Granted, she was fortunate that Goldenberg is a noted school change advocate and author. However, if he had not been at the school, she may have been able to find someone else well versed in reform. The important element is collaboration with others who have a knowledge base. The other important aspect of this article was the example of how the teachers were involved and the results that came from this change. Based on the increased scores of the students, it is easily recognized that there was a fundamental change in the teachers' instruction. Lastly, this article showed that not all changes end in "happy ever after" results. Unfortunately, the changes were not continued from one generation of teachers to the next.

There are a few elements that are missing in this article. The first is what happened to Sullivan and her involvement with this school change. Did she leave, and that is why things changed? or, she did not continue things on her own long enough after the project was completed. It would also have been helpful to have some quotes from teachers on how they felt about this change in direction. Although the article states that the teachers were supportive and the test scores show that teaching was improved, there are no personal quotes from the teachers expressing...

Finally, besides the fact that the program did not have retention built in (a major problem), this article did not address any other problems or barriers confronted when implementing the program.
Overall, however, the article has some important conclusions for school administrators. The first is to look for support from experts in the field, if they do not have this expertise themselves. Unless a community is very small, there has to be another administrator or educator in the area who has some knowledge of the area of school reform. In a smaller community, the administrator can seek help from a neighboring larger city. Today, of course, much information is gained electronically and by phone.

The second conclusion is that the administrator has to build in some means of continuing a successful reform program from one generation of teachers to the next. If the principal leaves, the program will still continue. That is essential if the school wants to continue to offer the level of instruction needed. Otherwise, it becomes a loop of a school failing and then succeeding and failing once again.

References

Tinsley, R. (2006) Successful School Change. Catholic Education 10(1),…