According to the Characteristics of Improved School Districts - Themes from Research (October, 2004), improved
districts access, analyze, interpret, and mediate state and federal policy with local policy. They also buffer schools
against external disturbances and distractions, mobilize and manage community and business support, and involve family and
community as partners.
Spillane (District Policy Making and State Standards: A Cognitive Perspective on Implementation, 2002)
notes that leaders "learn" the state and federal policies and in turn teach them to others within the system. This
impacts the implementation of the policy (p. 149).
Keeping a clear focus on student learning and teaching is one means to protect the reform agenda in a building/district.
School and district leadership recognize that their communities are integral to their work in student learning; they
all have mutual responsibility to work together for "equitable student learning" (Skrla et al., Equity-Driven Achievement-Focused
School Districts. A Report on Systemic School Success in Four Texas School Districts Serving Diverse Student Populations,
2000, p. 35). District and school leadership must actively seek community and parent participation in their schools,
which includes "knocking down the barriers" such as childcare and transportation (p. 36).
"Stakeholders in the most collaborative districts" are not "simply informed about new efforts but involved in their development
and implementation" (Togneri & Anderson, Beyond Islands of Excellence: What Districts Can Do to Improve Instruction
and Achievement, p. 32).
The Leading for Learning Sourcebook by Knapp et al (2003, p. 31) suggests these tasks for "engaging external
environments that matter for learning":
- Make efforts to understand community, professional, and policy environments.
- Build relationships with individuals and groups.
- Anticipate resistances and devise ways to manage conflict.
- Garner the full range of resources (e.g., fiscal, intellectual, human) that support the learning agenda.
Questions for reflection:
- How does the district interpret state and federal policy to schools and assist with implementation?
- How does the district/building mobilize community support?
- How does the district/building involve family and community in school/district affairs?
- How does the district/building enlist the involvement and support of all stakeholders, including staff members, union
leadership, business leaders, families and community, in implementing reform initiatives?
- How does the district balance the need to buffer schools from external distractions while opening schools for family and
community involvement?
This page was last updated on January 2, 2007.
