The goal is not mastery of a single innovation but ongoing learning and the development of collaborative work cultures. Change is a local process, where effective linkages and experimentation contribute to bettering classroom practices. The focus of policy should be the development of organizational supports and linkages that enable schools to improve. Districts and schools can improve system capacity for change through selecting good people and providing them with opportunities to learn. Change requires the interaction, connectedness, and the sharing of power across different components of the system.
Empowerment means giving people responsibility and support to actualize that responsibility.
The presence or absence of supportive policies can make or break a change effort. People will be more committed to changes that are of local interest to them, whether those changes come from the outside or from the inside. Change as a local initiative should fit within system goals and priorities, but still address local needs.