Welcome to the first issue of CSRD Connections, the SEDL newsletter dedicated to issues and activities related to the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program. Connections will bring you articles and discussions about implementation of school reform programs that will help support you through your first year of reform efforts and beyond. For this issue, we interviewed Barbara Gressler and Kathy Tackett, the instructional guide and principal, respectively, at Rogers Middle School in the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD). Rogers did not apply for CSRD funding, but the school is one of many SAISD schools that have adopted comprehensive school reform models during the past few years. We hope that you can learn from Rogers’ experience during their first two years of implementation. The challenges that Rogers has faced during the change process is typical of many schools involved in comprehensive school reform. Also in this issue, we are spotlighting the national CSRD database that was designed by SEDL information specialist Lacy Wood and web administrator Brian Litke. Additionally, we discuss what is in store for the CSRD program on a federal level. Wesley A. Hoover, Ph.D. President and CEO Joan L. Buttram, Ph.D. Vice-President and COO Shirley Hord, Ph.D.Program Manager, Strategies for Increasiing School Success Co-Editors CSRD Connections: Leslie A. Blair, Communications Associate and Jay P. LaPlante, Communications Specialist. Cover photo is ©PhotoDisc. ©1999 CSRD Connections is published quarterly by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. This publication was produced in whole or in part with funds from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. U.S.Department of Education under contract #RJ96006801. The content herein does not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Education, any other agency of the U.S. Government or any other source. You are welcome to reproduce Connections and may distribute copies at no cost to recipients; please credit the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory as publisher. SEDL is an Equal Employment Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Employer and is committed to affording equal employment opportunities to all individuals in all employment matters. Available in alternative formats.

n 1996, administrators, teachers and students at Harry H. Rogers Middle School (M.S.) were struggling. Many children seemed disinterested in learning and many parents were uninvolved in their children’s education. Discipline was a problem. Administrators were feeling the pressure from the district and state to improve test scores and academic achievement at the school, which is located in a working-class, largely Hispanic neighborhood in southeast San Antonio, Texas. Although the school’s Texas Assessment of Academic Skills scores (TAAS) earned the school an “Acceptable” rating, teachers knew their students were capable of doing much better.

At the time, San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) was urging each school to adopt a comprehensive school reform model as a way to address reform in a coordinated fashion. The school district had adopted five major goals in 1995 that included increasing student achievement as its number one priority. Rogers M.S. principal Kathy Tackett knew she needed the help of her staff if any real changes were to be made. She needed commitment. “I looked for key people who had it in their hearts,” she says. Tackett turned to Barbara Gressler for help.

Barbara Gressler grew up in southeast San Antonio and was a student at Rogers. As the Instructional Guide at Rogers, it is her job to find effective instructional designs, curricula and methods for teachers. Because of Gressler’s position and commitment to the school, Tackett assigned Gressler the role of finding a viable reform model.

After weeks of reviewing literature about comprehensive school reform and various models, attending meetings, and surfing the Internet, Gressler’s understanding about school reform was enhanced. Any model that the school adopted should include professional development training and ongoing technical assistance and provide structure to build positive relationships between teachers and students. It should encompass innovative and effective classroom methods and curricula based on research and have an element of parental involvement. Most importantly, it should produce increased student engagement and achievement. During this time, Rogers staff attended a SAISD work session where various school reform models were presented, including Modern Red School House (MRSh) which was of particular interest to Gressler and her colleagues.

MRSh is a comprehensive school reform design that is supported by New American Schools Development Corporation. The MRSh design requires high academic standards, extensive school restructuring, and sophisticated management systems to track student progress. MRSh focuses on reform efforts in technology, curriculum, academic standards, community involvement, professional development and finance.

