Accelerating the Learning of All Students: Cultivating Culture Change in Schools, Classrooms and Individuals

in1 the learning o

Series Editors: Henry M.Levin, Teachers College,Columbia University, and Jeannie Oakes, University of California-Los Angeles Accelcmti~~g the Learning of All Stzkden fs, Christine Fjinnan and Julie D. Swmson 2achil.q Tra~sf0rrnc.d:Achil.zli?.~g Exrclle~rce,Fairness, Ilzclusion, and Harviony, R~olandn a r y , Pcggy Estrada, St.ephanie Daltan, m d Lais Yamaucf-ri

Schools for the 21.f Cezfury: Lillki~gChild Care and Ebjumfion, -Stevenson and Edward Zigler

Off Trilck: When Poor Readers B e ~ l l ~"Learui~g ~ie Disabled," Loukc; Spear-Swerling and Robert J.Steinberg FORTHCOMING

Charter Schools: E d ~ m f i o u d&trqrene~drshipand Its Challenges, Peter Cookson Jr. and CistFna Berger

tivating Cu nge in Schoo ssrooms, and Individua

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A Mernber of ehe Perseus Books Group

IXe~~ewing Anleuiitutz Schools: The Educalhnal Knortjledgr Base All rights reserved, Printed in tlne United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any inforxnation storage and rdrieval system, without: permission in wfiting fmm tlne publisher.

Copyright O ZOUQ by West-riiewPress, A Member of the Perseus Books Group Publislned in 2200 in the United States of Amex-icaby Westview Press, 5500 Central Avenue, Boulder, Colorado 80301-2877, and in the United Kingdom by VVesLview Press, 12 Hid's Copse Road, Curnnur Hill, Oxfc~rd0 x 2 9JJ

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Library of Co)ngress Catalo?ging-in-P~ibIicatic3n Data Finnan, Chcisline R. Accelerating the learning of all students/ Cl~ristineFinnan, JuXie D. Swansc>n p. m.+Renewing American Schools) Indudes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8133-9050-8 (pbk,) I. Educational acceleration. 2, ScXlc>olimprovement programs. I. Swanson, Julie D. U. Title, 111, Series.

The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of tlne American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for 13rintedLibrary Materials 239.48-1984,

This book is dedicated to Hank Levin ilz thanks for his support,

encouvagenzent, and inspiration.

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List Ilf Tables and Fktr res fireword by H e n q M,Levin brclwoud by Juseph S. 12enzulli

1

The Multiple Meanings of Acceferation Acceleration Defhed, 8 Acceleration for a Few ar for All: The Social and Historical Context, 12 Towad Acceleration for All, 18

2

Accelerate = Seming GiAed and Talented Students Cmdidates lfor Acceleration: Who Is Identified? 20 Mihy Accelerate Learning for Gifted and Talented S t u b t s ? 21 Models of Acceleration for Gifted and Tale~~ted Students, 22 From Identification to Development of Gifts and Talents, 27 Conclusian, 30

3

Accelerate = Targeting Low-Achieving Students Remediation ar Acceleration? 34 Who Are ZJowAchievers? 35 A Model of Acceleration for Low-Achieving Students, 38 Progmm That Accelerate Law-Achievirrtg Stzldents, 40 Co~~clusian, 45

4

Accelerate = Challenging AEE Students The I m p e m fnr Arceleration of All, 49 A Research Frantebvork Supporting Accclccated Learning for All Students, 50 Accelerated Lramfng Programs, Projects, a d Educational Strategies, 55 The Keys to Acceleration for All Students, 60

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Cofz tents

v111

5

Cultivating Culture Change to Accelerate the Learning of All Students Cuttivating Acceleration, 64 What Is CultureX5 SocietaS Assumptions EnRuencing S c h d and Classmom Culture, 68 Cultivatkg Culture Change, 72 Note, 74

