Will our Phones Go Dead? The Changing Role of the Central Office: Issues About Change, Volume 2, Number 4

Traditionally, central office staff's primary goal has been to make and deliver policies and monitor their implementation. With site-based management, the central office staff's goal shifts to supporting educators by giving them the authority, flexibility, and resources they need to solve school problems.

This paper proposes new roles for central office staff, illustrated with examples from three school districts. It:

• Explains site-based management
• Lists nine metaphors used to describe the new administrator's functions
• Describes three school districts undergoing transformation from central control to site-based management

This publication is one of a series of briefing papers called Issues About Change.