ierra Vista’s success and Sunrise’s challenges would not surprise Margarita Calderón, a researcher with Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Research on Students Placed at Risk. Calderón, who works with CSRD schools across the country notes, "The teachers may have materials, they may have workshops, they may have a lot of things related to reform in place. But it’s really the messages from the principal, it’s the messages from the central administration that motivate teachers." Calderón believes, "The onus is on the principals....They set the tone. They model for their teachers. It is their responsibility to set the structures in motion and to keep them in motion."¹ Though the principal carries much of the responsibility for the success of a CSR program, his or hers is not the only leadership that is necessary—shared leadership is crucial, as we discussed in the last issue of Connections.

	Wendell Brown, principal at Alderson Junior High School, is a firm believer in letting teachers know that he appreciates all of their efforts.

Calderón says that if shared leadership is not strong, "When a principal leaves, most of the teachers are devastated and we see an innovation going by the wayside."

The change of principals at Sunrise, in the absence of strong shared leadership, left the school unable to continue effective implementation of its CSR program. The same thing occurs even when a school or district is doing well but has too much riding on one person. The authors of Leadership for School Improvement write, "Those who have been involved in reform have noted the void–and subsequent lack of progress–that can appear when the "hero-leader" leaves. . . .Although people in the organization may work collaboratively on an initiative, they may nonetheless continue to look to a single figure for the vision or energy to guide and sustain an initiative or reform."²

In light of the importance of shared leadership, Principal Suzanne Martinez should continue encouraging teachers to assume strong leadership roles in the school reform program. Additionally, since progress has been fairly slow, Sierra Vista teachers may need to intensify efforts to reach their goals for student achievement. This may mean the staff should look more closely to determine what changes in instruction are needed and which students need additional instruction.

For Sunrise, it might be helpful if the district hired an assistant principal or instructional guide to help Principal Carolyn Smith wade through the administrative tasks necessary to run a school of more than 600 students and to help provide needed instructional leadership for the teachers.

The school should also work to rebuild its relationship with the community, making an effort to reach out to parents and get them involved. Wendell Brown, the principal of Alderson Junior High in Lubbock, Texas, believes comprehensive school reform can bring about powerful changes in a community. He says, "Comprehensive school reform is not just about the campus—it is about impacting the lives of our children for a long time and changing the face of the community so that the entire community connects to learning in an exponential way. For an educator there is no greater gift."³

And even though Sunrise has discontinued its CSR program, beginning to examine student data would provide valuable information about the strengths and weaknesses in instruction and curriculum and perhaps encourage teachers to make instructional and attitudinal changes for the sake of their students.

"Young people only go through school once," says Dennis Sparks, executive director of the National Staff Development Council. "They deserve—some people would even say they have the right—to learn to read and do mathematics and learn social studies and see themselves as competent learners. They’re only going to make that journey once. And it’s our obligation, I believe, as educators to make certain that that’s the very best experience that those kids can have."⁴

¹Interview with Margarita Calderón, January 31, 2000.

²Leadership for School Improvement (2000). Aurora, CO: Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning, p. 10. On-line at http://www.mcrel.org/topics/topics.asp?topicsid=12.

³SEDL interview with Wendell Brown, January 21, 2000.

⁴SEDL interview with Dennis Sparks, February 2, 2000.