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Cultivating Acceleration Within School Cultures Basic Assumptions Shapiulg School. Culture, 78 Assumptions Adults H d d for Children, 80 Assumptions Students Hold About 'Themselves and Their Future, 84 Assumptions blated to Expectations for Adults (Teachers, Principals, and Parmts), 88 Assumptions About Educational Practices That Are Considered "Acccytable," 94 Assumptions About the Value cJf Change, l01 Moving k h s a l Culture Toward Acceleration, IQ4

7

Cultivating Acceleration Within. Classroam Cultures Basic Assumptions Shapiulg Classroom Culture, 110 Assumptions Shaping Expectations for Student Learnixlg and Appmpriate Behavior, 110 Assumptions Related to Appropriate Carnmm~icationm d Discourse, 117 Assumptions Related tc:,Appropriate Adult Behavicrr, 122 Assuntptions Related to Appmpriate Educational Practices, 130 Moving Classmom Culture Toward Acceleration, 136 Notes, 137

8

Individuals as Cultivators: Acting on Changed Assumptions Within: and Beyond the School Assumptions, Beliefr;,and Actions, 140 Responsibilities of Indit.iduafs Wi&in Schools and Classrooms, 141 :Responsibi.litiesof Indjviduals Uutsidc of Schools, 149 S0 Haw Do We Do This? l56 Notes, 161

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139

1.1 1.2

Understmdhg acceleration Acceleration: Social m d historical context

2.1

Approaches used to accelerate gifted and talented stude11t.s

3.1

Programs that accelerate low-achistso azrnqr,?

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orevor Equity Plus Excellence: A Very Possible Mission

:If there is any single, unifying characteristic of today's schools, that characteristic is surely a resistance, if not an imunit-y; to change. The ponderous rhetoric about school improvement and the endless lists of mission statements, noble goals, and new paradigms need to be tempewd with a liitilc c m 0 1 1 sellse about the purpose of schooling and the essential h g r e d h t s needed to make learni.ng enjoyable, efficient, and satisfying for every one of our students. Practice needs to precede policy so that we eventually adopt what works rather thm what politicians and others far remved, from classrooms try to ram down the throats of t h persons who deliver the services. FinaIfy, we need to adopt gentle and evdutionary approaches to ckrmge that school persomel c m live wi& and grow with, rather than be threatened by. Within these efforts exists the seemingly impossible pursuit of the marriage of equity and excellence, a pursuit that is essential to maxilnally effeclive education but has largely eluded us thus far. Albert Einsteh once said that problems cannot: be solved at the same level of conseousncss that created them, Transcencting these previous levels of consciousness will not be an easy task. For example, the ixtory model of schooiing that gave rise to the clear and present danger n w facing our schools camot be used to obrercarne the very problems that it has created. Fnie must consider very thoughtfully the idea behind EinStein's words if there is to be any hope whatsoever of turning around a ly into a public education syste~nthat is slowly but s ~ ~ r e deteriorating massive warehouse of regimentation, boredm, underachievement, unfulfilled expectations, and broken dreams. It is difficult to find plans and policies that ,?re qualitatively differew fPom the old top-down pattcrns of school 0rgani.zati.m or the traditional linear/sequential models of 1eami11g that have dominated our schoole;. 'The creative ideas and efforts described in this book provide a plan for bridging the equity and excellence dilemma. The authors, and those with whom they have worked, are sett* forth a hitmework in which oppor-