When adopting the MRSh design, a school must commit to using technology. “There are three main reasons for this,” says Sally Kilgore, President and Founder of Modern Red Schoolhouse. “Communication, management, and instruction.” Communication is minimal or non-existent between parents, administrators, and teachers in too many schools, she observes, so technologies such as e-mail, voicemail, and the Internet provide them with modes of communication. In addition, managing a child’s progress by tracking them through multiple grades is another advantage of using technology. And as teachers develop their learning units, plans, and strategies on network computers, instructional archives are created. “In the past, when teachers left the classroom, all of their wisdom went with them,” says Kilgore. The instructional archives and computer sharing provides a way for others to access and draw upon their knowledge and successful classroom strategies.

Getting hooked up electronically appealed to Rogers M.S. teachers and administration. “Technology was a major need at our school,” says Gressler. “Everyone wanted it—teachers, students, and the community.”

When the school called a vote on whether to adopt MRSh, everyone at the school voted—administrators, teachers, cooks, paraprofessionals, and janitors. Parents who were members of the campus leadership team also voted. “We wanted to change the way we were doing things and we wanted everyone to have a part. It’s the first time our school has ever done that,” observes Gressler. With nearly 90% voter approval, MRSh was chosen.

In the two years following adoption of the MRSh model, important changes have taken place at Rogers. Although the focus must be on traditional disciplines—English, math, science, geography, and history—specific curricula or instructional designs are not required by MRSh. Rogers M.S. was able to use district and state standards in their reform design.

“Certain Modern Red tenets like task forces, the standardized instruction, teacher products and student-driven assessment—those are good education,” says Gressler. How a school builds its framework using the tenets is up to the school. She adds that MRSh plays a supportive role, not a directive one. “It’s a coaching process,” she explains. “MRSh is not going to tell you what your school is going to look like. They give you the necessary tools and ask you what you are going to do with them.” Therefore, the restructuring plan, carried out by school task forces, includes selection and development of curricula and instructional design at the school level. MRSh draws on research about best practices and methods that can be evaluated for positive effects and stresses that teachers must constantly assess and evaluate performance in the classroom—their own and that of the students.

Kathryn Severyns, a history teacher at Rogers M.S. used to teach a unit on the Salem Witch Trials primarily by giving her students something to read. Now she supports the reading with Internet and library research followed by interactive role play where her students act out scenes from the Salem Witch Trials. Later, when she teaches a unit on the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights and the Sixth Amendment—that all citizens are guaranteed the right to a fair trial—she reminds her class about the unfairness that existed during the Salem Witch Trials. “Those kinds of activities are beneficial to students because it accesses their prior learning,” Severyns says.

At the end of last school year, Severyns assessed which activities and lessons were remembered by her students. The Salem Witch Trials was among them both because it was fun for the students and because it connected with other things they learned previously and to lessons learned later.

Gressler reports that teachers at Rogers M.S. are taking more initiative in designing effective lessons to make the connection with the student. “Overall, we have children who are more focused on learning. They know why they are there. They’re valuing what they are learning,” she notes. Also, she is pleased teachers are collaborating more on multidisciplinary teams. “Connections are being made between what students do in science and what they do in social studies,” she says. These collaborations often result in student products that incorporate several subjects.

Interestingly, TAAS scores had shown some improvement before the MRSh was adopted, but then dropped after implementation began. “This is what is described as the ‘implementation dip’,” says Shirley Hord, Program Manager of SEDL’s Strategies for Increasing School Success Program. The “implementation dip” is the period just after change is initiated when things seem to move backward rather than forward. “This is normal,” reports Hord. “It may take two to three years to begin to see significant improvement.”

Melanie Morrissey, a SEDL program specialist points out that a dip may occur in test performance because teachers are only just learning new skills to connect the test objectives with the curriculum they teach and what is expected of their students on the test. “Also, they are dealing with changing the way they teach; the content, curriculum, instructional methods, etc.,” she says. Schools should acknowledge that addressing a “problem” area, such as lower test scores, will involve multiple grades and classes of students and than a year’s time.

“When the school is under a microscope and is told to get its scores up, staff have a tendency to want to go back to the way it was,” says Joan Buttram, Chief Operating Officer at SEDL. Patience is needed during this time, Buttram observes. “You’ve got to be willing to delay gratification and that’s hard.”

