Informed Commentary: The Many Faces of American Schooling: Effective Schools Research and Border-Crossing in the 21st Century.

ABSTRACT This article revisits the research on effective schools by applying the concept of cultural border crossing. It focuses on issues of racism, classism, and sexism, and concludes with recommendations for how school leadership can help students effectively cross borders and reach the highest possible levels of achievement. INTRODUCTION: A REVIEW OF EFFECTIVE SCHOOLS LITERATURE Seminal research in the late 1970's (Edmonds, 1979; Brookover & Lezotte, 1979) and early 1980's (Eubanks, & Levine, 1983, 1984; Goodlad 1984) concluded that most schools were not effective. : The relationship between socioeconomic status, student achievement, and the distribution of society's wealth are reasons often cited for ineffective schools. (Coleman, Cambell, Hobson, McPartland, Mood, Weinfeld, Y Jencks, 1972). Further, Silberman (1971) pointed to a lack of priorities, understanding, and purpose in school organizations. In general, effectiveness in a school was characterized by strong leadership, a climate of expectation, and an orderly but not rigid atmosphere (Edmonds, 1979. Pukey and Smith (1983) formed a picture of an effective school that included the principal, a second administrator, or a group of teachers providing the necessary leadership to initiate and maintain the improvement process. Expanding on the principal's role in effective schooling, Lashway (1995) noted that power has been viewed as domination through formal authority, flowing from the top down and vesting decisions in a small number of people, but facilitative models of leadership emphasize collaboration or empowerment. The hierarchy remains intact, but leaders use their authority to support professional give-and-take. In fact, Conley (1996) stated that although the principal alone continues to bear the brunt of responsibility for achieving school goals and improving student performance, the best way to improve schools is to involve those who do the work in determining how to make schools better. Owens (2001 agreed that under the leadership of the principal, the school organization accepts responsibility for the success or failure of the students. In addition, students are firmly regarded as capable of learning regardless of their ethnicity, sex, home, cultural background, or family income. In fact, recent studies (Elmore & Burney, 1998, Scheurich, 1998; Reyes, Paredes Scribner, & Scribner, 1999; Capper, Frattura, & Keyes, 2000) have found that there are highly effective and successful urban schools with students who are diverse in race, SES, and ability. Research posits that effective schools are characterized by decentralized school governance, shared decision making, high parental involvement, instructional leadership, high academic expectations, and a climate of orderliness at both the classroom and building level (Fitch, 1992). While this paints a portrait of school success and student academic achievement, it asks the question: for whom will these schools be effective and which students will maximize their academic potential? More specifically, cultural, racial, economic, linguistic, and other "borders" must be crossed to ensure that the ever-changing demographics of public schools are considered in efforts to create effective centers of learning that facilitate the academic success of all students. In order to have effective schools where all students achieve, we must find ways to manage our crossings for a successful existence in the "borderlands" between cultures. BORDER CROSSING FOR EFFECTIVE SCHOOLING IN THE 21 ST CENTURY For effective schooling in the 21st century, school administrators must be attuned to the complexities of changing demographics as well as the needs of those persons who have been traditionally excluded from the core of educational reform (Capper, 1993). Given the increasing demands to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students and their communities, it is imperative that we now effectively "cross borders," including ethnic, cultural, religious, racial, linguistic, ability, and socio-economic borders. …