tunities, resources, and encouragement can be provided to support the continuous escalation of student hvolvement at all levels of achievement hboth recyuired and self-seleded activities. This approach seeks to develop multiple potentials for each and every student that we, as educators, are called to instruct a d nurture. Acceleratilzg the Learning of All Stnderzts highlights practices that have been a mahstay of many special, programs for "the giftedJf-then uses and integrates these best practices into the general education model for the pmpose of upgrading the perfomance of all students. 'This integration of know-how from programs ior the gifted is a favorablc develspment for two reasms. First, the adoption of many of these practices is indicatiwe of their vi&ility and usefulness in total school. improvement. Second, all students should have opportunities to develop higher-order thinking skills, to pwsue m m rigorous cmtent than is typically found in todayfs ""d-~tmbed-down"" textbooks, and to undertake firsthand investigatims. Concerns about equity and exce11ence have framed the d.ialogue that grew up mound the school improvement initiatives that began in the 1,960sm d that were wcelerated in the mid-1980s foilowing pllblicatim of the report titled A Naliolz at Risk. Advocates for improving e ~ i t in y education concentrated their attention on pushing up achic?vement test scores by develoiphg school reform models and producing materials that fcxrused on highly repetitious basic skill learning. So pesvasjve was this structured and didactic approach to learnhg that it earned its w n pejorative designation as the ""dmbhg down of curriculum," This approach, drill and. practice in the skills that typically t;how up m achievement tests, seemed like a logical way of deal% with wbat was a straighthrward problem in learning. If a skdent was deficien.t. in the basks, give bin\ or her more practke. And if improvements were not forthcoming, simply herease the m o u n t of pradice. The only problem is that after almost four decades of invesIing literally billions of d d a r s in intensive compensatory approaches, we have found that these approaches simply don't work! Most. educational reform leaders agree that remedial models for school improvement have not been highly successful, Attempts to push up achjevement test scores from ""thebottcrmf9hrough highly prescriptive mastery learning models have frustrated low-achievil.lg students and dragged down the performance of average and high-achievhg youngsters. These remediatim practices have falfcln short of accomp1i"hing the gains they purport to foster m d the promise of equitably servjchg the needs of students at all ~evels. M t h this in mind, accelerated learning approaches take on the challenge of reformulaling how wc develop thc &&ties of students cvho have typicaUy been relegated. to remedial practices. The suggestions presented in this book reflect a democratic ideal that accommodates the full

range of individual differences in the entire student population and opens the door to programmh~gmodels that develop the talent potentiais of many at-risk students-those oftet? excluded from anything hut the most basic of curricuhr experiences. No easy method for challenging and accelerating all studentsqeaming exists. The society in which we Eve, as weit as the schools, which m a reflection of this society, are replete with complexiw, cdtural diffemces, grtrssing needs and demands, and perspectives, which bring a varit.ty of assmptions to the mix. h d yet we must believe in and strive for the unim of eguity and excellence as rea1it)l and not just as theory. Perhaps the ~nostimpressive and essentiai idea p ~ s e n t e d the t a t that f d o w s is the xnissiolr asld commitment to addrcss effecljvely the vast and indivjdual needs of our diverse student population, The authors wisefy recognize the foolishness of utiIizing one strategy or modiel for accomplishing the task at band. Ratkr, they offer as an allernative a clear and flexible approach that is broader, incorporating a variety of established a d successful strategies for the improved education of all students. Their mmy practical.suggestionsjust may make the seemhgly impossible rapprochement between equity and excellence very possible. So, regardless of the difficutty, we turn our minds antS our eyes forward, working together and with open minds for our kids, m d for ottr collective future,

Joseph S. Renzulli, Director The National Research Center on the Gifted md Talented, University of Connecticut

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Imagine a youlzg child you care about deeply What kind of education do you bope be or she will. mceive? Most likely you hope for an experience that the child finds stimulati~~g, challenging, engaging, and relevant. Let's intagine this child has bee11 identified as gifted. F-low likely is it that he or she will receive the kind of educational experience &scribed. above? Now imagine the chjld has trouble learning and has hem labeled low achieving. Mlhat is the likemood he or she will rclceive such an edu,cation? M a t is the likelihood for this kind. of an educational experience if he or she is an average student? Most people would agree that gifted childrcn are more likely than other child.ren to have a stimulating, challenging, engaging, and relevant learnhg experience. Gifted children are often provided enrichment opportmities that atluw them to build m their strengths and usc tht.ir fuSI potential. h e r a g e children" odds of havjng such a Ieaming experience are greatly reduced. Average children spend a good part of their day workkg horn text 1700ks, coqleting works:h,eets, and learning isolated facts. Low-achievhg children are hi@ly ranlikely to have a stimulating learning experience. These children s p e d the majority of their time drilling on skilSs they hnvc not mastered or sitting &rough whole class instruction t h y do not understand.. Accelerated learning describes learning experiences that stimulate and chalfenge students. The term "accelerate" can be applied to learning experiences designed. for students identified as gifted and for students identified as low achieving. It is most promising when it is applied to the learning of all students. The term, "'accelerate" can describe efforts to move some students faster than other students througtn a course of study. We accelerate fie karning of gifted students by mowing them faster than other students through a course of study oftem, by having them skip grades. Educators have begun to speak of accelerating the learning of low-achieving students as an alternative to remedial instruction. 1x1 this case, the emphasis is on moving studmts faster thmu$h material in order to catch up with other students.

