Five years ago, teachers were literally hoarding supplies because supplies were so limited and the supply door locked. Lee also began a tradition of writing a daily memo to the staff as a way to improve the communication in the building as well as to celebrate teacher successes. That teacher is no longer at the school. But other teachers recognized that, because of the district orientation, change was inevitable and going to another school would not be a way to avoid it. Because of the emphasis on whole-school, rather than piecemeal reform, the faculty was encouraged to identify a single focus to guide its work.
Students hear the same language, the same approaches.
Identifying struggling students is made easier because the district central office makes disaggregated student achievement data more readily available to schools. Before this, there were few meetings where the entire staff meet. But, now, there are regularly scheduled meetings. Another part of the 21st Century project involves reviewing student work and data in relation to city-wide learning standards. It makes you look at the way you prepare them for the assignment and the actual instrumentation.