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Leadership > The Change Process
Challenges and Incongruities
Table of Contents:
Introduction
At the edge of the city, Crossroads High School looms against the bare
hills and over the rows of student cars. At first glance, it appears to
have been created by a New England sea captain infatuated with the culture
of the southwestern United States: the three towers of the school, adobe-like
structures topped with glass, resemble lighthouses along the Atlantic
coast. According to the student handbook, the school's towers represent
the pillars of the school: academics, athletics, and activities.
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An Overview of Crossroads
Although a winner of an international award for its design when it was
constructed four years ago, and identified within its state as a leader
in innovative programs, Crossroads is still trying to overcome the community's
tendency to consider it a second-rate place in comparison with long-established
Main High School.
Crossroads is home to about eleven hundred students; 70 percent are
Hispanic and another 3 percent are from other minority groups. The school
is located in one of the nation's most beautiful cities, a culturally
rich home to art galleries, chamber music, and opera. For the most part,
Crossroads' students are drawn from the town's low-income population--most
of the more affluent reportedly defeated a school board move to include
them when the school opened.
In some ways Crossroads is a high school similar to many in the country.
Students' normal schedule includes classes in six fifty-five-minute periods
each day, five days a week. In order to graduate from Crossroads, students
must earn twenty-three credits, including four credits of English, three
of math, two of science, one of PE, one-half of health, one of U.S. history,
one of government/economics, one of world history/geography, and one of
communications. Students also have to pass the state competency tests
to demonstrate that they possess the basic skills the state expects.
During lunch period, students might climb in a car and join the large,
exiting group that drives the two miles to Taco Bell, Burger King, Wendy's,
Sonic, or one of the variety of outlets in the shopping mall. Those who
remain at school gather at the round tables in the student cafeteria for
fare such as "Navajo Taco/Lettuce & Tomato/Beef Fajitas/Flour Tortilla/Spanish
Rice/Salsa/Milk & Juice, Chilled Fruit & Cherry Pie," as the menu announced
for October 23, 1991.
At the end of the school day, students can participate in a wide variety
of extracurricular activities. Athletes, drama students, and musicians
perform in state-of-the-art facilities. Students readily identified the
sports program and school spirit as strong features of Crossroads. They
also spoke with pride of the drama program in which they mount productions
attended by elementary and middle school students who are brought to Crossroads.
These children and adults from the community see productions such as Stud
Terkel's Working.
Members of the band perform for some of the athletic events--mainly
football and basketball games--in addition to performing at seasonal concerts
of their own. Some student athletes miss classes for these extracurricular
activities, since a number of the contests start during the last period.
Many other athletes are enrolled in a special PE section for athletes
during that period.
Crossroads' students have access to a wide variety of other clubs and
activities, such as computer club, speech club, astronomy club, DECA,
and Future Homemakers. Students who do not participate in such activities
are labeled "outsiders" by some of the students who do take part.
Crossroads has counselors, health specialists, and social workers to
assist with various special needs. It offers special education and Chapter
I services to students needing academic assistance. A central characteristic
of Crossroads is that parents, students, and teachers demonstrate concern
for the success and welfare of the students. The successes of Crossroads
have been obtained with less money per student than is spent, on the average,
nationally.
One of the key challenges Crossroads faces is a lack of continuity,
due to all the changes in its leadership. Changes in key personnel may
be the most constant feature of Crossroads. The superintendent who initiated
the school died suddenly two years ago and was replaced by an interim
superintendent, who has since been replaced by the current superintendent.
The original principal was replaced this year by an administrator from
a nearby junior high. Three months into this school year, an assistant
principal left, and he was replaced by his predecessor. The current assistant
principal is the second person to hold her position.
Thus, in four years, there have been two principals and four assistant
principals (with one of the four having been assigned to the school twice).
Ten new full- and part-time teachers have been hired this year. Two of
the originators of the Pathways program (an innovative program described
below) have left the school.
The process for selecting the present principal--who is new as of the
start of this, the fourth, school year--involved a screening committee
that included teachers, a parent, and a student selected from the school's
Governing Council, and teachers, a parent, and a student selected from
the school community at large. The principal has had two years of experience
as a vice principal in one of the junior high schools that feeds Crossroads.
He is, at once, a person whose selection was supported by many on the
faculty and one who is seen by others as lacking in high school experience.
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Crossroads' Innovative Features
In spite of its many traditional features, Crossroads has its unique
characteristics. As one student observed, "When you move [here] from someplace
[else], it's hard to know what to take; we don't have English and social
studies." In fact, during its short history, Crossroads has developed
a statewide reputation as a leader in the struggle for school reform.
Crossroads has earned this reputation because of two innovative features:
the Pathways program and the Governing Council.
Pathways is a multi-age, interdisciplinary humanities program in which
all ninth-, tenth- and eleventh-grade students enroll. Pathways teachers
use common themes drawn from world and American history to link history
and English. Ninth-, tenth-, and eleventh-graders satisfy their requirements
in these fields by enrolling in the Pathways program. Even though the
rest of the students' school day is divided into conventional fifty-five-minute
periods, their Pathways class is blocked so that they may have a longer
time with one or both of their Pathways teachers.
Students are told that Pathways emphasizes interdisciplinary curriculum,
heterogeneous grouping, cooperative learning, and assessment through Exhibitions
of written, oral, and visual presentations. The description of the program
in the student handbook states:
Pathways is a humanities project organized around themes in history,
literature, philosophy, and the arts. Currently, five themes cover topics
in American history, world history, and government. Each theme is taught
cooperatively by English and history teachers. All students attend a
Pathways class, and, grouped heterogeneously by age and ability from
the first three years of high school, study within each of these thematic
families. During their senior year, students will major in one of five
areas and combine their studies with internship experience.