Both of these applications of the term. '"accelerate" involve labeling some stuelents and separating them from other sh;ldents. The emphasis on sorting stdents derives from a desire to meet their incdividml needs. Ch the surface this is a laudable goal; everyone wmts to meet the individual needs of shdents. However, such practices exacerbate inequities that: hnve existed in the United States fos more than two hw~dredyears" :Ra&er than meeting indkidual needs, such practices msult in middleand upper-class students predominating in classes or programs for t-he gifted, while low-income and minority stzadel~tsdisproportionately receive remedial or special education sewices. When we remove t-he ernphasis on labeling and sorting studmts, acceleratim takes m another meaning. It no longer focuses on ide~~til.'yi,ng stu,dents%trrengths and weahesses and grouping t h m by ability. Rather, it calls for teachers to accept diversity in students' abili6ies and experiences m d to build on strxde~~ts' strengfis to provide an educational experielzce for all students that is oi bigh intellectual qualiw-that is substantive, authentic, and ~ l e v a n t:ill . addition, accelerated learning for all sh;ldents is cmtiruous and comeded; it encourages students to make col~nedians with prior knowledge and across subjects. Finally it is a vehicle for all students, Mlhether identil'ied as gifted, l w achieving, or average, to meet high stmdards. Accelerated laming is a process for achieving the high standards that characterize education reform efforts currently sweeping the nation, As century nearly al states will have enacted some we enkr the tws~ly-first: kirrd of accountabi2i.ty legislation that is tied to a set of academic content standards, Students across the country are being held accountable to meet crihallenging cmtent stmdards, or they will not be promoted to the next grade. It is 170 lvnger acceptable for sone students to learn challenging material while expectations for others art; lower. Moreover, teachers and administrators are being held accountable for improving student achievement, Teacher educators arc also being held accountable for the ability of their graduates to challenge all sbdents. C)ne might ask if the kind of transformat-ion in teaching and learnkg needed for all students to meet high standads can occur by passing accountability legislatfon, providing intensive profc.ssionat development for teachers, or changing teacl-cer preparation. If past efforts to change education through legislation or other outside interventions arc any indication, the answer is a resounding no. Transforming schools alld classroom so that all students meet high stmdards quires deep change in school and classroom culture. For mrc than a century schaols have been labeling and sorting sbelents with the expectation t-hat each group of s b dents will meet different standards; these practices are unlikely to change substantially overnight. These practices are irnbedded in school and cfassrotlm cultures and support efforts to accelerate learning for wefi-

