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How can we promote learning and engagement for both adults and students? How can districts support collaborative school improvement efforts?
Several years ago, I had a conversation with a man considered to be an outstanding principal. I asked, "What happened at the school where you were last principal? Are the reforms still in place?"
"That has been a real disappointment for me," he lamented. "You see, conditions and programs at the school soon returned to the way they were before I got there."
Over the intervening years, I've held several similar conversations. "Returning to normal" is the usual story. It is not surprising that schools do not maintain their improvements. New principals and superintendents often come to a school or district with their own agendas. Or they respond to a charge from the superintendent or board to "turn this school around," "get us back on an even keel," "undo what the incumbent did," or "move us into the future." Such sweeping mandates ignore the history, passions, and qualities of an incumbent staff, choosing instead to import reforms that are both generic and popular.
Less often do new administrators hear, "This is a good school that is getting better. Structures are in place to continue the work. Teacher and parent leadership is strong. We need a principal who can co-lead this school in the direction it is already going."
Most schools cannot yet be described in these glowing terms-they have yet to reach the capacity to sustain improvements on their own. Whether the school is advanced or a beginner in reform, what it does not need is to start over. Each time a school is forced to start over, its staff and community lose some of their personal energy and commitment.
If we are to sustain our improvements and build on the strength and commitment of educators, we need to address the capacity of schools to lead themselves. We need to rethink both leadership and capacity building.
Rethinking Leadership
When we think about leadership, we are accustomed to picturing people in roles with formal authority, such as principals, vice-principals, directors, or superintendents. But we can view leadership as a verb, rather than a noun, by considering the processes, activities, and relationships in which people...