Book By Education Researchers Focuses On Transformation of School District

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A new book by education researchers at the University at Buffalo offers a detailed account of how one community turned its middle-of-the-road school district into one of the most exemplary in the United States.

"Expecting Excellence: Creating Order Out of Chaos" (Corwin Press) traces the 13-year progress, from 1981 to 1994, of the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District as it successfully applied industrial principles of shared decision-making to the development of a school-based system of management.

Authors James A. Conway, Ed.D., UB associate professor of education, and Judith A. Shipengrover, Ph.D., senior education specialist in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, offer hands-on guidance to other communities that want to improve their schools, as well as insights about pitfalls and high points of the process seldom found in quantitative analyses.

In the 1970s, the district in suburban Buffalo went through a period of greatly declining enrollments, teacher layoffs, school closings and low teacher and parent morale.

From the early 1980s to the mid-1990s, it transformed itself from a respected but complacent, bureaucratic, closed organization with less than challenging expectations of its students into what the authors call "a teaching and learning community for the 21st century."

The model used was one designed for the improvement of a single school. In this case, however, the now-retired district superintendent, John Helfrich, a nationally recognized educator, applied the model to the entire district, precipitating enormous changes at every decision-making level and dramatic improvements in the district's educational achievements.

The book offers a step-by-step examination of exactly how the district developed shared planning teams, peer clinical supervision, new monitoring processes, new incentives to improve professional training, a teachers' training center, teachers' mentoring program and other norm-breaking strategies.

Today, decision-making in the district is not just a series of political compromises; instruction is diverse enough to ensure that all students are engaged in learning; teachers, parents, administrators, custodians and bus drivers together engage in research as a process to solve problems, and teachers and staff determine the content of their own professional development.

The district now is run largely by elected school planning councils. These offer a structured way of running the district, with significant involvement in decision-making by teachers, board members, administrators, community members, neighbors, clerical staff, parents, students and facilities staff.

Despite their early skepticism, teachers, parents, students and other parties came together to build, from the inside out. The strategy, Conway says, serves as a model for districts willing to put forth the effort and harness their energies to dynamic, directed change. The results may be worth it.

In the Ken-Ton School District, changes for the better were reflected in student performance: higher elementary reading, math and writing scores; a steady increase in mean SAT scores; an increase in the percentage of students receiving college scholarships from 17 to 23 and the percentage going to college from 75 to 80, and a decrease in the drop-out rate from 4.6 percent to less than 1.5 percent. Enrollment in continuing education programs increased by 81 percent.

By 1988, 12 of the district's 13 schools had been cited individually as a "School of Excellence" by the State of New York. Three received the award twice. Seven of the schools were named "National Schools of Excellence" by the U.S. Department of Education.

Ken-Ton became the first school district to receive the New York State Governor's Excelsior Award, presented to service industries that have implemented Total Quality Management in an exemplary and effective manner.

And community support for its school system grew. Since 1987, all elections on school budgets and bond issues have passed by a considerable majority -- more than 80 percent.

Conway said that none of this was accomplished without difficulty.

The plan encountered much resistance from the outset. Once it was announced, one-third of the district's principals took early retirement. The school board was wary as well. The teachers' union offered a great deal of support, but even with that, it took four years to implement the first change.

Nevertheless, a program slowly evolved that dramatically improved the education system by vesting responsibility and authority for its success in as many people as possible.

Not only was decision-making shared, but training in that process was offered in a non-traditional way -- to board members, parents, staff, principals, teachers and occasionally students. It was offered in the district, but many went away for weeks of training. The district further encouraged teachers to upgrade their skills by offering a cash bonus to those earning 15 in-service training credits.

Conway said that although many schools have employed the same kind of training in change management and decision-making, they have had less success because the process never had the same kind of district-wide support or leadership.

"It took a long time," Conway said. "but as a result, the ability to set goals, identify problems and solve them quickly is totally embedded in the Ken-Ton system and has completely altered the way it operates.

"This process itself continues to improve as well," say the authors, "in no small part because the district has produced a cadre of administrators, parents, teachers, board members and staff members who manifest the elements of successful leaders."

Conway has, over the last 35 years, taught higher-education research at colleges and universities that include the University at Buffalo, Buffalo State College, the University of Miami and University College, Galway (Republic of Ireland). His work has been published in many professional journals and in several books.

Shipengrover is a curriculum consultant to the Robert Wood Johnson Generalist Initiative Project at the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, where she facilitates curriculum reform linked to the preparation of primary-care physicians. She received her doctorate from the UB Graduate School of Education.

became the first school district to receive the New York State Governor's Excelsior Award, presented to service industries that have implemented Total Quality Management in an exemplary and effective manner.

And community support for its school system grew. Since 1987, all elections on school budgets and bond issues have passed by a considerable majority -- more than 80 percent.

Conway said that none of this was accomplished without difficulty.

The plan encountered much resistance from the outset. Once it was announced, one-third of the district's principals took early retirement. The school board was wary as well. The teachers' union offered a great deal of support, but even with that, it took four years to implement the first change.

Nevertheless, a program slowly evolved that dramatically improved the education system by vesting responsibility and authority for its success in as many people as possible.

Not only was decision-making shared, but training in that process was offered in a non-traditional way -- to board members, parents, staff, principals, teachers and occasionally students. It was offered in the district, but many went away for weeks of training. The district further encouraged teachers to upgrade their skills by offering a cash bonus to those earning 15 in-service training credits.

Conway said that although many schools have employed the same kind of training in change management and decision-making, they have had less success because the process never had the same kind of district-wide support or leadership.

"It took a long time," Conway said. "but as a result, the ability to set goals, identify problems and solve them quickly is totally embedded in the Ken-Ton system and has completely altered the way it operates.

"This process itself continues to improve as well," say the authors, "in no small part because the district has produced a cadre of administrators, parents, teachers, board members and staff members who manifest the elements of successful leaders."

Conway has, over the last 35 years, taught higher-education research at colleges and universities that include the University at Buffalo, Buffalo State College, the University of Miami and University College, Galway (Republic of Ireland). His work has been published in many professional journals and in several books.

Shipengrover is a curriculum consultant to the Robert Wood Johnson Generalist Initiative Project at the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, where she facilitates curriculum reform linked to the preparation of primary-care physicians. She received her doctorate from the UB Graduate School of Education.