A second benefit was that when staff members were the ones to recommend whole group discussion of an item, there was very little grumbling if the staff meeting went beyond the designated contract day. I keep telling them I support site-based management, but they don't seem to believe me. The organizational chart is redrawn to show schools at the top. Site team decision making is modeled by a district-level team. Funds are provided to support innovations.
Time is provided for teams to work together.
Inquiries and complaint calls are referred back to the building so the community learns that we are the decision makers. As these accounts from successful and struggling practitioners indicate, saying that we're changing roles is not enough. Edie L. Holcomb is Associate Professor of Educational Administration and Supervision at Wichita State University, Campus Box 142, Wichita, KS 67203. She recently served as Associate Director of the National Center for Effective Schools at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. All rights reserved.