defined groups of students. EfEorts to accelerate the learning of aI1 students require an internat process of culture c h q e that is facilitated through the support oE state and district policies. Schools and classrooms that accelerate learning so that all students can meet high standarcls do exist, but they are fundarnatally different from most schools and classrooms,.The key difference is found in the culture of these schools and classrooms. Schools and classrooms bring together indiviefrrals who hold sets of assumpticms &out students (e.g., that s k dents can or cannot learn), d u l t roles in Che school (e.g., that teachers work alone or collaboratively), appropriate educaticmai strategies (e.g., that shdents artl best taught through drill m d prartice or through active engagement wjth connplex materials), the vdue of change (e.g., that it is to be avoided or that it is challenging and invigorating), and appropriate communication pattems (e.g., that the teacher directs all communication or that it is comunnlly developed). fndjviduals' assumptions c m e together withixl a school or classroonn to form shared cultural assumptions that shape what is valued in the school, the actions individuals are expected to take, and shared expectations about who is responsible for what, This book moves from a description of the multiple uses of accelerated learning to a discussion of the changes in schools, clizssrooms, and jndividuals that must occur for all students to benefit horn accelerated Zearning. Chapter 3 defines accelerated learning and examines the historical and social context that has shaped the evolution of the use of this term. Chapters 2 and.3 provide an in-depth exploration of accelerated learsling as applied to sbdents identified as gifted f a a p t e r 2) and low achieving (Chapter 3). Each of these chapters provides descriptions of the target students and programs that have been developed to accelerate their learning. Chapter 4 prowides a description of efforts to accelerate the learnjng of all students. 'The examples illust..ratea shift from ennphasizjng the identification of shdents and moving faster through material to challengirrg all sbdents tcr delve deeply into tbeir learning. Chapter S provides a transition from descriptions of st-udents and programs and argues that accelerated learning for all students will not occur without changing schwl and classroom cultures. The chapter defines cdture and highlights the importance of understmding the assumptions held by all people who come togcrther to make up the classrom or school culture. Chapters 6 a d 7 identify key cmponents of s c h d and classroom culture that serve to e~zcourageor discourage efforts to accelerate learnhg. Chapter 8 expXsres the responsibilities individuals m s t accept to cultivate schod and classroom cultures that encourage the acceleration of all studerzts. This book synthesizes work both authors have been engaged in through m s t of our professional careers. We share a co

proving education for d l students, especidly those who come from groups that have historically not received a higll-quality education. We have both been hvolved in efforts to reform schools and classrooms to better serve historically disadvantaged students, I, Christine Finnan, have been the director of the South Caroha Accelerated Schools Project since 1,991,. 1 b e c m e involved in the Accelerated Schools Project after completing an ethnographic shrdy of the implementation of the project in a California middle school. I, Julie D. Swanson, have directed two federal Jacob favits demnnstration projects. The first was designed to find alternative ways to identify gifted students in rural schools, and the second trains teachers to use materials developed for gifted students with all s b dents in three schaols serving low-ixlcorne students. We began working together in 1995 when we were awarcied a grant from the Soutb Carolina Commission cm Higher Educatim to establish the Center of Excellence in kcekrating Learning at the College of C h a r l e s t m U t about the same time, Henry M. Levtn approached us about: the prospect of writing a book for the series Relzcwilzg Americatz Schools, which he edits almg with Jemnie Oakes. This series is designed to create an educational howlcdge base of current research m topics of interest to the generai public. In keeping with the goals of the series, this book synthesizes research, best practice, m d current thought and po:[icy on accelerated leamhg. There are m a y people we want to f i m k for hefping and supporting us t h m g h this process. Move all, we want to thank Henry M. tevin fos pmvicrting us the opportunity to write this book and for trusting us to put into wlrrds a commiment to children that. has been his passim hrough most of his carees, We also want to acknndedge the special contributions of two coljeagues, Chapter 3 was coauthored with lane F" Zenger and Chapter 8 was coauthmd with Dane C. Cudahy. We want to thank our editor, Cathy Murphy, who provided moral szlpport, exhibited great patience, and provided insightful feedback. Srveratl people provided very useful feedback on the draft of this book. We want to thmk Lorh Anderson, Ruth Cohen, Henry Levk, Jse Renmlfi,and George Splndler for their comments. We also want to tl-tank aIl cJf the teachers, principals, students, and pamnts in schools Mlhere we have worked through the Accelerated Schools PMect, Project Search, and Project Breakthrough for their inspiration, Thanks also go out to colleagues at the Accelerated Schools Prqect national center and satellite celzters aroulzd the country and to colleagues closer to home who have supported us h our work, especially Russell. Sills, Frank Bouknight, Doma Da&y h&Kirszenbaum, and Fran O'TooIe. Special thanks are extended to colleag~~es at the College of Charleston, especialIy to Nancy Sorensm, our dean, for valuing our work and for apprtrciati~~g the importance of scholarship. We also want to erctend special

