A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Implementing Schoolwide Projects - May 1994

Chapter 1 - Schoolwide Projects: A Catalyst for Reform


We were able to get parents involved, so that now it is their PTA. Previously, I was the PTA.

--Chapter 1 parent liaison

The secret to success is doing things schoolwide, because you will never change with just one teacher doing things differently. You need the entire school and its parents with you; you need to learn what works and what doesn't.

--Principal, four years with a schoolwide project

The schoolwide has allowed us to do amazing things...and meet the needs of all the children, particularly those most at risk. The Chapter 1 funds allowed us to carry out the collaboration we envisioned; it allowed us to support the flexible instructional grouping our children needed so badly.

--Teacher, Chapter 1 schoolwide project

Prior to becoming a schoolwide, this school was one of the worst, most poorly maintained schools in the district...The schoolwide project gave the staff the opportunity and resources to improve the school. We did need the full year to plan, however--exposing staff to ideas, building background for them. At the beginning, many of our teachers were using the buzz words, but not until we had the training (did) those ideas take on meaning in the classroom.

--Chapter 1 Coordinator, four years with schoolwide projects

The Rationale

Schoolwide projects create a real sense of excitement in some high-poverty schools. According to one principal in Worcester, Massachusetts:

You won't believe how excited the kids are. They're happier, they feel that they can do things. They're not bored.... I've seen kids involved in interactive, interdisciplinary learning. I've seen children willing to take responsibility and get involved.... I've seen teachers reflecting with other teachers and being willing to brainstorm and provide solutions. As a result of our schoolwide project, I've seen the culture of the school quite frankly change.

Schoolwide projects are enriching the academic program for the whole child and for the whole school while removing the stigma of the label "disadvantaged." State and national policy makers are joining local leaders to support the schoolwide concept.

Schoolwide projects offer children in high-poverty schools the chance to learn in classrooms with a far wider array of options. Schoolwide Chapter 1 encourages the kind of organizational and programmatic flexibility that gives educators "the freedom to reconfigure the school day, to foster cooperation among the instructional staff, to control school resources, and to be released from unnecessarily restrictive mandates covering grouping of students, minutes of instruction, detailed curriculum sequences, specific work rules, and other minutiae of education procedures." (Independent Review Panel, 1993, p. 18.) When a program is properly planned and developed to meet its potential, the schoolwide focus expands the resource base for every child. It reaches the most educationally disadvantaged children by immersing them in more advanced curricula and the best instruction, keeping them in class with peers who can show the way.

The Evolution of Reform

First authorized as part of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1978, schoolwide projects grew out of research about what makes schools work for disadvantaged students. Repeated findings of those early studies showed that the principals and staff in highly effective schools developed cohesive plans and expected high academic achievement from every child. They established safe schools that were conducive to learning and supported student-centered instruction in an expanded core of subjects, going beyond reading and mathematics to include social studies, sciences, and the arts.

In the years since schoolwide Chapter 1 was instituted, researchers have documented that when the total school is the target of change, schools serving even the most disadvantaged youth can achieve success (Edmonds, 1979; Lightfoot, 1983; Slavin, Karweit & Madden, 1989). This research on "effective schools" showed that five features typically characterize well-functioning schools in poor communities (RMC, 1992): (1) emphasis on both advanced and basic thinking; (2) a safe and orderly environment for learning; (3) positive expectations for all children; (4) ongoing monitoring of learning; and (5) strong and effective school leadership.

The U.S. Department of Education has funded several large-scale evaluations to examine the progress of schoolwide projects (among other evaluation purposes) and to evaluate their overall effectiveness in improving student performance (Millsap et al., 1992; Puma et al., 1993; Stringfield et al., 1992). Although researchers continue to examine the complexities of schoolwide programs, well-run schoolwides clearly benefit students. An RMC Research Corporation survey of all schoolwide project schools and districts (Schenck & Beckstrom, 1993) found that 125 principals out of the 149 who had operated schoolwide projects for three years observed improvements in the quality of students' educational experiences. Seventy-eight percent of principals reported that their projects were successful after three years, and 38 percent of this group saw the positive effects of their schoolwide initiatives increase over time (Schenck & Beckstrom, 1993, pp. 46, III-21).
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