The second feature that has given Crossroads its reputation of being
an innovative school is the Governing Council. Led by its teacher chair,
the Governing Council involves teachers, a parent, students, and administrators
in critical decisions. The school has had a Governing Council since it
opened. Prior to the school's first year, the Panasonic Foundation conducted
a week-long training session for faculty who had been selected by June
1988. This training session initiated shared decision-making practices
at Crossroads. By March of that year (according to the teacher who is
the current chair of the Governing Council), parents managed to win a
seat, and by April the students added a representative.
Beyond its Pathways program and Governing Council, however, Crossroads
has been committed to innovation since its creation through its connection
with Re:Learning.1 Re:Learning, a partnership involving the Coalition
of Essential Schools and the Education Commission of the States, provides
funding and a coordinator to support schools involved in Essential school
reform. Re:Learning provides a framework for allowing school-based reform
efforts to influence state educational policy and for schools to obtain
support for planning and testing new classroom practices and school structures.
Involvement with Re:Learning and with Panasonic is partially attributable
to a charismatic superintendent whose vision helped create several model
schools in the district. His untimely death two years ago left a power
vacuum in the district which administrators, teachers, and parents suggest
is just now sorting itself out.
In its 1990-91 Re:Learning report, Crossroads identified an ambitious
Action Plan for the 1991-92 school year. During two visits in the fall
of 1991, the only item from that extensive plan which we heard discussed
was the intention of the business department to provide support for planning
a new vocational wing at the school. With such rapid turnover, the task
of sustained renewal becomes tremendously difficult.
The state's Re:Learning coordinator described Crossroads as "an implementation
school."2 He uses teachers and administrators from the school to help
conduct training sessions for other schools and for the staff of the state
office. In this way the Crossroads staff has contributed to the change
effort of other schools throughout the state.
Crossroads' involvement with Re:Learning includes participation in its
state's version of a "Trek." Treks were originally designed by the Coalition
of Essential Schools as week-long seminars to help schools investigate
and manage change. Crossroads' faculty members have also participated
in a follow-up session to the Trek. A team from the district central office
participated in the first district Trek conducted nationally by Re:Learning
during the fall of 1991 in Delaware. The central administrators who participated
in this session were enthusiastic about it and voiced strong support for
Crossroads' efforts.
The student handbook indicates that the school's goals have been adapted
to be consistent with the Coalition's nine Common Principles. (See Appendix
B for a listing of these Principles.) The faculty handbook, on the other
hand, does not include anything about the curriculum or programmatic focus
of the school but emphasizes rules that teachers and students need to
follow. The student handbook also includes the school's mission statement--its
version of the Common Principles. Originally drafted prior to the school's
opening in 1988, the statement has been rewritten several times and was
adopted by a faculty vote and by the Crossroads Governing Council on May
17, 1991:
[Crossroads High School's] faculty, students, parents, and administration
believe that all students must have equal access to an excellent education.
We are committed to developing disciplined citizens and to providing
students with active learning experiences which promote inquiry and
a desire for life-long learning.
We further believe that healthy self-esteem fosters motivation and
is the key to students' educational success. To this end all activities
and disciplinary procedures will promote student self-esteem and a sense
of school community.
The specific objectives we have set to meet our goals are consistent
with the Re:Learning [Crossroads High School] program:
A. Helping adolescents learn to use their minds well;
B. Helping adolescents master a specific number of essential skills;
C. Applying the school's goals to all students equitably;
D. Establishing small, personal classes;
E. Teaching adolescents to [sic] responsible for their own learning;
F. Awarding diplomas to students who have successfully exhibited mastery
of established standards for essential knowledge and skills;
G. Fostering an atmosphere of inquisitiveness, trust and decency;
H. Employing a staff that has a sense of commitment to our students;
I. Recognizing the non-academic as well as academic time needs of our
students;
J. Providing additional time for collaborative planning by teachers.
These are the school's official goals and mission statements. To get
a further understanding of the school, we looked at how students and adults
experience it.
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A "Snapshot" of Crossroads
In October 1991 we made our first visit to Crossroads High School as
part of the School Change Study. During our October visit we talked with
people in the school community--teachers, students, staff, and parents--observed
a number of classrooms, and obtained additional information from written
material in order to produce the following "snapshot" of what it is like
to teach and to learn at Crossroads High School.3
During our first visit to Crossroads High School, we interviewed thirty
teachers, forty-five students, six parents, the administrators in the
school, and two members of the central administration. We observed nineteen
class sessions. In addition, we studied reports from self-studies previously
conducted at the school, documents prepared by central administration
and school staff, newspaper clippings, student newspapers, and annuals.
From these interviews, observations, and document reviews we have constructed
the snapshot which follows.
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Classroom Close-ups
We turn now to descriptions of a few of the classes we visited to get
a close-up of what it is like to teach and to learn at Crossroads.
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Pathways Classrooms
Whether or not they support the Pathways program, all connected with
the school say it is the heart of the change effort at Crossroads, so
we will describe some of these classes first.
American History and English
We enter an airy, bright room (it's too hot but the teacher tells us that
someone will have to contact the central office to turn off the heat).