thanks to Ruth Orman for her good hurnor and careful =view of both early and near final versions of the manuscript and to calleagues in the School of Education, especidy Diane Curdahy, Ken R0we.t;and the members of the Center of Excetlence Research Group for comments on early versions of several chapters. Special tkanks go to Karen Dennis for careful attenlion to detail and good-hwmorcd willhgncss to he@ with manuscript preparation and to Natalie Klutz for additional support in manuscript preparation. We want to thank the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, especially :Nancy flealy-Mrilliams, for providing us the opportunity to establish thr Center oE Excellence in Accelerating Learning. The cammitment of the Carnmissio~~ on. Higher Education to dissemhatkg stateof-the-art research provided incentive and financial support for this book. Finally; we extend our thanks to our families. We thmk our parents for instilling in us a love of learning and a work ethic that enabled us to complete this prclject. We also thank our husbands, George and Tyno, for their patience and support. Fhalty, special thanks are sent to Molly and Leslie, Not only did they tolerate many wedends and.evenings in front of the computer and accept a preoccupation with ""'T'he Book,"' but they also provid,ed inspiration, insightful dinner eon\rersa.t.ions, and ~ a l - l i f e a n d ~lcasionaldisappojntrnents of school exarmples of the joy, mystery, m life,

4. The South Camlina Commission on Higher Edueaticrn funds a Center af Excellence each year at a state college or university to provide state-af-the-a&research on a topic s>Econcern in the state. Each center is expected to disseminate research to institutions of higher educaticjn and to schools and the general public.

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ult

anin

h n a is a??attmctiue, gregarious fifth gmder Z U ~ E (has I beet2 idel~tgedas gqteti and talented. She liues it1 a co1~4ortnblemiddle-class ueighborlzod ruith her college-educated parents a ~ older d sister, Most ~zighfs,thefnmily catches up on the girlskai:livifies mer d i ~ n e r Allnu . recclzazls stories ~ Y O Y her ~ I special class for gqted stztde)-~ts, rnlzile her sister t~lli-sabilrbt the der~fandsqAdvazced Plncc~~fent high scllool cnurse5, Both girls f u k pinno lessons, and Anlta is n member uf n neicyhhorflod swirrt team. A~nu'spa~nCsare pmud of her accomplishrn~tts~ especially thefact t h t she skippedfil-st gmde md tesfed iuto the giJted progmm in her school. Alz~za'sparents are pleased ioith the sclzools in tlzeir conznzzmit!j, a5 loug as their gkls are selectedfor gqtrd clnsses or advanced frackr;. Knowledgeable parents in the cmmzlnity klfozo tflat Ihey must be assertive to enszrre t h t their children are well served k the schuols.

Xichrd liz~esruith his atrrndedfa~~iily in a small brcnflnlou! in a neighborfzocrd of light i n d z ~ s t and y small homes. Ricllard shan-ts his thr~ze-bcdnromIZnrne zuith his parelzts,fiz"e sibli~qs,and his nzobkr's sister and motltel: Rkhad's rrtothevfinished htyfz school, Hisfither dropped uut and has h c e ~ruarkiag si~ci.he r17assevmtecrz, ICicflard'I;older bwflzer rcce~ztl;ystopped atte~zdir2cyhigh school, which is c a u s i q co~sidernbkte~zsicmilz the home. Wfzi-71Richard is not caril.zg)ilr his yotdllg'er sibliqqs, he spmds most of his time playi~zgbaseb~lland baskcthall at the local p r k . Xichnrd b e g a ~filling helzind his peers i;az the third gm&, By fifth grade !re ~llusso Jar hefgind that his tf~achcrwcorrrntended lie be retained. Tl?e yriirrcipnl #his elementary school thoc3:ghthe miCqht.bcrzcfitfrom n syecinl class at the m M l e school desig~zed"l;l FnoTte studnzts through thefifth and sixffzgmdes in otte year. Sbzac e~znrllitgin thii; class, Richard's aftifrrdetoward school has improved; he has even beg2611to t n k a bout attendi~zgcollege. Sara is n shy and seriozlsfizrrtfi grader who liaes zoifjt her sillcyle mother, two yozrEger brothers, and elderly gmndmclther i~ a small ;tzozlse m r Westuiezu E h mentary Schuol, Her noth her izas work& at the local bzrtton factory siftce she

