Achieving Coherence in District Improvement: Managing the Relationship Between the Central Office and Schools

Achieving Coherence in District Improvement focuses on a problem of practice faced by educational leaders across the nation: how to effectively manage the relationship between the central office and schools. The book is based on a study of five large urban districts that have demonstrated improvement in student achievement. The authors—all members of Harvard University’s Public Education Leadership Project (PELP)—argue that there is no “one best way” to structure the central offi ce-school relationship. Instead, they say, what matters is whether district leaders eff ectively select and implement their strategy by achieving coherence among key elementsand actors—the district’s environment, resources, systems, structures, stakeholders, and culture.

The authors examine the fi ve districts’ approaches in detail and point to a number of important findings. First, they emphasize that a clear, shared understanding of decision rights in key areas—academic programming, budgeting, and staffing—is essential to developing an eff ective central office-school relationship. Second, they stress the importance of building mutually supportive and trusting relationships between district leaders and principals. Third, they highlight the ways that culture and the external environment infl uence the relationship between the central office and schools. Each chapter also provides relevant “Lessons for Practice”—actionable takeaways—that educational leaders from any district can use to improve the central office-school relationship.

Table of Contents:
CONTENTS

Introduction 1

ONE
Five Districts in Search of Improvement 23

TWO
Starting with Strategy 37

THREE
Achieving Coherence in Practice 65

FOUR
Engaging Principals as Partners, Advocates, and Adversaries 89

FIVE
Understanding the Power of Culture 115

SIX
Navigating the External Environment 137

Conclusion 155

APPENDIX
Methodology 169

Notes 177
Acknowledgments 185
About the Authors 187
Index 191

About the Author :
Susan Moore Johnson is the Jerome T. Murphy Research Professor in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA.

Geoff Marietta is an instructor in education and doctoral candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA.

Monica C. Higgins is a professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA.

Karen L. Mapp is a senior lecturer on education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the faculty director of the Education Policy and Management master’s program, USA.

Allen Grossman is a former Harvard Business School professor of management practice, USA.

Review :
Avoiding simplistic one-size-fits-all solutions, the authors capture the diversity of organizational approaches while at the same time extrapolating core commonalities among them. Rich, practice-based accounts from the field make for an engaging and inspiring read. James P. Spillane, professor of learning sciences and human development and social policy, Northwestern University" This thoroughly readable book examines high performing school districts and finds that what explains success in these systems is not centralization or decentralization, autonomy or alignment. The simple answer is coherence getting everything to hang together and make sense. In a school reform debate that is too often dominated by ideology and extremes, "Achieving Coherence in District Improvement "makes incredibly good sense. Andy Hargreaves, Thomas More Brennan Chair in Education, Boston College, and education advisor to the premier of Ontario" This timely and informative study is an important addition to any urban superintendent s tool kit. Barbara Byrd-Bennett, CEO, Chicago Public Schools"