There are four questions on the chalkboard: "America as a melting pot:
myth or reality? Work: the key to the American Dream? Citizenship: Every
American's inheritance and legacy? America looks in the mirror: How do
we change--in laws, rights and dreams?" We also see the outline for the
five-paragraph essay students are to write during the next two days: "introduction,
thesis, statements of support (paragraphs 2-4) and conclusion."
Student desks are arranged in sets of four to facilitate cooperative
discussions. The teacher's reminder to students to sit "by their immigrant
groups" causes a few to move from the seats they had originally taken.
As the bell signals the start of the period, ten students are present;
eventually three more will arrive, and, as the period progresses, two
will leave. Today the teacher is conducting a review for the next day,
when students will be asked to use information from both history and English
to develop their thesis statements as a "performance" to show what they
have learned during the first nine weeks. The teacher begins the class:
All right, everyone. Settle in. Focus. Just raise your hand. All right.
Let's focus just a short time. See you have your rubrics [guidelines
for scoring themes]. The other teacher covered this? Everyone pay attention.
[There is still a lot of noise and side conversation.] Take good notes.
Hey, Carlos, you weren't here. Have you forgotten in one day? Take good
notes. If you need to borrow readings, they're up here. Any seniors?
This is for the yearbook. Fill this out on your own. Take out paper.
Take out your rubric.
As the review progresses, the teacher asks the students to recall information:
"A better house where?" "What were some of the themes?" "Why is this book
not called the Life of Francis Nolan?" About 80 percent of
the time is spent in "teacher talk": the teacher asks the questions, the
students answer them. Questions are based on the text, and right or wrong
answers are given. Although the students are sitting in groups of four,
they seldom talk with each other.
We stay in the teacher's classroom for one period and then return the
following period when a second class comes in. The class begins with twelve
students but gradually increases to sixteen. Again she conducts a review
covering much of the same material as before. During each class, public
address (PA) announcements interrupt three times. While the teacher calls
on a variety of students, a few students, as in the first class, provide
most of the answers.
American Government
On the next day we visit another Pathways classroom. Again, this class
has ten students when it begins, but several more wander in as the period
progresses. This time the students are seated in conventional rows. Since
the opening ceremonies on the PA system were lost in the hubbub of general
conversations, the teacher leads the Pledge of Allegiance. After a couple
of brief announcements, she says, "Do you have any questions about the
essay test?" She reminds them that they are to write on the question,
"Who has the power?"--the theme for their section of Pathways.
Next, she tells them that they should already have with them their materials
from advanced planning. Then she asks, "How many planned in advance?" All but four indicate they did.
The teacher emphasizes that a good thesis statement should be a statement
of opinion and may have some controversy; she adds that it "has to be
clear and concise, not too broad. Since we know it is your opinion, you
should avoid introducing it by saying 'in my opinion.' "
The students write for two hours, with a ten-minute break at the midpoint
of the double period. The teacher and a Chapter I reading teacher circulate
throughout the room, helping students in response to raised hands.
Soon after the students begin writing, Karen, who is sitting in the
back of the room, shows a neatly written three-page paper to the teacher.
The teacher looks it over, points to a sentence, and asks, "Is this your
thesis statement?" During the first fifty-five-minute period Karen seeks
help five times--twice from the Chapter I teacher and three times from
the Pathways teacher. At the break she indicates she is finished with
her paper. We look at it; it is a description of the three branches of
our federal government.
Meanwhile, in the front of the room, Cindy and Maria spend most of their
time chatting with each other. About every five minutes the teacher stops
to talk with them, quietly encouraging them to write.
From the back of the room Paul consults with the teacher many times.
He asks, "Can we use the movie for proof?" She explains that can be done
"only above and beyond two other sources." Paul returns to his desk muttering,
"Kill! Kill!" (but he has a smile on his face). He talks with Harold,
who suggests something he can say instead of quoting a movie. He fills
in that information and checks with the teacher to make sure it is all
right. She indicates he now has "two and two"--apparently two references
from each class (social studies and English) in the five-paragraph essay.
As the teachers continue to help the students with their essays, the
Chapter I teacher devotes particular attention to Elmer and Julio in the
back of the room, who, she indicates, have very low reading ability. She
also leaves the room occasionally to help Sam, who is writing in a small
room off to one side of the classroom. Later she goes to the counseling
office to explain why Elmer cannot come to the office as requested by
one of the four PA announcements that interrupt the period.
Tina, a student who has enrolled for weighted course work because of
her high ability, asks about using some references from Antigone.
She spends two-thirds of the first hour reading reference materials. When
she writes, her thesis is that money is the source of power. She has added
references to King John's taking money from the nobles to some of her
observations about Antigone and Oedipus Rex.
(Concerning these tragedies, Tina said the day before, "They are semi-interesting;
I can catch on even though I missed reading them because I was absent.
I understood it by talking with friends.")
The mixture of ages in this classroom is evident. Older students tend
to finish their essays ahead of the younger. In some cases older students
respond to questions from the others, helping them with form, with spelling,
or with ideas for their papers. However, in some instances the roles are
reversed, as younger students help the older ones.
While the students write, the teacher shares with us the scoring rubrics
that will be used for these nine-week essays. This essay is to be scored
on a four-point scale related to three major dimensions: "thesis statement
and organization, elaboration, and mechanics and procedure." She also
shares another scale which she says will be applied in the spring: a five-point
scale applied to six facets: "lead in, thesis, topic sentences, development,
punctuation/mechanics/spelling, and the conclusion."
As the second period comes to an end, Cindy and Maria, who had spent
the first hour talking, are rushing to finish their essays. The PA interrupts
again--calling for Consuelo, Dale, Mary, Pedro, Jesus, Laurie, and others
to come to the office.
