Charting Chicago School Reform: Democratic Localism as a Lever for Change. - Review - book review

Administrative Science Quarterly, Dec, 2000 by Nancy Roberts

Anthony S. Bryk et al. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998. 383 pp. $69.00, cloth; $25.00, paper.

Charting Chicago School Reform is a landmark book. It is a synthesis of what researchers have learned from four years of Chicago's historic school reform, which began with Public Act 85-1418, a radical departure from standard educational practice in the nation's third largest school system. The authors state that they know of no other comparable institutional change in public education currently under way in another major U.S. urban center, and I agree. The law aims to reclaim initiative for local actors--parents, community members, teachers, and principals--by building them into a political force strong enough to leverage changes needed to make schools more responsive to those they are intended to serve. Expanded local participation begins with local school councils (LSCs) established to give parents and community members formal authority with respect to their neighborhood schools. Principals are given greater authority over building and staff, while changes in the basic systems of sanctions and incentives s hape and reinforce their work. Teachers expand their influence by taking a role in school decision making. Redirected school fiscal resources ensure greater revenue equity across the system and open up new discretionary resources at the school level to encourage restructuring. Reduced central office line authority protects decentralization at the school site. And centralized emphasis on academic improvement encourages local schools to focus their efforts at substantially improving student learning.

The researchers' intent is to examine whether the changes envisioned by PA 85-1418 are in fact occurring, to identify where progress has and has not taken place, and the reasons why, and to ascertain whether improvements in student learning are achievable given the new structures and norms being established. Most importantly, the study probes the central premise of the law--that changes in the governance structure and expansion of local participation in school affairs are levers for institutional change and improved instructional performance.

The Prologue and chapter 1 frame the study by locating Chicago school reform within the institutional change perspective. Expanded local participation is viewed as an antidote to the current problems of large-scale democratic control of schools that permit narrow, fractious interests to dominate public education. Under this new legislation, principles of citizen participation, community control, and local flexibility become substitutes for centralized authority, standardized operating procedures, and professional control. The primary purpose of the book is to test "the validity of the basic organizing principle of the reform--democratic localism as a lever for revitalizing local public institutions . . ." (p. 29). Four questions structure the research: How are the new governance structures actually functioning in Chicago's schools? How are schools using their new-found autonomy and resources to reorganize their operations and relations? Is there any evidence of sustained attention to improving teaching and st rengthening instructional programs? and What connections exist among the evolution of local school governance, the types of organizational changes, and instructional improvement efforts?

The first three chapters provide a framework for understanding the diverse political, organizational, and instructional activities engendered by Chicago school reform. Beginning with a case-study synthesis, chapter 2 examines the first research question and provides a conceptual framework that identifies four distinct types of local school politics currently operative in Chicago's elementary schools. Research then turns to system-wide indicators to estimate the prevalence of each political type and to examine the distribution of each among the different school communities. Chapter 3 focuses on the second research question and the organizational changes in the schools. Researchers identify four school improvement types and two approaches to change. Relying on system-wide indicators, they answer questions about the prevalence of these various types and the equity of their distribution. Chapter 4 addresses the third research question and concentrates on instructional improvements and "best practices." Drawing on system-wide survey data from teachers and principals, extensive classroom observations, and student focus groups, the chapter examines efforts to develop teachers' capacities and to introduce innovative programs and instructional approaches in the schools. Rich descriptions offer a "textured portrait of classroom life in six key sites of reform" (p. 41). Chapter 5 formally tests the book's central policy question: Is democratic localism an effective lever for educational improvement? Chapter 6 continues the analysis by taking a more in-depth look at six actively restructuring Chicago schools. Using qualitative methodologies, the researchers are able to probe deeply into the processes that link expanded local participation to organizational changes and student learning. Chapter 7 concludes the book with reflections on the lessons learned from the Chicago experience and with suggestions relevant to other urban school communities.