Second, the Challenge relies on intermediary organizations as agents of change- an important strategy that has heretofore attracted little scholarly attention or analysis. As independent public-private partnerships neither of the system nor wholly outside it, they cross organizational boundaries to intervene at critical points both up and down the educational system. They galvanize new resources from public and private sources. They educate, advocate, develop programs, and coach people in managing change. And they bring to school improvement the private creativity and civic mobilization that policy-driven reform alone cannot provide.
Coalitions take time to coalesce.
Working up and down the educational system, from state house to schoolhouse, is a formidable task. Finding common ground between insiders and outsiders in our nation's biggest urban school districts inherently invites tension. Nonetheless, the evidence at mid-point indicates that the Annenberg Challenge is making a difference in schools and communities. However complicated to build and sustain, the collaboration it asks of local actors has focused attention on critical issues, brought forward diverse voices, and seeded new alliances supportive of reform. Its call for local design and flexible implementation has yielded an unusual level of energy among citizens and school people alike.