A Geology of School Reform: The Successive Restructurings of a School District (Suny Series, Restructuring and School Change)

Provides a rare look at how successive waves of educational reforms have interacted within a single school district.A Geology of School Reform provides a rare look at how successive waves of reform have interacted within a single school district. Among the questions raised are: Which practices proved destructive to the learning of students and the morale of teachers? What innovations have practitioners kept despite changes in educational fashion? The Cottonwood School District, which began as two rural schoolhouses in the early 1950s, is followed through the experiments of the 1960s; the back-to-basics movements of the 1970s; and the innovations of the 1980s. The successive waves of reform had different meanings for various professional and community groups within this culturally diverse district. Educators, enmeshed in the priorities of previous reforms, often resisted subsequent changes. Although the differences that arose between them and their communities sometimes required facilitators to assist communication, collaborative decision making has helped Cottonwood to deal with these changes.Liane Brouillette is Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Cultural Studies at the University of Houston. Since the 1960s, a dizzying array of educational reforms have been introduced in school districts across the United States. This book describes a study that focused on how successive waves of reform interacted within a single school district. The study follows the suburban Cottonwood School District from its beginnings in the early 1950s through the early 1990s. The study examines the multiple misunderstandings that occurred, over a period of four decades, among individuals whose formative experiences with public schools were shaped by widely differing historical circumstances and philosophical perspectives. Data were derived from document analysis; observation; and interviews with and a survey of school board members, administrators, teachers, support personnel, and community members. Following the introduction, chapter 2 outlines how the shared decision-making process was intended to operate within the site-based environment established by the most recent superintendent. Chapter 3 explores the historical bedrock upon which later events in the district were built. The fourth chapter traces the reforms implemented by the superintendent who served during 1972-82. He was a strong believer in Management by Objectives, Mastery Learning, and criterion-referenced testing. The district-level organizational structure that evolved out of the shared decision-making process is described in chapter 5. It discusses strategic planning efforts, curriculum development, and how usage of the term "performance based" came to refer to complex activities requiring higher order thinking skills. Chapter 6 focuses on how the district implemented its new curriculum framework in a site-based environment. The seventh chapter traces the differing paths that the district's three high schools have followed since implementation of site-based decision making. Chapter 8 discusses the use of shared decision making to address districtwide concerns, such as high school attendance and budget cuts. The final chapter describes how the differing lenses through which various groups have viewed major issues have created misunderstandings. Four tables and an index are included. (Contains 48 references.) (LMI) 1. Introduction -- 2. Now ... And Then: A Change In Perspective -- 3. Back When All This Was Farmland: The Administration Of Ed Larimer, 1953-1972 -- 4. Management And Learning By Objectives: The Administration Of Bill Davis, 1972-1982 -- 5. Negotiating The Process Of Reform: The Administration Of Dave Roberts -- 6. Implementing The New Curriculum Framework: The Dynamics Of Change -- 7. Differing Paths Taken Under Site-based Management: The Cottonwood High Schools -- 8. Shared Decision-making At The District Level: Limitations Inherent In The Social Context -- 9. Differing Perspectives On The Purpose Of Schooling. Liane Brouillette. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 241-244) And Index. Annotation An archeological study of one school district describing its successive waves of school reform through the eyes of administrators, teachers, community leaders, and parents whose contributions both hindered and advanced changes. The study follows the Cottonwood School District (all names are fictitious) from its two rural schoolhouses in the early 1950s, through the experimental 1960s, the "back to basics" 1970s, the "whole education" approaches of the 1980s, and into the current budgetary crisis of the 1990s. The examination is a microcosm look at American education and a community's competing values. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR