Breaking Through

by Simmons, John; Codding, Judy B.; Danielson, Charlotte (CON); Meier, Deborah

• ISBN13: 9780807746578
• ISBN10: 0807746576
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-05-01
• Publisher: Teachers College Pr

Summary

Is it possible to fundamentally improve the daily working of the urban classroom in less than seven years? In this ambitious volume, Simmons and a stellar group of contributors bring the best current research to bear on a range of critical topics, creating a practical framework that superintendents and their teams can use to transform their big-city school systems into true learning communities. Integrating many voices into a larger vision, Breaking Through: Demonstrates how cutting-edge thinking about system change in business has been used to successfully transform schools and close the achievement gap among diverse students, Provides an overview and assessment of the reform efforts of current largedistrict superintendents, including Alan Bersin, Tom Payzant, Arne Duncan, and Kaye Stripling, Applies current research to illuminate what has succeeded and what has not worked in cities such as Boston, San Diego, Houston, and especially Chicago. Book jacket.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xiii
Introduction: The Challenge of Changing a Complex System	p. 1
No Excuses: Transforming Urban School Districts	p. 7
School Reform in Chicago, 1988-2005	p. 11
History	p. 13
What Worked in High-Gain Schools?	p. 17
What Did Not Work?	p. 19
Drawing the New Map: The Three Organizing Principles	p. 24
Consistency: One Vision in the Classroom and the Central Office	p. 24
Case Study-Superintendent Jerry Anderson, Brazosport, Texas	p. 25
Simultaneity: Work Everywhere at Once	p. 28
Case Study-Superintendent Tom Payzant, Boston, Massachusetts	p. 29
Quality: Learn from the Best	p. 31
Focus Here: Four Necessary Strategies	p. 33
Create Leaders at Every Level	p. 34
Case Study-Superintendent Tom Payzant, Boston, Massachusetts	p. 38
Transform the Structure and Culture	p. 39
Case Study-Decentralization, Autonomy, and Accountability in Chicago, San Diego, Boston, and Houston	p. 44
Improve Instruction	p. 47
Involve Parents and Make Funding Adequate and Equitable	p. 50
In the Driver's Seat: Lessons from Big-City Superintendents	p. 55
Case Study-Improving Business Practices-Superintendents Alan Bersin, Tom Payzant, and Kaye Stripling in San Diego, Boston, and Houston	p. 57
Case Study-Managing Resistance to Change-Former Superintendent Alan Bersin, San Diego	p. 58
What They Share: A Final Overview	p. 60
No Time to Waste: Expert Strategies for Accelerating Change	p. 65
Create More Effective Leaders at Every Level	p. 67
Recruiting and Training Effective School Leaders: What Will It Take?	p. 70
Developing School Leaders: Issues and Ideas in Professional Development	p. 77
School District Leadership in a Time of Accountability	p. 84
Transform the Structure and Culture of the System	p. 91
Large-Scale Improvement in Urban Public School Systems: The Next Generation of Reform	p. 93
The Silence of the System: Why Organizations Can't Learn	p. 102
"People Treat You Differently If You Have Money": School-Site Decision Making in Edmonton	p. 109
Whole-School and Systemwide Reform: Problems and Promises	p. 115
Early Education, Care, and School Success	p. 122
High School Redesign: What's Working	p. 128
Improving Student Achievement Through Labor-Management Collaboration	p. 134
Improve the Quality of Instruction	p. 148
Urban Teaching: Strategies for Quality	p. 150
Improving Student Learning Through Enhanced Teacher Quality	p. 168
Cultivating Accountability: Creating Conditions for All Students to Achieve High Standards	p. 175
Build Effective Support with Parents and Funding	p. 186
Improving Parent Engagement	p. 188
Education Reform and School Finance	p. 198
Leading Change: How to Transform a System That Resists Improvement	p. 207
When "Best Practice" Is Not Enough: Three Studies	p. 209
Foundations for Success	p. 209
An Impossible Job?	p. 211
School Communities That Work	p. 212
What These Studies Lack	p. 213
The High-Performance Paradigm Shift	p. 215
Continuous Improvement for Schools and Districts	p. 218
Fourteen Points for Continuous Improvement in Education	p. 219
The Z Process for Leading Change: How You Do It Is Even More Important Than What You Do	p. 224
Readiness	p. 225
Redesign	p. 226
Implementation and Improvement	p. 226
Applying the Z Process: How Brazosport Closed the Gap	p. 227
More Ideas for Using the Z	p. 229
The Leadership Needed	p. 232
Pulling It All Together	p. 233
Don't Let This Book Sit on a Shelf: A Call to Action	p. 236
About the Authors	p. 239
Index	p. 244
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