Creating High Functioning Schools

School Administrator, May, 1999 by Art Stellar

The interest of school administrators and researchers in Creating High Functioning Schools led to the formation of an annual National Conference on Creating the Quality School organized by the editors of this book and other professors at the University of Oklahoma. This book flowed from approximately one third of the presentations at that gathering over a two-year period. But of the 24 contributors, only two are current school administrators, leaving the focus more oriented toward scholarly research than practice drawn from research.

The first section, "Leadership for School Improvement," is undoubtedly the most useful for practitioners. The transition from more traditional leadership styles to newer forms of leadership through empowerment and cooperative planning is highlighted. The resolve of principals to stay the course of quality schooling and the ability to generate trust are two worthy principles described.

The twin bane of many administrators, conflict resolution and consensus building, provide the most concrete and useful ideas. The deliberative opinion caucus, a unique approach for engaging large numbers of community representatives in improvement efforts, is especially well described.

Readers will find sound theoretical platforms for classroom practices implied through these studies. The paradigms given for quality schools and innovations also are generally solid. For the most part, however, reading this material is like eating dry oatmeal-good for you, but not tasty.

(Creating High Functioning Schools: Practice and Research, edited by Yvonne Cano, Fred H. Wood and Jan C. Simmons, Charles C. Thomas Publisher, 26005. First St., Springfield, Ill. 62794-9265, 1998, 283 pp. with index, $58.95 hardcover)