Conclusion

Montclair High School is sincere about serving the needs of its community and building on personal interests that energize both staff members and students. It offers the following advice to other schools interested in developing smaller learning communities:

• Make sure that the SLC development work addresses the root causes behind any concerns that get raised.
• Develop norms of respect for all. Find a way to connect teachers to what excites them and help them follow their dreams. Keep searching for new ways to listen to students' concerns.
• Tap into community resources, but create ways for busy professionals to contribute in short time frames.
• Balance the work of insiders —those who understand the culture of the school and the district —with intervention from outsiders who question and push for new ways of seeing the work.
• Public relations work is an essential part of starting a new program in a community. When it comes to explaining potential changes to parents and the community, you can't communicate too much.
• Providing data is an important part of communicating effectively, and recipients must consider the data as closely as they do other types of information.
• Find a role for those who are initially resistant. Make them a part of the process, because they also have something important to contribute. If they are not part of the work, their negative energy will undermine the project.

Given Montclair's commitment to reshaping itself to meet the needs of students and staff, it has all the necessary ingredients to create an environment where all students learn, a community where all students and staff members feel connected, and a school in which all are invested.