Putting It All Together, Part 3
Recipe For Reform

So what do schools need to successfully transform themselves? In April, Education Week listed the "key ingredients in the reform recipe," based on interviews with researchers:

• The school makes a free, informed choice to select the design, based on a decision by its faculty, often through a secret ballot
• Faculty members who do not support the design can 'transfer with dignity'
• The principal and other administrators provide strong leadership at the school site
• The design is clear and specific, and the developers clearly explain how it's supposed to work
• Money and time are available for everyone in the school to participate in professional development, planning, and collaboration
• The design team provides structured materials and long-term, targeted technical assistance
• A designated person in the school is responsible for managing the reform process
• The school participates in a network of like-minded schools and colleagues
• The district has stable leadership that supports the design, has a culture of trust between schools and the central office, provides schools with some autonomy over budgets and hiring, and commits resources for professional development and planning

With a good handle on its assets and deficits, a school is better positioned to select a model (or design a custom approach) that meets its needs, point for point. But choosing among the dozens of reform models on the market can be a dizzying proposition. Too often, observers say, schools latch onto a popular model without undertaking a careful assessment of the school's unique makeup. Confusing the issue further, a recent study by American Institutes for Research (AIR) found that only three or four of the most widely used models have solid research to back up their effectiveness (see An Educators' Guide to Schoolwide Reform).

Once a school settles on an external model, researchers caution that it can't be swallowed whole. It must be thoughtfully adapted to meet the school's special requirements—while retaining the essence and intent of its designers. It's a precarious tightrope that has left many schools dangling without a net.

"The problem is that (model) designers are trying to balance two competing demands," Education Week writes in an April article titled "Following the Plan." Quoting Rebecca Herman, who oversaw AIR's model-rating project, the journal notes: "On the one hand, they want teachers to feel ownership of a design and to be able to shape what it looks like in their school. On the other hand, they want to maintain enough integrity for the design to remain intact."

That balancing act causes many schools to stumble.

"There's no program that you can just take and stick in a school and make it happen the way it is on paper," Herman told Education Week. "And sometimes, when you adapt it to the situation, you lose sight of what's critical to make the program work."

Unfortunately, schools looking for guidance won't find much of a research base on whole-school reform. But that is about to change. A slew of studies is in the works, according to Education Week. And the Office of Educational Research and Improvement is funding several new initiatives designed to expand the knowledge base on schoolwide reform, including:

• A comprehensive school reform clearinghouse to make information readily available, including new research reports and information on specific models
• Development (including extensive evaluation) of six to perhaps 10 new comprehensive reform models for the middle school and high school levels
• Increasing the capacity of several existing models to provide training, technical assistance, and materials to meet demands of increasing numbers of schools

One thing the experts do know is that strong leadership at the building and district levels is necessary to success—necessary, but not sufficient. Only when teachers—all or at least most of them—embrace change and steer its course will reform take hold and flourish.

"By leading and managing schoolwides," the Education Department said in its 1996 newsletter, "teachers deepen their ownership of the schoolwide's mission and the effectiveness of the overall program. Teacher involvement is critical to starting and sustaining the reform effort, especially through shifts in school or district leadership."

Another mark of the schoolwide program is the central role played by parents and the community in which the children not only learn, but also eat, sleep, play, worship, and grow. To draw upon the enduring strengths and traditions of the neighborhood, schools must throw open their doors to welcome not only parents, but also businesses, community organizations, and social services. Students find more meaning in schoolwork when it's linked to the people and places that are important to their lives. And residents are more likely to become steadfast advocates for the school's program when they feel involved and valued.

"The emphasis on community involvement in schoolwide projects," the OESE notes, "demonstrates a new level of respect for the way children's heritage and context influence learning. Members of the community also help to establish and sustain the high standards that grant disadvantaged youth meaningful opportunities for achievement."

What's happening is a flip-flop of the old "risk" model. Traditionally, schools viewed differences in language and culture as disadvantages—as "risk factors" threatening children's chances for success. The more progressive view sees them as advantages—strong points that can give kids a leg up in the global marketplace and an appreciation for diversity. In Vancouver, for instance, Roosevelt's open-arms attitude toward its many immigrant families gives the school a colorful, international flair—like a little United Nations or an air hub for world travelers.

"Successful schoolwide projects," says LeTendre of the Education Department, "view cultural inclusiveness as a means of enhancing learning and participation for all students. Successful schoolwide projects embrace the diversity of their students as a resource that enriches learning.

"Such schools," she adds, "become the cultural hubs of their communities."

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