----

##  Implementing Whole-School Reform. ERIC Digest Number 128.                    

Comprehensive reform, whole-school reform, schoolwide change -- no              matter what name is used to refer to it, this reform movement seeks             to improve school performance by simultaneously aligning all aspects            of a school's environment with a central, guiding vision.                       Increasingly, states and districts around the country are jumping on            the comprehensive reform bandwagon, especially with the incentive of            the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program, which             makes $150 million in federal funds available to schools. 
This                Digest examines some of the key issues surrounding the                          implementation of schoolwide reform and the factors that can lead to            failure or success. HOW SUCCESSFUL HAVE SCHOOLS BEEN IN                       IMPLEMENTING WHOLE-SCHOOL REFORM?These schoolwide programs can              produce compelling results such as substantial gains in student                 achievement. However, there is a catch. The designs must be well                implemented, and that is where many schools and districts have run              into problems. 
In 1998, the RAND Corporation released a study of              schools that were implementing whole-school designs. Two years after            adopting the designs, only about half of the schools were                       implementing the core elements of the programs schoolwide, and 45               percent were below that level (Glennan, Jr. 1998). HOW IMPORTANT              IS OUTSIDE ASSISTANCE?Because comprehensive reform encompasses              so many complex aspects of school organization, a school typically              seeks assistance from an outside organization. The school works with            a design team to implement the specific model it has chosen. The                design team is therefore crucial to the success of implementation,              often providing resources and support to the school for up to three             years. 
The support that design teams provide varies from model to             model. Some design teams are more prescriptive, providing a specific            set of standards for curriculum and assessment. Others work with the            schools to help them create their own standards (New American                   Schools 1998). Some work with staff for up to a year before                     beginning implementation; others dive right in (Glennan, Jr.                    1998). 
New American Schools (NAS), a nonprofit, nonpartisan                   organization that assists and supports schools through the                      implementation of comprehensive school designs, cites many benefits             that result from the use of design teams to facilitate reform. For              one, design teams integrate reform efforts into one comprehensive               effort, rather than trying to implement fragments. Design teams also            focus on results and recommend actions based on research and                    development that would be difficult for most local education                    agencies to duplicate. This can save schools the time and effort of             having to invent their own models of reform. Perhaps most                       importantly, design teams provide a strong vision to schools that               can sustain them through the long process of                                    implementation (NAS). HOW SHOULD SCHOOLS CHOOSE AN EFFECTIVE                  DESIGN?In a guide to choosing comprehensive school reform                   models, the Educational Research Service (1998) says the school's               first, and most essential, step is to conduct a thorough self-study.            If the school carefully and realistically identifies its strengths              and weaknesses, as well as what staff expects from a design, its                chance of successfully implementing reform is much greater. ERS                 suggests asking such questions as "How does this design fit with the            school's vision and goals? What sort of professional development                does the design team provide? Is the school prepared to make changes            in school governance?" 
Others agree that if schools take their                time in choosing a design, they will be more likely to experience               success. "Schools must latch on to a model wholeheartedly, then have            time and support to make it work," says John Anderson, president of             NAS (1998). 
Schools should choose a design of their own free will,            adds Susan Bodilly, a senior social scientist at RAND: "If a design             is forced upon a school, you have a high probability that it will               not go forward" (Olson 1999). Others express caution that schools               should be provided with some guidelines to prevent them from making             the wrong decision about a model (Olson). 
Once schools have                   assessed their needs, how can they determine whether a design will              improve student achievement? ERS says that effective programs will              set clear goals, as well as provide a means to assess students'                 progress toward those goals. 
A RAND study found that clear                    communication between the design team and the school is essential               for implementation, support, and teacher perception of the                      design (Berends and colleagues 1998). Bodilly says that designs that            provide more prescriptive guidelines tend to have a smoother                    implementation because they require less time and expertise on the              part of teachers (Olson 1999). WHAT PROBLEMS CAN FUNDING                      POSE?In many cases, funding presents a significant impediment to            the implementation of a design. Lack of funding can lead to loss of             crucial staff, discourage reformers, and ultimately kill the                    reform (ERS). 
Federal funding from the CSRD program provides                  grants of up to $50,000 to each school seeking to implement                     comprehensive reform. CSRD funds, however, are only a small portion             of what is needed to successfully implement whole-school reform.                While the $50,000 grant may cover costs associated with products and            services provided by an external developer, schools must also fund              the additional costs of providing time for teachers' professional               development, new technology, and travel. First-year costs differ                greatly from program to program, but can range anywhere from $98,000            for ATLAS Communities to as high as $588,000 for Co-NECT (American              Institutes for Research, 1999). 
