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A Single Program Probably Won't Help in Every Case Multifaceted Reforms Should Focus on Each School's Particular Needs As districts look for ways to turn around struggling schools, a recent Center on Education Policy (CEP) report found that most states were not solely using the six corrective actions found in No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Most were using the new curriculum action – but with multiple reform efforts occurring. The importance of the multiple reform efforts emphasized the need for each district and school in Program Improvement (PI) to look at what can and should be done districtwide, and what other reform efforts are needed based on the specific school needs. Some of the districtwide reforms being used by districts are standardizing formative assessments, providing professional development for teachers in the use of research based reforms, and implementing RtI (Response to Intervention). School site reforms should be based on analysis of the school’s problem areas. Districts need to provide consultants or district staff to assist the school in a process to review the problems and potential reforms. Once the problems are identified, next the needs are identified, and research based reforms are implemented based on the identified needs. An example of this type of reform was a district recognizing that additional time for differentiated instruction was needed. The school began an early start for students who needed additional instructional time to catch up. Many districts have assisted their schools by providing professional development to teachers on how to organize curricula around state standards, analyze student test results, tailor instruction to students’ needs and incorporate research-based instructional programs into the school day and into after school programs. This finding reinforced the knowledge that a single program or reform will not resolve all of the problems for all schools. Each school needs to have assistance in looking carefully at the needs of the student subgroups who are struggling. They need to know specifically in what areas the students are struggling, and why they are struggling. Once the analysis is complete, the school needs to review the possible ways to support the students. One school in a district may recognize the issue is related to students struggling to acquire English, and so students may need different curriculum, additional time and professional development for teachers and parents in how to assist students. In another school in the same district the problem may be related to the number of students who are reading far below grade level. This school may need a different master schedule, training for teachers in how to teach reading in all subject areas, and the use of assessment. The district needs to assist both schools in this example in an ongoing review of the reforms selected. School sites often choose to continue a program because they are familiar with the program and have anecdotal evidence of its success. These programs need to be reviewed based on the success of the students in meeting the state standards. All of the successful schools found they needed to modify their efforts depending on the success of the reforms attempted. While it is tempting to select a single reform program for all schools in a district, the research indicates the needs of the school’s students are best met with multiple reforms efforts that address the specific needs of the school sites. Editor's Note: Tina Burkhart is the Director of District Support Services for the educational consulting firm Total School Solutions |
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