School Reform Services from
NIEO, FSEHS Nova Southeastern University

Article Submitted By:  Kathleen Harris

Magnet Schools /Programs, Career Academies and Smaller Learning Communities are some of the fastest growing school reform initiatives in Florida.  Spurred by federal grants, these programs aimed at personalizing both relationships and learning often show significant gains in school completion rates and test scores.  Lowered discipline referrals and improved attendance are also positive changes noted by schools that fully implement these programs.   Career Academies that provide true career exposure and training with articulated post secondary transitions also show higher rates of completion in technical and college programs.

Having had the opportunity to work with schools implementing these programs in many states and a number of Florida counties, I have some observations about what seems to help and hinder this work.   While some schools state they have tried these programs and they didn’t work, it often comes to light that they didn’t fully implement and support these programs to the extent necessary to reap true benefits.   True learning communities with cohort populations, dedicated teaching teams, strong common purpose with clear performance goals and thriving community/parent partnerships were never truly established.    Without all these factors converging, they didn’t have a program that could work.

In many counties the incentive to do the work was determined by the award of a grant.  Many administrators and teacher felt forced to comply with obligations they had not fostered nor fully support.  It is not possible to do a little bit of these programs and see significant gain.   There must be a true learning community with a solid common purpose and high personal investment or it becomes a set of disjointed strategies often causing more harm than good.   Collaborative research, planning and program development among all stakeholders is necessary to establish the foundation to support these school reform programs and all the critical components must be addressed.

My experiences have shown me that keeping a foot in traditional educational design while trying to implement new program structures compounds the difficulty.  Conflicts will certainly arise in the areas of scheduling, teacher assignments, course sequencing, administrative structures, leadership and management models, and community/parent partnerships.  So many schools try to do just parts of the redesign by addressing small numbers of student’s and teachers making them aberrant within the larger structure or they try to do a little bit of community building with all students and teachers, often meeting considerable resistance.  Both approaches seem doomed to failure and can cause frustration for all involved.

A number of academic interventions such as Read 180, AVID and Springboard are popular in Florida schools as isolated or targeted strategies.   These programs can be even more effective as part of personalized learning communities geared to student interest and accelerated post secondary transitions.  When all these strategies are coordinated by teachers who know students well and stay with them over time, the chances of reversing negative patterns and behaviors improves.   Where structures allow teachers to collaborate about students they know well to design engaging and personally relevant learning experiences, the stage is set for all other interventions to be more successful as well.  It is not an either or situation but a matter of how best practices can converge with the greatest impact.

One obvious concern when redesigning programs is to provide adequate assistance to the educators so programs can be fully implemented and supported overtime.  Each school situation is unique and readiness to do this work may vary.  There are enough successful programs and viable research to create a blueprint for success if the commitment to change is there.   At the National Institute for Education Options, Fischler School of Education and Human Services, Nova Southeastern University a professional development program has been established to help schools adapt the blueprint and implement successful magnet programs, career academies, smaller learning communities or charter schools.   School Reform Support Services provides guided needs assessments, common purpose development, facilitated planning, faculty capacity building and implementation coaching to address key factors and see results sooner.