Despite their initial disappointment, the staff at Rogers M.S. pressed on. And in this, the third year of implementation, student gains have been small but sure. Overall, the Reading, Math, and Writing TAAS scores have increased. The positive marks are credited directly to changes recommended and supported by MRSh, including changes in instructional methods and teacher-student relationships. Still, more has to be done.

Discipline remains a problem at the school. “We’re still struggling with respect from children and respect from each other,” observes Gressler. Guided questioning from Modern Red helps the staff to key in on some underlying issues and solve problems. When teachers are having difficulties in managing student discipline problems, they want to know what they are doing wrong so they can change and manage the situations more effectively. Other changes include a new culture of mutual respect and cooperation between teachers and administrators and more teacher collaboration when writing and developing curricula products. “We have to put judgement out the window because we have some very difficult and hard work to do,” Gressler states. “We have to be supportive, collaborative and professional.”

This spirit of cooperation lends itself to the teacher-parent relationship also. The “us vs. them” (teachers vs. parents) syndrome is beginning to disappear, resulting in more parental involvement. The school now has an active parent/community liaison, and community members are eager to attend school events, such as a recent family math and science night. Gressler reports, “We had people who came that weren’t parents. They were just community members who wanted to know what was going on. It was more fun than watching t.v. It was a good place to be.”

Also, the school offers some parenting classes. This school year they have plans to implement a program involving parents whose children have been suspended, where the parents can come in and discuss what is going on with child at home and at school and try to find out why the student made the choices that he or she did.

In the past, even the most dedicated teachers at Rogers M.S. were skeptical about change. “They began to think that if they just held out, it would go away,” said Gressler. But they are now beginning to understand that change requires pushing themselves. Their commitment is without question; 75 percent of the staff have been at the school for more than five years and they plan to stay. “I think even the most resistant teacher will admit that we have moved our students and our school forward,” said Gressler.

Nonetheless, change always involves some resistance. “I’m not going to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes,” Gressler said. “Task forces have not met as regularly as they should have. We still have a long way to go with them. And our students are not being challenged enough.” Future meetings with task forces and MRSh consultants will address these issues. On a positive note, she reports, “Continued progress can be seen over the three years. We have made some solid gains in our test scores. And we see the potential for additional change and for increased growth.”

Despite difficulties, school personnel remain positive and focused on the future. “We are looking at turn-key training for next year where a small group will be trained [in a discipline] and come back and peer mentor and peer teach,” Gressler reports. They also plan to utilize the technology to make a more meaningful difference. “We’re going to put our attendance and progress reports on-line.” This will reduce paper work for teachers which in turn, will increase instructional time and attention to the student in the classroom.

Principal Tackett believes all TAAS scores will continue to improve. “Every day is a challenge,” she said. Teachers are changing to make a difference. They look forward to learning about what is successful at other schools. Tackett feels better about loosening her grip and allowing teachers to manage themselves and their classrooms. “They are more confident in themselves,” she reports. Since she began turning certain responsibilities over to her teacher colleagues, she has been able to spend more time with students, a part of her job she enjoys.

“It’s not easy working here sometimes,” says Gressler. “It can be very difficult because we do push each other.” To avoid becoming discouraged, Gressler notes that celebrating successes, even small ones, is important. At a recent school meeting with MRSh consultants, the Rogers M.S. Leadership task force members were feeling somewhat disheartened until they listed all of the changes that have taken place over the past year. “It's amazing,” reports Gressler. “We were able to look at all we’ve accomplished this year.” They quickly filled up three walls with successes and achievements.

When asked for advice to give to other school leaders on implementing reform, Gressler would remind schools that change is an evolving process. “It comes in little pieces,” she says.

Patience and cooperation are key. “Be supportive. Don’t be condemning. People change at different rates,” Gressler advises. She believes that anyone involved in reform at Rogers M.S. or any other school has to continually remember why they are doing it. “We’re going to do it for the child. If we have to change for the good of that child, then we change,” she says. “Whatever it takes!”

To learn more about MRSh and other reform models, see SEDL's CSRD Web page.

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