The teacher says, "The essential question is, What do you need to do
in advance?" The students respond in unison, "Focus and plan."
Ten minutes after the class is over, Tina finishes her essay. The teacher
gives her a note admitting her late to her next class.
English
Later that day we visit another Pathways class. As we enter, twenty-eight
students are lounging on or at their desks. They are ignoring another
student who is reading announcements from the front of the room. The room
is set up in traditional fashion, with rows of desks facing the chalkboards
in the front of the room. Three adults are in the room. We learn that
two are interns and one is their supervisor. On the chalkboard on one
side of the room, it says:
I. Vocab quiz
II. Presentations
III. Journals
One of the adults announces that the students have five minutes to review
before the vocabulary quiz. The three adults circulate throughout the
room, chatting with the kids. The kids are talking with each other, sometimes
about the vocabulary words.
While we are waiting for the quiz to begin, one of the adults comes
over to us, explains how difficult the students in the class are, and
tells us that the reason for the supervisor's presence is that the two
interns had not been able to handle discipline in the class. The intern
also explains that they had tried to start out with the themes for which
the students had enrolled in their class but it just wasn't working, so
"we've gone back to teaching the traditional parts of speech, traditional
approaches to grammar, and then maybe later we can get into the themes." The adults frequently say "Quiet" and "Shhh."
Finally, the students begin their vocabulary test. One of the interns
reads off the words. Kids yell out for him to slow down as he moves to
the second word. We can see several students' papers as the test progresses.
Luis, who is identified as gifted and is therefore assigned weighted course
work, quickly writes down the words and their definitions. Mary, seated
nearby, writes down each word but no definitions. As the test concludes,
she turns to the boy next to her, shrugs her shoulders, and says, "Shows
you how much I know."
After some chatter, the students shuffle desks around. Several boys
begin a presentation of a scene from To Kill a Mockingbird.
Tom is giving closing statements for the accused black man. Now James,
as the prosecuting attorney, reads from his handwritten script. Art, acting
as the judge, seems confused about the classroom procedures to follow.
Tom reads from his paper. They finish. A jury of students lined up against
the chalkboard indicates their decision on the case; they acquit the defendant.
One of the interns leads the weak hand clapping by students for the performance.
There is no discussion of this presentation.
Next, Connie and Michelle come to the front of the room and are introduced
by the intern. "It's about 'If Fox Could Kill,'" Connie reads from her
paper. She summarizes a story about a girl who got psychic powers when
she was electrocuted. Students come to the front of the room and engage
in experiments which the girls say are designed to test whether they have
psychic powers. They try to identify the symbols on cards which are held
up for observation by the other students. Most of the time they fail.
They try to guess the results of rolls of dice. Most of the time they
do not guess correctly. One of the interns asks the two presenters, "Why
did you start out with physics?" Michelle replies, "Not physics, psychic!"
Throughout the presentation, the testing of extrasensory perceptions,
and the discussion, other students pay minimal attention. However, Luis
exhibits considerable interest in the psychic experiences and helps the
intern connect the dice experiment to questions related to probability
theory.
Students then move on to journal writing. The teacher tells them, "You
can address the questions on the board or do one of your own if you ask
the teacher first." Ellen and Ron lean over to us and explain, "This is
not a very good school because you do not learn much here." Their comment
conflicts with those of the majority of students we interviewed who spoke
positively about their school. However, as we reflect on the class we
have just witnessed, we understand why they said what they did.
Mary, who wrote no definitions for her vocabulary quiz, is making no
entries in her journal. Some hand in their journals as the class ends.
History
The students move to the associated history class where Luis tells us
the theme is "myths and legends, but not in the classic sense."
The class begins shortly after the final buzzer, with the teacher's
joking with students as he calls roll. Tom leans over and tells us, "He
is the best teacher." We wait to see what happens in a class taught by
someone this student thinks is the best.
The teacher starts the class briskly, "OK, ready. Does everyone have
a map?" Luis helps pass maps down the rows of desks to those who don't
have them. "Who has homework to turn in?" A few respond. "Let's go, we're
wasting time. You need three colors each." Kids run to the front desk
to get markers and colored pencils.
The lesson begins. "Get one color; that will represent the U.S. Start
on either side and label the first map '1620-1781.' What does that date
represent? Should I include Florida?" The students yell out, "No!"
The teacher works this way almost the entire class period. He draws
on his big map, constantly asking questions about why he is using the
colors he is using. He talks them through changing territorial boundaries,
through the second map and issues of slavery associated with the Dred
Scott decision, through 1853, and on to the acquisition of Alaska and
to the effect that had on the American territories. Students help each
other informally as they seek to make their maps reflect the information
the teacher has been sharing. He finishes the map work, admonishing the
students: "Do we put our maps in our folders? Yes, we sleep with them.
I want the map inside your head, big time."
Then he moves on to his story of how Hawaii was overtaken by Western
culture. The kids write furiously as he dramatizes his tale. He speaks
loudly, with lots of gestures, and the kids are paying close attention.
One gets the impression their attention is not caused just by his earlier
reminder that the next day's quiz will be on everything: "maps, notes,
story." He finishes the story of whites and missionaries in Hawaii, and
students pick up papers from him as the bell rings.
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Traditional Classrooms
Becoming familiar with the Pathways program is important because of its
reputation as the center of change efforts, but students spend less than
a third of their time in that program. If we are to understand what learning
is like for students at Crossroads, we need to take a look at other classes
as well. We sampled such classes as psychology, video, computers, geometry,
biology, journalism, chemistry, AET (a small-group gifted program), drama,
Spanish, and algebra.