The Education Commission of the               States (1998) recommends that states and districts participating in             comprehensive school reform create an investment fund that draws on             public and private sources to support the implementation of reform              models. Districts can reduce costs of schoolwide reform by using                current staff members as facilitators instead of hiring additional              personnel (American Institutes for Research). When clusters of                  schools in the same district implement comprehensive school reform,             some developers provide services at a lower per-school                          cost (Education Commission of the States). Anderson argues that                 because a schoolwide design focuses a school's work, educators have             more time to reallocate existing resources to fund                              implementation. 
For some schools, the acquisition of funding is               not the only problem--deciding just how to allocate that money can              be a stumbling block. For instance, school management teams                     consisting of parents and educators may struggle to create                      schoolwide budgets with little or no experience to draw                         upon (ERS). WHAT OTHER FACTORS AFFECT IMPLEMENTATION?Strong               leadership is crucial to the implementation of schoolwide                       reform (Olson). Schaffer and colleagues (1997) point out that in                many schools where reform failed, principals did not keep the staff             aligned to the goals of the design. As well, many principals were               not knowledgeable about basic precepts of the reform program, and               therefore could not provide good leadership. 
Teacher commitment to            the reform is crucial in sustaining implementation. "We're                      implementing so many new things at once. It's a lot to ask teachers             to digest," says one New Jersey teacher (Hendrie 1999). Teachers may            feel threatened by change or view the reform as a fad that will not             last; in that case, they won't commit their energy to the                       reform (Schaffer and colleagues). Teachers should be assured that               reform will provide an opportunity to develop professionally and                should also be allowed to "transfer with dignity" if they do not                agree to participate in the reform (ERS). 
Students may resist                 comprehensive reform as well, especially in the case of designs that            change curriculum drastically. "They don't want to change. We have              spoon-fed them for so long," says one fourth-grade teacher of her               students (Hendrie). School leaders can garner support for reform by             communicating clearly with students, parents, and community                     members. 
Another problem, RAND researchers found, is that many                principals and teachers do not feel that they have the authority to             reallocate resources or make the significant changes in school                  operations that are needed to implement designs. Clearly, the                   district's support is important. In addition, the designs must align            sufficiently with districts' accountability systems so that teachers            do not feel they must deviate from the designs to satisfy state                 standards (Glennan, Jr.). 
In time, more schools will gain                     experience with whole-school reform, and researchers will                       investigate in greater detail the factors that contribute to its                success. Then we will know whether these designs have become just               another program that is turned on and off when convenient or whether            they truly can transform schools                                                comprehensively. RESOURCESAmerican Institutes for Research. An            Educator's Guide to Schoolwide Reform. Arlington, Virginia:                     Educational Research Service, 1999. 141 pages. 
Anderson,                      John. "Comprehensive Support." Education Week (June 24, 1998): 38,              52. 
Berends, Mark, and colleagues. Monitoring the Progress of New             American Schools: A Description of Implementing Schools in a                    Longitudinal Sample. Santa Monica, California: RAND Education, 1998.            137 pages. 
Education Commission of the States. Comprehensive                  School Reform: Allocating Federal Funds. Denver, Colorado: Author,              1998. 8 pages. 
Educational Research Service. Comprehensive Models             for School Improvement: Finding the Right Match and Making It Work.             Arlington, Virginia: Author, 1998. 114 pages. 
Glennan, Jr., Thomas            K. New American Schools After Six Years. Santa Monica, California:              RAND Corporation, 1998. 90 pages. 
Hendrie, Caroline. "In New                  Jersey Schools, Reform Keeps to Its Own Schedule." Education                    Week (April 21, 1999): 15-16. 
New American Schools. Blueprints for            School Success: A Guide to New American Schools Designs. Arlington,             Virginia: Educational Research Service, 1998. 107 pages. 
Olson,               Lynn. "Following the Plan." Education Week (April 14, 1999): 29,                32. 
Schaffer, Eugene C., and colleagues. Impediments to Reform: An            Analysis of Destabilizing Issues in Ten Promising Programs.                     Arlington, Virginia: Educational Research Service, 1997. 17 pages.              ED 408 676. 
----- 
A Product of the ERIC Clearinghouse on                    Educational Management, College of Education, University of Oregon,             Eugene, Oregon 97403-5207. 
This publication was prepared with                 funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement,                U.S. Department of Education, under contract No. ED-99-C0-0011. The             ideas and opinions expressed in this Digest do not necessarily                  reflect the positions or policies of OERI, ED, or the Clearinghouse.            This Digest is in the public domain and may be freely reproduced. EA            029 917.                                                                     **Title:** Implementing Whole-School Reform. ERIC Digest Number 128.                    **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, 5207 University of                Oregon, Eugene, OR 97402-5207. Tel: 800-438-8841 (Toll Free); Fax:              541-346-2334. For full text: http://eric.uoregon.edu.                        **Descriptors:** Change Agents,  Change Strategies,  Educational Change, Elementary              Secondary Education, Excellence in Education, Program Design,                    Program Implementation,  Resistance to Change,  School Restructuring        **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests                                                                 
###
[Return to ERIC Digest Search Page]