Re-Engineering Schools for

Student Achievement

Partners in NWREL's re-engineering work assess progress at three pilot sites

Leland, Mississippi, is known as the birthplace of Kermit the Frog and the home of the blues. It’s also home to a 2,100-student rural school district that has historically struggled at the bottom rung of state achievement tests.

Leland is one of three pilot sites where the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory is focusing its national re-engineering leadership work, which helps school districts boost student achievement by establishing common purpose throughout the district; bringing closer alignment to curriculum, instruction, and assessment; and using data for decisionmaking and accountability. "Our work is directly tied to No Child Left Behind and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)," says Robert Blum, director of NWREL’s Center for School and District Improvement. "Because progress is based on state achievement tests, it becomes important to help districts align what they’re teaching with what’s tested. We also need to get staff and parents on board so everybody works together to make AYP."

In Leland, NWREL is working with consultant Rochelle Brown to provide goal-setting workshops, assist with curriculum mapping, and improve community outreach. In the two years since the project started, Leland schools climbed from a low-achieving Level 1 to Level 5, the highest ranking on Mississippi’s achievement tests. Brown doesn’t take full credit for the improvement. She notes, "Leland had real talent but they didn’t know how to work together. That’s the value we brought them." Leland superintendent Ilean Richards adds, "The project has been most helpful in (getting) staff and school teams to assess strengths and weaknesses, and using those assessment data to create strong team approaches for improved teaching and learning."

In addition to rural Leland, re-engineering projects are centered in suburban Freeport, New York, and the complex Memphis, Tennessee, school district which boasts more than 118,000 students. In Memphis a cadre of 11 principals is undergoing leadership training and working to develop professional learning communities that will spread throughout the district. Freeport’s emphasis is on strategic planning and building stronger connections to the community.

The leadership development project is a partnership between NWREL and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association of Elementary School Principals, and American Association of School Administrators. Three other laboratories—SERVE, SEDL, and AEL—are also active partners in this effort. Representatives of all the partner organizations met at NWREL headquarters in July to assess progress and review training materials.

The collaboration creates a "very rich dynamic" between three major membership-based organizations and the labs, according to NASSP’s Rosa Aronson. "The hope is that the associations will bring back findings and enhance the capacity of their constituents to improve their schools and districts," says Aronson.

AASA’s Judy Seltz adds that "it’s nice to have the perspective of three different categories of administrators. Superintendents have to have a districtwide perspective," she notes, "but it’s widely recognized that principals are the linchpins of what goes on at the building level."

Cheryl Riggins of NAESP believes "the alliance provides much-needed training and capacity building for principals." Through a column in her association magazines, Riggins says she’s "constantly promoting" the work done here so her members are aware of the project and Lab resources.

The partners are also involved in planning NWREL’s Forum on Comprehensive School Reform, scheduled for October 27–28, 2003, in Seattle. The annual conference brings together 100 invited practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and others from around the country to discuss timely topics in re-engineering. This year’s focusing question is "how do school districts develop capacity to ensure learning for all students?"

In addition to AASA, NAESP, and NASSP, the long list of organizations participating in the 2003 Forum includes: National Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform, Consortium for Policy Research in Education, Council of Chief State School Officers, Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL), and Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy. Forum proceedings will be available online at www.nwrel.org later this year.