In one of these classes we saw students engaged attentively in science
lab work, and in another we saw students idly chatting while a teacher
arrived six minutes late for a class, snapped his fingers as if he forgot
something, and left for another eight minutes. While it was unusual for
teachers to leave the classroom in this fashion, teachers generally started
instruction long after the final bell. In an interview, Ralph complained,
"[Teachers] take twenty minutes to take roll. I could do the whole high
school day in two hours." Rose told us she "missed school for two weeks
and came back today and nothing had changed."
We saw students wander into class at various times and leave without
passes, and we saw students locked out of class for being a fraction of
a minute late. Students told us that compared to last year, this year
there are fewer students in the halls during instructional time and that
more students come to class on time.
As we visited drama classes, we witnessed students busily fulfilling
their responsibilities for scenery, lighting, publicity, and costumes.
The student workers were painting checkerboard squares outlined on the
stage floor by their teacher. We observed the teacher explaining how he
made the precise measurements needed for the checkerboard to give the
audience a sense of depth.
We saw teachers who had close rapport with students talking informally
with a group around a table, students working independently on long-term
projects, a non-English-speaking student being tutored one-on-one for
an entire hour, students who had written an editorial with a carefully
thought-out criticism of school discipline policy, and students demonstrating
their affection for each other as they talked quietly in one corner of
a classroom. We saw teachers seeking to be "buddies" of students, and
teachers frustrated because their efforts to explain a difficult math
problem were interrupted by lengthy PA announcements or by students leaving
to participate in athletic events.
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Conversations
Besides finding out about the school by visiting classrooms, we met
with students, faculty, and parents to learn how they feel about the school.
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Talking with Students
Students see Crossroads as a good school but have their own ideas about
its strengths and weaknesses. One of their complaints was of a sexist
teacher who asked, "How many men does it take to clean a toilet bowl?
None; that is a woman's job." Some defended him by saying he did it to
stir up discussion in the classroom. Others, attacking him, said he asks
for discussion and then won't let the students talk.
Students were particularly vocal as they shared their feelings about
cooperative learning. They tended to see Crossroads' involvement with
Re:Learning and the school's philosophy of cooperative learning as the
same thing. Students complained that with cooperative learning a few students
do all the work, and that it is used instead of having separate gifted
classes. They praised it for making learning much more interesting than
listening to "a bunch of boring teacher-talk." They also expressed pride
in helping others learn, and they acknowledged that they learn a lot from
helping others. Those who come from junior high schools with a heavy emphasis
on cooperative learning seem to adapt to it more quickly than those who
come from schools which are just beginning to use it.
Students acknowledged that they are given considerable freedom and responsibility
but complained about dress codes and strict attendance practices. (Neither
the dress codes nor the attendance policies seem to be enforced with the
severity claimed by many of the students.) Many students told of being
able to talk with teachers informally about matters other than school--everything
from future careers to issues such as religion.
Students spoke harshly of their peers. For example, Lucy called another
girl a "Maybelline" and was told by Jan that she should not talk that
way about another student. Lucy persisted, insisting the girl was totally
"caked with make-up and hair spray." On another occasion, Pedro complained
about the "outsiders" who were lazy, saying nothing could be done for
them. Those who brought guns to school came only because their parents
wanted them to come. Those who never did their homework also came in for
criticism.
While they offered such criticism, students also reminded each other
not to be judgmental. Martha was particularly vehement in defending her
friend who had brought a gun to school and was now facing expulsion. Several
urged their peers to delay condemning a sophomore who was critically injured
in a car accident on his way to school.
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Talking with Faculty
To ascertain where Crossroads is on the path toward becoming an exemplary
Essential school instead of just another American high school, we need
to examine the experiences of adults as well as those of students in the
school.
Concerns about Salaries and Budgets
As we talked with teachers, we heard their frustrations. Frequently, they
talked of their low salaries. While there is some dispute between them
and the district administrators concerning how bad the salaries are, there
is general acknowledgment that their salaries rank lower than those of
teachers in many other districts in their state, which has among the lowest
salaries in the country. The problem of their low salaries is exacerbated
by the high cost of living in their community compared with living in
the rest of the state. While they love the community and its amenities
and have pride in the work they have been able to accomplish so far, many
wonder, as did their former superintendent, if there might not come a
time when they will say, "I'm working fourteen hours a day and what am
I getting from it?"
Some teachers also see themselves as poor in the materials they have
available for their work. For example, one young teacher, looking for
construction paper, found that another teacher was the holder of such
paper--a few colors reportedly left over from an elementary school that
was closed several years ago. The holder of the paper indicated to the
young teacher that the school could not afford replacement supplies. The
young teacher shook her head and returned to her classroom, which was
equipped with a television linked to a central control unit in the school's
exemplary media resource center. She did not realize that other teachers
in the country would consider themselves very fortunate to have the telephone
and other technology she had in her classroom. If she had been aware of
it, she probably would have replied that a telephone does little good
if there are not enough lines to be able to use it when you need to.
The Crossroads faculty, with a handful of exceptions, believe that the
central administration does nothing to help them. Although central office
administrators stress their total support for the school's change efforts,
many people at the school continue to doubt the sincerity of the central
office's offer of external support to the faculty.
