Allen argued that very often consultants and bureaucrats make education reform more complicated than it needs to be. He said that there are three legs on which good schools are built:
- Excellent program. Without a solid curriculum and teachers, a school will failure.
- Solid leadership. It is extremely important that a school have good and consistent leadership at the helm. He talked about how leadership turnover absolutely kills schools, and he mentioned one school in his community that had five principals in six years.
- Community partners. In other words, can the school get parents and community members (churches, businesses, civic groups, etc.) involved in the life of the school?
Allen shared that one time he mentioned these three pieces to a principal in the Austin district. A few weeks later, he heard this principal share this concept in another setting. However, she replaced community partners with "data." He contrasted community-school reform with data-driven reform and stated that the latter is more of a top-down approach (and one which disempowers the people in the community).
I think that Allen and Julie are on to something. The results of their efforts are incredible. Within five years, a local middle school that was about to be shut down because it was failing has turned around completely. Now, in terms of student achievement, it has surpassed a number of the suburban, affluent middle schools in the district—in just five years! So, when you think of school reform, think of these three components: programming, leadership, and community partners.
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