Realization: The Change Imperative for Deepening District-Wide Reform

"Sharratt and Fullan are an educational dream team! The combination of Sharratt′s keen observations from her battle-tested district leadership experience and Fullan′s astute perspectives on the essential challenges of systemic reform produce fresh insights into the most difficult, yet most central challenges facing local education reformers today. Together the authors generate important new knowledge of how to sustain and deepen districtwide instructional reform beyond the first generation." —Jonathan Supovitz Associate Professor, University of Pennsylvania Senior Researcher, Consortium for Policy Research in Education A powerful approach to leading and sustaining districtwide change! Districtwide performance improvement requires a focus on capacity building, empowering colleagues throughout the organization to move change forward. Written by an experienced administrator who accomplished districtwide improvement on the ground and an internationally recognized expert in large-scale education reform, this compelling book outlines a step-by-step approach to implementing lasting, positive change across an entire district. This resource examines 13 research-based parameters for improving teacher and student performance, including advice on optimizing existing resources, and then introduces a 14th parameter—Realization—that goes beyond capacity building at the school and district level to systemwide change at the state level. Readers will find: A wealth of school-specific strategies that support effective assessment and instructional practices to improve students′ fundamental academic skills "Do′s" and "don′ts" from real districtwide school improvement programs Guidance on implementing program assessment and establishing accountability Help your district advance from vision to action to realization of student achievement!

Table of Contents:
List of Figures Foreword by Kenneth Leithwood Preface Acknowledgments About the Authors 1. Capacity Building: A Journey of Deepening Discovery 2. The Nitty-Gritty of Capacity Building 3. The Road to Realization 4. Interdependent Practice 5. The Devil Is in the Details: Beware of the Pitfalls! 6. The 14th Parameter Resource A: A Tool for Assessing Implementation of the 14 Parameters: Selected Examples Resource B: 10 District Supports That Evolved to Ensure Realization of All Parameters References Index

About the Author :
Lyn Sharratt, EdD, is a practitioner and researcher working in remote and urban settings worldwide. Lyn is an Adjunct Professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada; a Fellow at University of Melbourne, Australia; an author consultant for Corwin Press; an advisor for International School Leadership with the Ontario Principals’ Council; and consults internationally, working with system, school, and teacher leaders at all levels in Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Lyn focuses her time and effort on increasing each student’s growth and achievement by working alongside leaders and teachers to put FACES on their data, taking intentional action to make equity and excellence a reality for ALL students. Visit www.lynsharratt.com for articles, video clips, podcasts; on Twitter: @LynSharratt; on Instagram: lyn_sharratt; and on LinkedIn where Lyn owns the “Educational Leadership” LinkedIn group made up of 99,000+ members. Lyn’s authorship includes: Realization: The Change Imperative for Deepening District-Wide Reform (with Michael Fullan); Putting FACES on the Data: What Great Leaders Do! (With Michael Fullan); Good to Great to Innovate: Recalculating the Route, K-12+ (with Gale Harild); Leading Collaborative Learning: Excellence (with Beate Planche); CLARITY: What Matters MOST in Learning, Teaching and Leading (International Best-Selling Education Book in 2020); and Putting FACES on the Data – the 10th Anniversary Edition (with Michael Fullan). Lyn is proud of the recent co-development of the CLARITY Learning Suite (CLS) - a web-based collaborative Professional Learning opportunity that mirrors CLARITY. Lyn and her team believe that ‘everyone’s a leader’, thus CLS provides guidance to Learning Leaders on how to do this work of system and school improvement – together – to make a difference for all students. Visit www.claritylearningsuite.com. Michael Fullan, Order of Canada, is the former Dean of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and Professor Emeritus of the University of Toronto. He is co-leader of the New Pedagogies for Deep Learning global initiative. Michael served as Premier Dalton McGuinty’s Special Policy Adviser in Ontario from 2003-2013. He received the Order of Canada (OC) in December 2012 and holds five honorary doctorates from universities around the world. His ‘interim autobiography,’ Surreal Change, covers his pre-Covid-19 era to 2018. Michael and his colleagues are now working diligently on field-based comprehensive system change in several countries. Under the umbrella of what they call the ‘humanity paradigm’ —equitable-equal deep change that integrates local (school and community), middle (district/regional), and centre (policy) entities. Michael’s latest books are: Spirit Work and the Science of Collaboration (with Mark Edwards, 2022), The Principal 2.0 (2023), The Drivers (with Joanne Quinn, 2023), and The New Meaning of Educational Change, 6th Edition (2025). For more information on books, articles, videos, podcasts please go to: www.michaelfullan.ca

Review :
"Sharratt and Fullan are an educational dream team! The combination of Sharratt’s keen observations from her battle-tested district leadership experience and Fullan’s astute perspectives on the essential challenges of systemic reform produce fresh insights into the most difficult, yet most central challenges facing local education reformers today. Together the authors generate important new knowledge of how to sustain and deepen districtwide instructional reform beyond the first generation." "I could not put this book down. Sharratt and Fullan have very clearly articulated what a sustained literacy focus can accomplish, but they also recognize the need to take it further—hence the introduction of the 14th parameter. The book reinforced and rejuvenated me in my efforts to persist with the 13 parameters in my school." "Large-scale reform is both seductive and elusive. The promise of systemwide improvement has resulted in many false dawns where change has not been substantial or sustained. In Realization, Lyn Sharratt and Michael Fullan provide a model of districtwide change that is grounded in reality. The model is compelling because it works. Those seeking a robust and transferable model of systemwide reform need look no further." "There is ample talk about conducting districtwide reform in our schools and board rooms today. However, this is the first opportunity that I have had to read about a research-based and clearly defined recipe for actually making and sustaining those elusive changes in our classrooms. Bravo to the authors for breaking this down for us!" "Realization explores the nature and dimensions of significant districtwide reform for sustained school improvement. It is a deeply grounded and perceptive account for all those involved in school leadership and in school and district policy reform. A must-read for education reformers." "What a breath of fresh air Realization is! Those of us who work in that part of the educational vineyard known as large-scale reform will instantly recognize the authenticity, strategic clarity, and wisdom of the story that Lyn Sharratt and Michael Fullan tell in this book. As they so cogently point out, ‘The real journey begins when learning becomes the work.’" "While reading this book, I envisioned a classroom and school with students who love learning and are able to apply what they learn to real-world situations. I see a collaborative staff focused not on the outcome of a test, but the realization of the potential in each and every student." "A straightforward and succinct account of how to meet the needs of all students, from the educators who are ′walking the talk and talking the walk.′ From school board member to classroom teacher to student to parent to legislator, the authors spell out what it takes to make sure all students achieve." "This is an up-to-date catalogue of best practices for achieving sustained student improvement. It is hopeful and forward-thinking. This book will give you food for thought as well as some concrete steps to reach your goal of sustained student improvement. It’s all about instruction and shared practice." “Realization is steeped in novel conceptual and practical insights into the realities of systemic improvement over time. Sharratt and Fullan offer a new and deeper understanding of system capacity building as they vividly capture the multifaceted nature of coherent professional work that results in attainable, sustainable districtwide change in teaching and learning.”