Problems with Divisiveness
We also learned about strong divisions within the faculty. People had
differing views regarding the nature of these conflicts. Some said there
is a clash between the coaches and the other faculty members. Some described
the conflict as one between those who want change and those who are against
it. Some said the conflict is between prima donnas from Pathways who received
all of the attention from the original principal and the others who worked
hard but received no recognition. Teachers also argued about the role
of cooperative learning--some claimed it is being used as a panacea, some
integrate it into their teaching as one of several instructional techniques,
and still others refuse even to learn about it.
In addition, teachers reported disagreement about how well Pathways
is accepted by the faculty. One report concluded that 50 percent of the
teachers in the Pathways program felt they could not be critical of their
own program because any criticism was seen as disloyalty and that criticism
could lead to loss of employment. Others suggested that as few as 10 percent
of the faculty--a vocal 10 percent--are critical of the Pathways program.
Lack of Adequate Time and Support Another problem that faces the staff
at Crossroads is a lack of time. In spite of their long hours in individual
efforts, ranging from extracurricular activities to class preparation,
the teachers complained of lack of time for collaboration. The faculty
and administration at Crossroads are hard workers. As an assistant superintendent
in the district put it, "The teachers work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and
the principal works from 5 a.m. to 12 a.m." Although the schedule gives
common preparation times for some teacher teams, most teachers function
more as individuals than as team members.
The teachers expressed their concerns about having sufficient staff
development and support at Crossroads. The lack of continuity in the school's
leadership, they said, has been a major reason they are not getting the
support they need. Principals described the necessity of focusing attention
on staff development, and central administrators assured us that they
will do whatever is necessary to provide the teachers with the staff development
that is needed. Teachers insisted, however, that they get no help with
staff development from the central administration.
Panasonic-supported retreats, the Re:Learning-sponsored Trek, and five-week-long
sessions on cooperative learning stand out as extended efforts the school
does make toward staff development. However, when asked what kind of help
is needed, teachers and administrators spoke in terms of short workshops
by outside consultants. They did not say the faculty needs to engage in
sustained inquiry regarding instructional issues.
The Governing Council: A Sign of Progress One area in which the faculty
said they see progress, however, is in the work of the Governing Council.
As the Governing Council begins its fourth year, the faculty, students,
and parent who participate in it have established grievance procedures
otherwise lacking in this nonunion setting. They have assumed responsibility
for a variety of operational decisions, ranging from the overseeing of
finances to the scheduling of the student day and of special assemblies.
Recently, for example, the issue of block scheduling for classes other
than Pathways came before the Council. The Council referred it to the
faculty for more discussion, with action slated for later in the year.
In addition, a district policy, providing a framework for site-based management
within which the Governing Council can operate, has begun to evolve.
[Return to Table of Contents]
Talking with Parents
The parents had both praise and criticism for Crossroads. Parents who
are knowledgeable about the Re:Learning initiative go through the interzone
transfer processes to get their students in Crossroads. On the other hand,
some parents with gifted children withdraw their students and enter them
in Main High School, the original high school in the community, in order
to place them in enriched classes. Some parents with kids who are "at
risk" expressed worry that their children do not get enough attention.
Other parents with such children have little communication with the school.
One parent praised teachers for engaging students in challenging assignments
such as a debate over the virtues of Plessy v. Ferguson. Another
questioned whether the teachers follow through when they address complex
issues such as censorship. They also saw some teachers who have not been
modeling the kinds of adult behavior they think is appropriate. They cited
as an example a teacher who wandered around during student registration
in shorts with his underwear showing. But parents also mentioned teachers
who have been trying hard and who have demonstrated sincere concern for
their children.
[Return to Table of Contents]
Reflections on Our Visit
After this first visit to Crossroads, we wonder how a number of issues
will play out as the school continues its reform efforts.
[Return to Table of Contents]
Questions for the Future
Our observations of classes and our talks with the students left us with
questions for the future.
From classroom visits and student conversations:
- Will Crossroads be a school which stresses academic success for all
students?--Or, will it be a school that caters to the gifted
students by creating a gifted program for ten students and focusing
much of its attention in other classes on weighted exercises for these
talented students?
- Will the students be expected to use their minds well, as have those
in the Pathways program who tackled Antigone and Oedipus
Rex, or those in chemistry who were working on difficult lab
exercises?--Or, will the students get by with Exhibitions that are term
essays based merely on seeing some films about literary works and gleaning
notes from the few students who did read the material?
- Will the principle of "Less is more" prevail as teachers try to implement
it through attention to the major themes in the Pathways humanities
program?--Or, will the expansion of schooltime contests, broad-based
elective course offerings, and the expansion of social services to meet
the urgent needs of the students turn the idea on its head, making it,
truly, "more is less"?
- Will the students be the workers as they address complex issues in
the Pathways program, create highly successful dramatic productions,
craft individual and group projects in industrial arts, and perform
with winning athletic records?--Or, will the students complete trivial,
teacher-prescribed tasks, emphasize sports over academics, put more
energy into driving to lunch than solving problems in class, and permit
a limited number within cooperative groups to do the real learning?
- Will classes be characterized by creatively designed lessons that
involve students actively in their learning? Will students debate the
conclusions of Supreme Court decisions, put themselves in the shoes
of immigrants to this country, and seek to solve complex mathematics
equations?--Or, will students shuffle from period to period, wandering
in late, waiting for as much as half the period before the teacher completes
required personal paperwork and begins some form of organized instruction?
- Will pervasive caring about students and personalization of instruction
persist?--Or, will rules and threats be the basic method of keeping
the students under control?
From Our Talks with Faculty and Parents:
- Will the nine Common Principles become the guiding goals of the school
as they have been adopted by the Governing Council?--Or, will the teachers
and administration continue to exhibit the superficial knowledge of
these principles revealed by classroom instruction and responses during
interviews?
- Will teachers, parents, and administrators find a common vision of
what is Essential in the program and how learning should be facilitated?--Or,
will various groups persist in slinging mud at each other?
- Will "traditionalists" continue to be criticized for their unwillingness
to try new approaches?
- Will Pathways teachers continue to be belittled for de-emphasizing
subject matter and for not preparing individual students to perform
in the way higher education demands?
- Will innovators be attacked for participating in activities away from
the school? Will they spend so much time away that they are unable to
plan and carry out instruction with the continuity that is needed?
- Will the Pathways program continue to carry the burden of developing
innovation? Will the school, as one central administrator suggested,
"continue to hang its hat on Pathways"?--Or, will academic areas such
as mathematics and science join in the effort?
- Will the proposal to increase block scheduling take hold? Will the
change effort become schoolwide?
- Will the school's Governing Council be given sufficient room to make
significant instructional decisions by the central and school administration?
If so, will it function skillfully enough that it will make its decisions
after careful thought?--Or, will the administration allow it to function
as long as it makes no controversial decisions and will its members
concentrate on "administrivia," as do many school Councils?
- As decisions are made by people at the school, will the contrast between
the availability of high-tech equipment and the absence of basic instructional
supplies persist?
- Will the school's administration succeed in enlisting teachers in
a common effort to strengthen instruction?--Or, will its most obvious
presence continue to be that of interrupting class two to three times
a period with public address announcements?
- Will teachers engage in extended reflection concerning ways of strengthening
their programs?--Or, will staff development continue to be perceived
of as a workshop performed by an "outside expert"?
- Will teachers examine articles and books concerning school change
and curriculum modification?--Or, as one person suggested, will they
continue to "focus on survival--survival defined as taking attendance,
filling in bubble sheets and other bureaucratic tasks which take all
of their time"?
- Will the dominant image of Crossroads' teachers continue to be that
of caring people described as working ten to twelve hours a day in their
pursuit of improvement at Crossroads?--Or, will they be characterized
as the sloppily clad, obscenity-speaking "buddy" of the kids some teachers,
students, and parents charge them with becoming?
- Will teachers continue to engage in extra innovative planning?--Or,
will the abysmally low salaries drive good people from the school and
make it difficult to replace them with ambitious, skillful professionals?
[Return to Table of Contents]
Problems and Incongruities
Early and real successes notwithstanding, storm clouds lurk on the horizon
for Crossroads. A lack of adequate financial resources has caused many
problems for the school.
One of the results of inadequate funding is problems with the school's
physical facility. Constraints on school financing have recently led to
contracting out custodial services for half of the school--a practice
which the principal and the faculty have found to be unsatisfactory. They
insisted that the signs of wear now evident at the new school were not
present before the advent of the cleaning service. Groups of students
clustered around entry ways prior to the start of school, standing on
dirt where grass might soften the appearance of the school. The telephone
in the faculty room had no handset for a month during the fall of 1991.
Walls are beginning to show the need for a new coat of paint; hallways
need cleaning.
Not only are the students from low-income homes, the teachers and others
in the school perceive themselves as poor in that they receive salaries
below state average in a state that is below the national average. Such
salaries make it hard for them to deal with the high cost of living in
their community; they have difficulty buying homes in their city, whose
housing costs are much above the state average.
Some parents, administrators, and teachers expressed both concern and
resentment about extraordinary amounts of absenteeism by Crossroads teachers
who engage in Re:Learning activities. Administrators, teachers, and parents
offered widely different claims concerning the extent of absenteeism for
individuals. Some insisted that no one was absent more than fifteen days;
others claimed to have seen documents showing that several of these teacher-leaders
missed as many as seventy-five days during 1990-91. A central office investigation
of this absenteeism recognized that parents and fellow faculty members
had strong concerns but reported that the high-end estimates could not
be confirmed from school records.
In spite of the fact that shared decision making was initiated by means
of the Governing Council when Crossroads first opened three-and-a-half
years ago, this decision-making process is still a matter of some dispute
in the school--a point made by the principal and several of the teachers,
including the Governing Council chair. The latter indicated that she had
received phone threats and that other teachers who were trying to promote
change had received threatening messages in their mailboxes. She said
this is a positive sign that the change efforts supported by the Council
are being recognized as making a difference. Whether it is really positive
or is an indication of deep and unhealthy divisions within the school
remains to be seen.
A central problem that Crossroads faces is one of vision. Just as the
architecture seems to be a mixture of different, if not contradictory,
designs, the staff struggle to find a clear vision for their instructional
program. Is less more, or is the school a "shopping mall high school"?
The school goals stress the importance of dealing with essential questions.
However, the course catalog reads like that of a small college, with such
diverse offerings as "Clothing for Athletes," "Calculus AP," "Political
Science/Street Law," and "Teen Issues" included in its 201 listings.
[Return to Table of Contents]
What does the Future Hold?
In the face of these problems and incongruities at Crossroads, one is
not certain which direction the school will take. How will divisiveness
within the faculty over program approaches and personal leadership styles
be resolved? How will concern by parents and faculty over the perceived
absence of a program for gifted students and the desire to eradicate tracking
be reconciled? How will leadership help chart the course of this young
school, given the high turnover by key district and school personnel?
The staff expressed strong commitment to caring for individual students.
How will they come to grips with serving the urgent needs of their student
population?
Crossroads High School seems poised between the heights of success as
an Essential school and the depths of mediocrity which characterize so
many American high schools.
When asked where Crossroads is on a continuum toward becoming an Essential
school, most associated with the school said they think it is 40 to 50
percent of the way there. Using different metaphors, they described the
school as being at a critical point on the path toward eventual success:
a point between implementing the ideals espoused in their student handbook
or falling back to the conventional features of high school life from
which they fled to come to Crossroads.
Crossroads began with a great deal of excitement among its leaders and
teachers. When the school first opened, the principal was joined by teachers
from well-established Main High School with a new vision for what the
school could become, as well as by some whose reasons for coming to the
new school were not as clear. He worked for a year prior to the opening
of the school, selecting his staff and facilitating the planning activities.
Nevertheless, at least one teacher described the first year as disorganized,
with lack of attention having been given to planning such activities as
student registration.
Still, as one of the district's administrators noted, "Crossroads began
with teachers who were excited about being there, excited about changing
the status quo." That their vision was never shared by the whole faculty,
and that the principal struggled to find a leadership style that would
unite the school, appear to be two of the conditions leading to the current
state of affairs at Crossroads. As one school district administrator noted,
Crossroads is a "school which has gone through a lot of growth and pain." This growth and pain continue.
A sign of progress for Crossroads reported by the state's Re:Learning
coordinator is that one of the critical elements needed to support restructuring
is finally in place. As a result of recent actions by the state, Crossroads
will now have more say in spending. No longer will 80 percent of its instructional
materials have to come from state-approved lists. Furthermore, the school
will have assistance in obtaining waivers of restrictive state policies.
The school also reported progress in its efforts to integrate the nine
Common Principles of the Coalition of Essential Schools in every academic
area. We learn of these efforts from its 1990-91 school year report, "Documenting
Restructuring and Change."
Four members of the science department have been trained in cooperative
learning. Spanish teachers worked during the summer of 1990 to restructure
their curriculum. The mathematics department has created a model for
presenting the mathematics curriculum based on ideas of essentiality
and demonstration. Coaching and problem solving are emphasized in the
art department. Art teachers have also been involved in interdisciplinary
projects with the English department. Lab classes in home economics
require students to exhibit what they learn by producing a variety of
products.
Teachers and administrators have worked hard to achieve the progress
in reform during the past three years. Few schools in the country have
been able to create multi-aged, heterogenous classes around interdisciplinary
themes. Few schools have adopted the ambitious goals for schoolwide reform
reflected in Crossroads' mission statement. Few schools have risked the
close examination of practices which this study involves. The difficult
challenges which still face the school should in no way be taken as disparaging
the gains made to date.
Crossroads faces competing possibilities. What will be the nature of
the school which emerges? The school we have visited is truly at a crossroads.
The nine Common Principles are clearly identified as the school's goals
yet are not well understood by all staff. One segment of the school, the
Pathways program, has been identified as a focus for change; but there
are differences among the people in it, and it has a long way to go to
meet its ambitious goals. Moreover, the strategies for spreading change
to the entire school are not yet apparent. The school will have a difficult
time sustaining change in the midst of high turnover of personnel and
divisiveness within the faculty.
The questions we have posed concerning students and adults highlight
the different directions the school may take. How such questions are answered
will determine what happens to students of Crossroads in the years ahead.
The students' enthusiasm and vitality hearten us. In spite of the magnitude
of the challenges facing the school, these students and the many teachers
who demonstrate dedication and commitment leave us encouraged that Crossroads
will choose the directions which will assure that all kids receive an
academically challenging education in a caring environment.
[Return to Table of Contents]
Notes
- Re:Learning is a school restructuring initiative involving the
Education Commission of the States, the Coalition of Essential Schools
at Brown University, and fourteen states, regions, and districts.
It was founded in 1988 to support restructuring which is consistent
with the Principles derived from Theodore Sizer's "A Study of High
Schools." That study was reported in Sizer's Horace's Compromise
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1984); David K. Cohen, The Shopping
Mall High School (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985); and Robert
Hampel, The Last Little Citadel (Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
1986).
- An "implementation school" is defined by the state as one with
"leaders educated to carry out new responsibilities; leadership evident
throughout the school." With regard to curriculum and instruction
it is characterized as a school in which "essential skills and body
of knowledge [are] established for some courses and curriculum, instruction
and assessment developed around them. Heterogeneous groupings are
throughout the school."
- For further information on this three-year study see Pat Wasley,
"School Change Study Proposal," Coalition of Essential Schools, Brown
University, 1991.
- These questions echo those discussed by the faculty in the fictitious
school depicted in Ted Sizer's Horace's School (Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 1992).
[Return to Table of Contents]
The Crossroads research team was headed by Richard W. Clark, senior associate
at the University of Washington Center for Educational Renewal and the
former deputy superintendent of the Bellevue (WA) School District. The
other members of the Crossroads team were Janet Miller, professor at National-Louis
University (formerly National Teachers College) at the Beloit (WI) Academic
Center and author of Creating Spaces and Finding Voices: Teachers Collaborating
for Empowerment (1990); and Vicky Murray, who has worked as a teacher
and administrator in Seattle and has done extensive work across the country
on school renewal for the Panasonic Foundation.
Price: $6
Code: CR1
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This resource last updated: June 11, 2002
Database Information:
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Publication Year: 1991
Publisher: CES National
School Level: High
Focus Area: Leadership
STRAND: Leadership: the change process
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