Small Schools, Big Ideas: The Essential Guide to Successful School Transformation

419 Pages·2009·2.42 MB·English

by  Mara Benitez, Jill Davidson, Laura Flaxman, Ted Sizer, Nancy Sizer

Praise for Small Schools, Big Ideas: The
Essential Guide to Successful School
Transformation
‘‘In Small Schools, Big Ideas, authors Benitez, Davidson, and Flaxman
help us understand the structural complexities of creating nurturing
environments in which all students can use their minds well. They also
courageously guide the reader into examining the explosive cultural
issues, like systemic racism, and offer an authentic path forward for
educators in the trenches to instigate school-wide transformation.’’
—Glenn E. Singleton, president and founder, Pacific Educational
Group, Inc., and author, Courageous Conversations About Race
‘‘Small Schools, Big Ideas shares the Coalition of Essential Schools’
long track record of redesigning schools so that they are successful
and learner-centered. The knowledge that these authors and their
colleagues across the country have accumulated over many years and
many successful schools inspires us to reconsider what young people,
and the schools that serve them, can do with the right conditions and
support.’’
—Linda Darling-Hammond, Charles E. Ducommun Professor
of Education and faculty sponsor, School Redesign Network at
Stanford University
‘‘This guide will help those who believe all students need to be
prepared for post-secondary education to re-imagine high schools
and confront all forms of inequity that have existed for far too long.’’
—John P. Welch, superintendent, Highline Public Schools District,
Washington
‘‘Small Schools, Big Ideas reminds us that small school is neither an
adjective nor a noun; it’s an aspiration, a desire. Like democracy, Small
Schools embody a vision of what must be: messy work, undertaken
through collective participation, spiked with vibrant questions, in a
deep and restless community, with strong commitments, fueled by
raw vulnerabilities and generations of wisdom. Small Schools, Big
Ideas interrupts the white noise of privatization, charters, testing,
centralization and Racing to the Top, delicately reminding us of
the graceful work and sensual practice of making successful public
schools grounded in justice, relationships, and democracy.’’
—Michelle Fine, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Urban
Education, The Graduate Center at the City University of New York
‘‘The authors of Small Schools, Big Ideas do a wonderful job of
providing a useful road map for how administrators, practitioners,
families, and communities can dream big and work together to
improve education through a democratic process. Especially notable
is that it presents relationships and student-centered policies and
practices as the core elements that hold promise in restoring the
public’s faith in public education. This book is a must read for
anyone who is committed to a progressive social agenda on how
public schools can better serve children and youth who deserve no
less. This is an outstanding scholarly achievement.’’
—Angela Valenzuela, University of Texas professor in the College
of Education and author of Subtractive Schooling: U.S.-Mexican
Youth and the Politics of Caring
SMALL SCHOOLS,
BIG IDEAS
SMALL SCHOOLS,
BIG IDEAS
The Essential Guide to Successful School Transformation
Mara Benitez
Jill Davidson
Laura Flaxman
Copyright  2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Benitez, Mara, 1965–
Small schools, big ideas: the essential guide to successful school transformation/Mara Benitez,
Jill S. Davidson, Laura Flaxman; foreword by Theodore R. Sizer and Nancy Faust Sizer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: ‘‘Developed by The Coalition of Essential Schools, one of the nation’s leading school reform
networks, The Essential Guide to Successful School Transformation provides a comprehensive, principle-
based approach for redesigning public schools and creating new schools that enable all students to achieve
at high standards. Featuring stories and examples from schools that have successfully implemented the
CES model, this powerful blueprint for district and school-level administrators, teachers, reform activists,
educational policy makers, and professors distills insights and wisdom gleaned from over 20 years of
work restructuring public schools’’—Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-0-470-25907-8
1. School improvement programs—United States. 2. Coalition of Essential Schools. I. Davidson, Jill S.,
1968—II. Flaxman, Laura, 1967—III. Title.
LB2822.82.B445 2009
371.2’070973—dc22 2009026351
Printed in the United States of America
first edition
PB Printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
C O N T E N T S
Foreword, Theodore R. Sizer, Nancy Faust Sizer ix
Acknowledgments xiii
The Coalition of Essential Schools and the CES Small Schools Project xvii
The Authors xxiii
Introduction: An Academically Challenging Education for All xxv
PART ONE: Setting the Stage for Transformation
ONE A Commitment to Equity 3
TWO Facing the Challenges 21
THREE Creating the Climate and Conditions for Change 43
PART TWO: Essential Principles for School Design
FOUR Starting with Vision, Mission, and Goals 83
FIVE Transformational Leadership 117
SIX Cultivating Professional Learning Communities 151
vii
PART THREE: Essential Principles for Learning
SEVEN Student-Centered Teaching and Learning 175
EIGHT Demonstration of Mastery 211
NINE Access, Opportunity, and Preparation for
Postsecondary Success 243
PART FOUR: Embedding Successful Change
TEN School Culture, Practices, and Community 271
ELEVEN Strategies for Sustainability 293
APPENDIX A: Coalition of Essential Schools Common
Principles 319
APPENDIX B: Coalition of Essential Schools Benchmarks:
Principles in Practice 323
APPENDIX C: Profiled Schools and Organizations 333
APPENDIX D: The Benefits of the CES Model: A Look at
Recent Research 345
APPENDIX E: Glossary of Useful Assessment Terms 349
REFERENCES 355
INDEX 365
viii CONTENTS