Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to honor, position and reflect on key themes related to high school reform within the careerlong scholarship of Karen Seashore Louis. It is presented in relation to my own and others' key studies and book-length arguments regarding educational change, knowledge utilization, professional communities and…

As recently as five years ago, educators politely listened to, and largely ignored, suggestions that the world is changing at a dramatic rate and that education must adapt. Today, many educators agree that the traditional Industrial Age model of learning no longer adequately prepares students for their futures. As a result, many schools, and…

School improvement might be initiated by state or district mandate, or it might be motivated by the concerns of school personnel. Teachers and administrators frequently enter the process with some idea of what needs to be reformed or improved, but issues can be overemphasized or overlooked if the process does not begin with a comprehensive needs…

Broad patterns in the last 30 years of research on educational change are traced in this synthesis paper. The three dominant perspectives are: (1) the rational-scientific perspective that posits that change is created by the dissemination of innovative techniques; (2) the political perspective (the "top-down" approach) that generates…

A consortium of four Wisconsin school districts has decided to stop tinkering with the educational system and apply W. Edward Deming's 14 management points to total system improvement. The rewritten precepts involve creating and adopting a fitting purpose, infusing quality into the educational "product," and working toward zero defects…

Testimony about the role of federal leadership in facilitating district-level reform efforts is presented in this report. Data were derived from a literature review and consultation with school reform experts. Further data were collected from visits to four districts--Johnson City, New York; Moss Point, Mississippi; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and…

Testimony on the role of federal leadership in facilitating district-level reform efforts is offered in this report, which focuses on four districts with many years of participation in systemwide educational reform. Five key components of systemwide reform are identified: standards for all students; curricula tied to those goals; high-quality…

This paper offers a new conceptual framework for thinking about school restructuring by examining the meaning and implications of restructuring as a school improvement strategy. Conceptualization efforts are organized around a set of fundamental questions: (1) What is the meaning of restructuring? (2) What makes restructuring necessary? (3) What…

Strategies for changing the organization and operation of school districts to create high-performance learning communities are presented. Chapters address the following areas: (1) the need for systemic and systematic change in school reform; (2) the attributes of high-performance learning communities; and (3) the knowledge base, acts of…

This document describes the steps for redesigning public schools into Championship Schools, a comprehensive approach to transformation. Eight transformational processes are outlined: organizational conditioning, clarifying values, strategic planning, measuring, communicating, coaching, team building, and community building. To successfully…

If schools are not changed in dramatic ways very soon, public schools will lose their place as a vital component of the American education system. The first three chapters of this book describe the crisis in American education, arguing that what the schools were designed to do no longer serves the needs of American society. The presence of…

This book is designed for use as a theoretical and practical tool for planning and implementing secondary school change. Chapter 1 presents the history of the development of the CaMaPe models and a perspective on the universality of educational and organizational structures and describes the kinds of schools appropriate to the models. The basic…

Education reform solutions often ignore the people involved and concentrate solely on the systems in which they work. This paper presents an overview of invitational education theory and Total Quality Management (TQM) theory and describes their uses for improving education. Both theories are holistic approaches; stress the cooperative nature of…

This book offers a step-by-step, systematic process for designing high-performance learning organizations. The process helps administrators develop proposals for redesigning school districts that are tailored to the district's environment, work system, and social system. Chapter 1 describes the characteristics of high-performing organizations, and…

Economic forces and educational equity issues have combined to heighten calls for improved education for all students. Systemic reform calls for education to be reconceptualized from the ground up, beginning with the nature of teaching and learning, educational relationships, and school-community relationships. One of the assumptions made by…