New Report: District Policies and Classroom Practicies

Posted by on September 9, 2005

[posted from Public Education Network newsblast]

WHY EDUCATIONAL REFORMS FAIL
The Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform has just released a new research report that examines why large reform initiatives often end in failure. The report, “A Delicate Balance: District Policies and Classroom Practices,” highlights some of the important conditions that need to be in place for instructional reforms to reach schools and classrooms. The report provides case studies based on a three-year qualitative research project that examines district policies and initiatives in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Seattle, and tracks policy initiatives as they wind their way from the central office to the classroom. The case studies illustrate the delicate balance needed between school-level autonomy, central guidance and direction, and shared responsibility for student learning. “The research supports what Cross City Campaign has always believed,” explained Diana Nelson, executive director of the organization. “When principals and teachers are not integral in driving the policy agenda and are not provided with adequate resources and support, big initiatives announced with much fanfare will be impotent at best, and at worst will interfere with principals and teachers being able to provide quality instruction.”

http://www.crosscity.org/