers
had an organized voice in the deci-sion-making process. their input
was consid-ered solely a recommendation to the principal.who had
final authority. At one rural elemen-tary school, teacher
involvement in schoolaffairs was limited to the classroom. The
prin-cipal was the organizational officer and sharednone (4* the
administrative powers with theteachers. In schools granted more
authority bydistricts, principals gained a greater degree ofcontrol
over important budgetary and person-nel decisions. Authority to
hire teachers gavesome principals a new opportunity to
buildconsensus and further their visions. At thesame time,
school-based reform also oftendiluted the principal's authority by
giving teach-ers more responsibility for school-level deci-sions.
Including teachers in shared schoolmanagement has helped them to
feel moreprofessional and has raised morale.
Shared responsibility for student learning hasalso changed the
roles among teathers andbetween teachers and principals. Teachers
areno longer the sole arbiters of what happens inisolated
classrooms: rather, team teachingarrangements involve teachers in
planning andteaching together. In some schools, adminis-trators
were recast as facilitators with respon-sibility for supporting
teachers.
Teacher input into school matters is not new,of course, but
charging teachers with responsi-bility for assessing needs,
determining theschool's direction or focus, proposing changes,and
seeing that they work is far less common.Furthermore, giving
teachers authority to enacttheir recommendations is a significant
changein the governance of many schools.
30
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Arbor Elonontory has a long-standingreputation for innovation.
It was the firstschool in the district to take on the
EffectiveSchools reform. The new principal spearhead-ed the shift
to participatory management,expanding the authority of the
decision-makingteam beyond that of the Effective Schools plan-ning
teams, which was limited to EffectiveSchools objectives. According
to the principal,there is no facet of her job in which the teamis
not involved, despite team members' initialreluctance, even fear,
at taking on roles withincreased responsibility. Over time, the
teamhas begun doing scheduling, budgeting, andinterviewing
secretaries. The principal openedthe previously locked supply
closets and said,"This is your school. You run it." When the
More than half thcdistricts in thc national
survey sample have givenschools more authority in
thc arcas of staff developmentand selection of curriculum
and materials.
K E Y FEATURES OF SUCCESSFUL REFORM STRATEGIES
principal delegated authority to hire a para-professional, she
was challenged by the teach-ers. She explained that the staff would
hove towork with whoever was hired. She sat downwith them and
helped to make up the interviewquestions. Now the team routinely
interviewspeople for nonteaching positions, and the dis-trict will
allow schools more voice in teacherhiring next year. If the
principal is off campus,the team handles emergencies.
School staff volunteer or are nominated toserve on the
participatory management team.The teachers report feeling
completely involvedin their school's reforms. Although the
dis-trictwide committees make curricular decisions,most of the
Arbor teachers serve on one of thecommittees.
11-19
31
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SCHOOLBASED REFORM LESSONS FROM A NATIONAL ST%.:DY.1_ _--
3. Consider Reformulating Staffing, Rsourcs,and Time and Space
to Increas StaffCollaboration
Provide common planning time
Fund joint planning
Reallocate administrative budget
Reassign support staff
Share classrooms and labs
he third set of strategies for nurturing pro-ductive collegial
interactions in school-basedreforms changed staffing patterns and
resourceallocations. Teachers from different disciplines,grades.
and specializations were obtaining
Empire High School hos made majorchanges in its administrative
structure andinstructional arrangements. By
coordinatingadministration of both the high school andthe middle
school, administrative positionswere reduced, and the remaining
administra-tive posts were changed to facilitating"coordinators."
Also, some administrativesupport staff were reassigned to help
teach-ers with paperwork. This "flattened" hierar-chy underscored
the role of administration assupportive of teachers and
instruction, ratherthan supervisory.
The reorganization of instructional arrange-ments hos increased
the joint work of teachersat Empire. Teacher teams work with two
divi-sions of students. Four "core" teachers (math,science,
English, and social studies), specialteachers as needed, and
rotating fine arts
common planning time. Reallocation ofadministrative funds
supported additionaljoint planning. in some cases,
administrators.specialists, and support personnel wereassigned to
support class mom teachers.Teachers participated in deploying funds
andresources to meet reform goals. Class sched-ules were revamped
to allow for extendedteam teaching. Teachers shared classroomsand
resource rooms.
teachers work together and share a commonplanning period. "Macro
scheduling," a formof block scheduling, will be implemented,
withtwo hours of history and Iwo hours of matheach day, followed in
the second semester bytwo hours of English and two hours of
science.
At Cicely Elementary, administrativechanges and instructional
rearrangements alsosupport teacher collaboration. When a
vice-principal position became vacant, the principalcreated two
parmime positionsa Coordinatorof Restructuring and a parent
liaison. Theschool also reorganized classrooms into"quads" in which
four teachers work with 100students in a variety of teaming
arrangements.In each quad, two rooms are used to teach
anintegrate:I science curriculum; the other tworooms serve as
science and technology labs.
11.2u32
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KEY FEATURES OF SUCCESSFUL REFORM STRATEGIES
PROVIDE MEANINGFUL OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROFESSIONAL GROWTH
I. Identify and Prioritize the Topics and Typos ofShoff
Development That Will Promote the School's Reform Goals
2. Plan a Coherent, Sustahmd Program for Profssienal Growth That
Will Provid Time andIxpertise fee Staff te Asquire, Implement, and
Reflect on New Approaches
3. !Explore Variety of Methods for Developing Expertise
Prcw iding teachers with m(ne oppc nitiesto think critically
about their work with oneanother and to help devise ways to
improvethe schools often creates significant challengesfor them,
some of which they may be ill pre-pared to tackle. Research
findings about howstudents learn have led to significant shifts
indesired outcomes, curriculum design. instruc-tional strategies,
and student assessment.Moreover, site-based management draws
teach-ers into decisions about school budget alloca-tions,
management, teacher hiring and evalua-tion, and working conditions.
To deal withthese new and varied demands, many teachersneed to
update their knowledge and acquirenew knowledge and skills.
In the national survey, the most commonstrategy (used by 82
percent of the districts) tosupport school-based reform efforts was
theprovision of staff development for teachers.Not surprisingly,
instruction was the most com-mon topic (86 percent of the
districts), followedby schoolwide planning (63 percent) andshared
decision making (56 percent).
The case study data suggest that, in someschools and districts,
professional developmentnot only was common hut was taking on
abroader definition. In addition to the tradition-al pattern of
providing discrete, one-shot work-shops, some schools were seeking
new, moreflexible approaches to build staff knowledgeand skills.
First, schools were developing pri-orities for the many staff
development areas in
which they felt the need to develop newapproaches. Second,
schools devek Ted plansfor coherent, sustained professional
growthprograms that provided staff with access tothe time and
expertise necessary to acquire,implement, and reflect on new
approachesover a period of years. Third, schc)ols exploreda variety
of methods for expanding staffexpertise. The most promising
approaches forproviding meaningful opportunities for profes-sional
growth are highlighted.
Thc most common strategyto support school-basedreform cfforts
was the
provision of staffdevelopment for teachers.
