School reform and leadership are important components of American's educational system. However, reform initiatives do not always coincide with National mandates for school districts. School leaders today are obligated by law to fulfill the mandates under the No Child Left Behind Act, but research indicates that the accountability system of No…

As part of a multiple case study of charter school leadership, the researchers in this study examined 2 principals' priorities and practices through their expressed concerns and use of time. Through an embedded case design and analysis, 6 themes surfaced from the principal interviews that occurred over the course of a school year--accountability,…

Five years after Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans public schools bear little resemblance to the disintegrating system that was further undone by the catastrophic flood. Two-thirds of city schools in 2004 were rated "Academically Unacceptable" under Louisiana's accountability standards; in 2010, about 4 in 10 rate that designation, and…

Restructuring large schools into smaller, more personalized learning communities focused on developing students academically, socially, and emotionally has the potential to produce better outcomes for students. Although small school reform in large urban high schools has been the focus of the research literature on school reform in the last…

As required by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), most school districts with low-performing schools offer public school choice and supplemental educational services. However, researchers found that, although the total number of students participating in both options has increased substantially since NCLB began, only a small proportion…

The process of allocating and reallocating resources is an ongoing one, with changes made regularly in the ways resources are deployed to meet changing demands. In many cases, the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about reallocation is cutting a position or eliminating a program. However, a growing number of district and school leaders…

The Common Principles have been at the very center of the author's professional practice. When she first read Ted Sizer's writing and learned about the Coalition of Essential Schools, she felt as though he was talking directly to her. Not only did every word of the then nine Common Principles make sense, but after reading Sizer's work, her own…

Everybody seems to have a short memory, which is why people keep making mistakes. This is supposed to be why people study history. The history of the education reform movement from the 1960s through the 1990s seems to elude 21st century attempts at reform--tremendously sad, because there is so much to learn from the successes and failures of the…

In 2005, the Hildago (Texas) Independent School District, in partnership with the University of Texas-Pan American, the University of Texas System, the Communities Foundation of Texas/Texas High School Project, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, promised that all of its students would earn college credits before graduating from high…

Vallivue School District, located about 20 minutes from Boise, Idaho, can trace its origins to 13 rural schools scattered throughout Canyon County. The schools served students from kindergarten through eighth grade, and each building was independently administered by local school boards. Those boards were consolidated into a single district in…

Unbundling is the process of deconstructing established structures and routines and reassembling them in new ways. It can occur as structural unbundling, which concerns the physical structures and delivery systems of schooling, or as content unbundling, which concerns the scope and sequence of what is learned.

Reformers hope that by unbundling schools--taking apart the current structures and routines and putting them together in new ways--we can create better schools. But there is no guarantee that it would improve schools in three areas that we know matter: coherence and infrastructure, the instructional core, and political accountability. However,…

While networking is becoming an increasingly popular school improvement strategy with high levels of success, there is little research that shows the challenges school leaders face as they enter into these new relationships. This article supplements current literature by providing documentation and analysis of some internal leadership…

Over the last decade, much research has been conducted regarding how successful school improvement can be achieved. One focus of this research has been the development of schools that are inclusive and meet the educational needs of all students, including those with disabilities. Research has shown that school change that improves teacher practice…

For five years the authors have facilitated professional development leading to restructuring and reform at Ravine Junior High (RJH). As they present their work with colleagues from RJH, people ask them how did they get teacher buy-in. They answered that they don't get teachers to buy-in, they get teachers to drive the process. At RJH, they…