SRN LEADS/Stanford University: School Redesign Network — 
Leadership Study Tour
Fall 2007 Leadership Study Tour
Tour dates: October 21-24, 2007
Cost: $850 per individual team member, plus travel and lodging (a block of rooms are available at a discounted rate of $329-$369/night)
Registration Deadline: noon, September 28
Leadership Study Tours
The Leadership Study Tour is for teams of district level leaders including superintendents, central office reform coordinators, assistant superintendents, board members, teacher union leaders, principals and intermediaries who are in the process of redesigning large schools or creating/sustaining start-up small schools. Leadership Study Tours, held in New York City, do the following:
- Explore the design features of highly effective small schools;
- Visit the Julia Richman Education Complex, a formerly failing comprehensive high school that today thrives as a complex of autonomous small schools;
- Consider the district role and the role of intermediary organizations in creating and sustaining such schools
Why explore small schools?
"Small is a necessary condition for effective schooling, but it is not enough."
— Linda Darling-Hammond
What makes a small school successful? In Redesigning Schools: What Matters and What Works, Linda Darling-Hammond details ten key design features "that have been observed in successful small schools [but] that are conspicuously absent in those that have failed."
On the Leadership Study Tour, we visit schools that have incorporated these features into their design and that have been extraordinarily successful in serving African-American, Latino, and recent immigrant students from low-income communities—students who routinely drop out of traditional high schools at rates above 50 percent. At Landmark and International high schools, we meet with school leaders, teachers, and students to learn more about how these schools consistently graduate and send on to college more than 90 percent of their entering ninth graders.
Ten Features of Good Small Schools
- Personalization
- Continuous Relationships
- High standards and performance-based assessment
- Authentic curriculum
- Adaptive pedagogy
- Multicultural and anti-racist teaching
- Knowledgeable and skilled teachers
- Collaborative planning and professional development
- Family and community connections
- Democratic decisionmaking
Visiting the Julia Richman Education Complex
"Not every teacher is at 150 percent on every day and that may be the case on the day you visit... It's not that this school is everything and your school is nothing.... You are not here to copy, but to see what is possible."
— Ann Cook, Urban Academy, Julia Richman Education Complex
Large schools across the nation are being redesigned to better meet the needs of their students. One school that has been particularly effective in its redesign efforts is the Julia Richman Education Complex (JREC). A failing comprehensive high school a decade ago, JREC is today a highly successful complex of six small, autonomous schools (4 high schools, a junior high school for students with autism, and a K-8). JREC consistently graduates and sends on to college more than 90 percent of its entering ninth graders. Ann Cook, director of JREC's Urban Academy, will discuss with us the successes and challenges of JREC's redesign and lead us on a tour of the complex.
Considering the role of the district and intermediaries in redesign
"Districts Matter.... In developing clearer understandings and plans for both the design and implementation of small schools, reform support organizations (e.g., national and local school networks, local education funds), funders, and districts must pay more attention to the local infrastructure needed to support change across a community of schools. For public schools operating within a school district, this means examining how central office policies, structures, and practices must be altered to ensure the fidelity and ultimately the effectiveness of small schools."
— From "Small Schools: From Promise to Practice," by Warren Simmons, Executive Director, Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
While much is known about successful small schools, less is known about the role of the district in designing small schools and redesigning large schools. As we continue to learn about how districts can best redesign themselves to support small schools, there are lessons to be learned in places where effective small schools have been established and sustained. New York City is one such place.
Redesigning schools often necessitates assistance and professional development in ways that school personnel frequently do not have time or resources to organize. Intermediary organizations, such as New Visions in New York and BayCES (Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools) in Oakland, CA, can fulfill this need by assisting urban schools, school districts, and community groups in the work of creating or redesigning their schools. Given this unique relationship opportunity, many schools and district offices are uncertain about the most effective ways to engage and utilize this resource.
On the Leadership Study Tour, we meet with key district, union, and intermediary organization leaders involved with New York City's small schools' work. We explore their successes and challenges and consider how each can inform work in your district. In addition, teachers and school leaders share with us their perspectives on the district's role in supporting their small schools.
What does the Leadership Study Tour look like?
Before departing, each team member identifies their district's strengths as well as the key questions they wish to explore during the Leadership Study Tour. SRN LEADS provides tools and resources to assist in the facilitation of this process as well as some pre-trip readings to provide context for this learning experience. In preparation for the Leadership Study Tour, team leaders also meet with Stanford staff (in person or via conference call) to review the agenda and discuss your individual team's needs and goals for the Leadership Study Tour.
The Leadership Study Tour begins with lunch in New York on Sunday afternoon and an introduction to New York City's small schools from district leaders. Participants have some time to work with teams to develop essential questions that will help guide learning throughout the week. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, we visit schools and engage in a series of conversations with key leaders. We conclude the final session mid-afternoon on Wednesday to allow time to travel to airports for early evening flights.
Who should participate?
The Leadership Study Tour has been designed specifically for district level leaders including superintendents, central office reform coordinators, assistant superintendents, board members, teacher union leaders, principals, and intermediaries who are in the process of redesigning large schools or creating/sustaining start-up small schools. Each school team should include at least two participants. Teams might find it desirable to send three or a maximum four participants who represent different roles within the district. In our experience facilitating professional development opportunities, we found that teams that have included union leaders, central office administrators, and board members were most successful in developing common understandings of small schools and their potential for modified duplication. As a result, priority for participation in the Leadership Study Tour will be given to teams with this composition.
Questions? Contact us
what makes a small school successful?
Landmark High School is a small, 10-year-old school located in a converted office building just off the southern tip of Central Park on the west side of Manhattan. The vast majority of Landmarks students take the subway from Washington Heights, a low-income neighborhood on the northern tip of Manhattan. The school is focused on preparing its students for college with 85-90% of its students enrolling in college and 70% going to four-year institutions. The school is driven by portfolios/exhibitions and makes use of advisories, block scheduling, and team planning. The faculty is largely young, but highly talented and dedicated. Landmark High is a featured school on the SRN LEADS Study Tour itinerary.
© 2007 SRN LEADS