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'ICHOOL BASED REFORM LESSONS fROm A NA7:0NAL STUDY
1. Identify and Prioritise the Topics and Typesa Shin
Development That Will Promote theSelma% Wenn Goals
PLANNING COMPONENTS
Develop vision and goals
Anaiyze needs and resources
Prioritize topics
Identify types of professional development
PLANNING MECHANISMS
Surveys
Retreats
Design Teams
Ongoing staff meetings
A host of promising information and prac-tices can be identified
in the areas of curricu-lum, instruction, learning, and
assessment.Studies of teacher effectiveness and profession-al
growth have also yiekled productiveapproaches for collegial
interaction and capaci-ty building. Participatory site-based
manage-ment may ask teachers to learn both themechanics of running
the school (e.g., supplies,buses, special events) and
administrative tech-niques (e.g., conflict resolution. supervision
and
coaching. staff selection zinc! evaluation). Inthe successful
reform efforts. school staff andmembers of the community found ways
toengage in strategic planning. They developeda vision and goals
for their reform effort, thenanalyzed the school's needs and
resourcesto identify the staff devd( pment opportunitiesthey needed
most for areas targeted for signifi-cant change. Mechanisms f(w
identifying staffdevel()pment needs ranged fr()m formal sur-veys,
retreats, and design teams, to informal.ongoing staff meetings and
targets of oppor-tunity (e.g., a state-sponsored pilot
program).What seemed to distinguish successful effortsfrom
struggling initiatives was the systematicanalysis of school and
staff development needs,available resources, and staff receptivity
andcapacity. These analyses enabled the schoolstaff to prioritize
staff development topics andidentify the most suitable types of
profession-al development. Not surprisingly, schoolstaffs that felt
oppressed by mandates. over-whelmed by myriad demands, and
reluctant tochange did not seek, participate in, or imple-ment
staff development supporting theirschools' reform goals.
1142
school staff and members of thecommunity developed a vision
and goals for their reformeffort, then analyzed the
school's needs and resourcesto identify staff
development opportunities
34
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South Mission High School followedthe Effective Schools process
to identify needsand set school and staff development
goals.Teachers reported that the classroom observa-tions instituted
the first year to monitor the sta-tus and progress of the Effective
Schoolsclassroom variables focused the entire schoolon improving
instructional practices. A needsassessment administered the second
year pro-vided input to the Effective Schools counciland seven
correlate committees. As a result,staff identified the areas of
safety, school cli-mate, and improving academic performanceas their
highest priorities. Staff developmentrelated to these areas
included research onstudent grouping and the adverse effects
oftracking, as well as opportunities to visitschools that had
eliminated tracking.
Empir. High School moved to long-range planning when its initial
array ofimprovement efforts proved inadequate. In1989-90, a group
of teachers, with the helpof the principal, sought to implement a
num-ber of reforms in the obviousY failing school.These included a
new writing program, newcomputer lab, experimentation with
teamingarrangements among teachers, and creationof a participatory
management structure inthe school. By 1990, the teacher-leaders
KEY FEATURES OF SUCCESSFUL REFORM STRATEGIES
realized that things were still not working andthat bolder
changes were necessary.Inspired by the ideas of the director of
thedistrict's 13rofessional development academy,the teachers
adopted a more systematicapproach. The Design Team began withthree
key components: (1) a planning year,(2) a quest for outside
resources, ond (3) aninterim administrative structure. The
schoolbenefited from its previous experience withparticipatory
management, which produceda cadre of teachers who had been
involvedin the decision-making process. Also, theDesign Team was
successful in obtaining out-side resources ($375,000) to pay for
releasetime for teachers. In addition to the interimadministrative
structure, the school adopted anew curriculum structure that
divided theschool into three divisions. Teacher teamswithin each
division share a common plan-ning period and select staff
developmentofferings available through the district profes-sional
development academy, the Coalition ofEssential Schools, or a local
university. Theteacher teams currently in place have begunto
experiment with team teaching, thematicunits, and cooperative
learning.
continued on page 11-24
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SCHOOL RASED WORM LESSONS FROM A NATIONAL STUDY
continued from page 11-23
The professional development agenda atHeartland Elementary has
grown primar-ily out of teachers' individual interests,spurred, at
times, by opportunities offered bythe district or state. In some
cases, funds andtopics were provided by a restructuring pro-gram. A
computer-based classroom was initi-ated by district funds. In
another program, ateacher devised peer tutoring to help
at-riskstudents as part of her master's studies.Generally, two
teachers volunteer to becomeresource people for a program and
areresponsible for training the rest of the staff.The biweekly
instructional staff meetings serveas the vehicle for coordinating
these initia-tives, considering new ones, and working outthe
wrinkles of new programs under way.
Manfield Elementary's reform agendagot off to a slow start. The
school began itsEffective Schools process in 1986. TheAction
Planning Team focused extensively onschool beautification and
discipline, follow-ing the advice of a state facilitator who
sug-gested that it might be safer for teachers to
"cut their teeth" in such a risky business ven-ture as
schoolwide decision making by firstaddressing nonacademic issues.
