Fifteen years and 17 reconstituted schools later, San Francisco has learned a few hard lessons. Reconstitution, they say, is no magic bullet.
Results take time.
To prepare for this, a district team spent six months planning curriculum and school organization. But the concentration of energy and effort and intelligence did bring about some measurable improvement. Student achievement at those six schools outdis-tanced that at other schools that received extra funding but no new faculty. The court deemed reconstitution a success and in 1993 ordered a second round. To avoid disrupting schools mid-year, the district decided it wouldn't select schools for reconstitution until June.