The ratio-nale was that once the skills of collaboratingand sharing
ideas with other teachers hadbeen honed and some barriers to
communi-cation had been bridged, teachers might bewilling to risk
addressing their own roles inpromoting academics and preventing
stu-dent failure.
Then, in 1987, the new principal expressedinterest in academic
reform. At the sametime, the district hod hired an assistant
super-intendent who was interested in curriculumreform, especially
the development of inte-grated, multidisciplinary units. The school
isnow initiating a home-school relations pro-ject, which includes a
family mathematicsprogram. In addition, the school is makingsome
curriculum changes by integrating sub-ject areas to create
interdisciplinary units.Although Manfield's largely veteran
staffalready have a large academic repertoire,they have selected
staff development sessionsrelevant to thematic instruction on such
topicsas process writing, reading comprehensionstrategies, and
Chapter 1 services.
36
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2. Plan a Chernt, Sustained Program forPrefessional Orowth That
Will Provide Tim.and Rxportise for staff to Acquire,implement, and
Reflect n Now Approaches
Mulhyear plan
Related topics
Oncroing sessions
Follow-up coaching
Release time
The successful schools had been working ontheir reform agendas
for at least three years. Ingeneral, the teachers were building
their exper-tise through a coordinated set of formal
staffdevelopment sessions from experts and coach-es, as well as
from informal collegial interac-tions. The professional growth of
the teachersin the successful reform schools thus wasdeveloping
over a multiyear period. Theyalso had a voice in determining the
topics offormal staff development sessions. A significantdeparture
from the age-old "make and take"workshops, the sessions might
present a seriesof related topics, promoting an in-depth
The teachers at Ckely Elementaryembarked on their curricular
reforms four yearsago. The program required that teachers makea
three-year commitment, and it supports a five-year process for
teachers to learn how to devel-op their own interdisciplinary
instruction. In atwo-week training institute each summer, teach-ers
develop the theme for the year. Teachersreceive two to three
release days per monthfrom the district for additional training
andcoaching. A separate grant supports trainingfor Cicely teachers
in collaborative decisionmaking and leadership. The Leadership
Teamis supported by action teams specializing inareas such as
curriculum, staff development,
KEY FEATURES OF SUCCESSFUt MOW STRATEGIES
understanding of an area, rather than a pot-pourri of unrelated,
"hot" topics. For example,elementary teachers might attend staff
develop-ment sessions on literature-based reading, writ-ing about
literature, writing in the contentareas, cooperative learning, and
methods forassessing student writing. Furthermore, pre-cious
pupil-free staff development days mightnot be devoted entirely to
formal workshopson new information but also to ongoing, fol-low-up
working sessions focusing on teach-ers' experiences implementing
new approach-es in their classes. There was evidence thatthe
lecture (-sage on the stage") format wasbeing replaced by the
coaching ("guide bythe side") format. In these sessions,
teacherslearn from each other as well as from expertcoaches.
Finally, release time allotted forcollegial collaboration and
reflection wasbecoming more common. Teachers had timeto develop new
materials and approachestogether and to reflect on the strengths
andweaknesses of their efforts. Many of the staffdevelopment
programs and opportunitiesdescribed by the school staff clearly
treatedteachers as professionals who could shapetheir own
growth.
and school organization. The district plans toshift control of
eight additional district-spon-sored staff development days to the
schools.
The Design Team at Empire High School,inspired by the ideas of
the director of the dis-trict's professional development
academy,planned a sustained staff development pro-gram. They
obtained funding for release timefor teachers to do ongoing team
planning. Theschool also tapped three other sources of train-ing:
(1) the Coalition of Essential Schools,(2) the district
professional development acade-my, and (3) the local
university.
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SCHOOL RASED REFORM LESSONS FROM A NATIONAL STUDY
3. Ropier* o Variety of Methods forDove loping Exportis.