8

The Mzkltif~EeiWeantlzgs of Accelerat;o~z

graduated from high school, Snm enjoys si~gi7;zgin the school chorus and the chzlxh choir, u~zdr;he likes to go to school. Alfhor4gh Sarn's motlzer m a i d lovii to nloue to a coml-nriniliywifh heffero r n p l q m ~ opfiorzs, ~t she stays in ker jllb hecazkse she roatlts Sara ntld her bmtkers t~ gmCJ~1~7fefrOnz Westvirru E l e ~ ~ f e ~ t a School. She hus beerg imprese;ed with the i~2~zo.uative and clzafle~gi~2g imnzing expcrie~cesSura and her brothers have had and ruith the zuilliugllL'ss ofthe teachers arzd pritzcipal to listen to her ideas and G ~ ~ R Y I % SShe , fears t h t Sam, not the top titudet~tin her clrass, zuozlld ~ c l have f as etzgaavis and Rimm 1998) Service Delivery Models * Early entrance to school: either kindergarten or first grade, middle or high school, or college * Grade skipping: atso catled full acceleration or double protnotion Subject matter acctrcleration: also callcd partial acccleratian; student takes a subject FIT c ~ n t e ~cc~urse lt ahead of l~islhergrade level Advanced placement: high-school courses ofkring student opportunity to earn cclllege credit Curriculuin Msdets * Curriculum compacting: student demonstrates mastery throuffh pretesting, "buying time" k3r acceleration andlor enrichinerzt * Continuous progress: as the student demonstrates readiness, helsbe is given material appropriate for achievement level * SeliF-pacing: student is provided with materials that alIow self-padng; the student moves at herlhis own rate, 0 Telescoping: two years\wo~rk accr>mplishedin one year I%rograms Combining Service Delivery and Curriculuin hlodejs Residential. schools: residexltiat schools where high-school studellts arc offered curriculuin beyond the regular high school program * Internationat Baccalaureate propams: highly selective and rigorous programs with international emphasis * Talent search propams: prograxlls that find students with high analytic and t t e s and outside of regular verbal, abilities and provide o p p ~ r t u ~ ~ i within schooling t o develop talent

digm is inclusive, focuses on strengths, and is growth oriented. Pmgrams based on this paradjgm encowage gi&edbehavbrs; they are flexible and responsive in d e s i p hstead of lirnited in offerings. They have an incliusive curriculum and are a part of the ~ g r r l acurriculum r (Treffhger 1991). 'The models described in this section focus on developing ptential giftedness by offering educational opportunities to a wider range of students than those identified as gifted through traditimd means.

'The Schoolwide Enrichment Model (Remzulli and Reis 1985) applies a broadened conception of giftedness. This model stands apart from otl-ter programs for gifted students in that:it includes students who may not be identified as gift.ed by traditional means but who exhibit gifted betnavinr. :It emphasizes the studcat" bbehavior and not an l() score. Althougfn the traditional conception of giftedness is based on an IQ score of 130 or

Accelerate = Servilzg Gzfted and Take~ztecudStudefzts

29

above, educators of the gifted, such as Joseph Renzulll believe that gifted behavior, not the label sf giftedness based on m IQ score, is what educators need to develop asld encourage. li, Renzdfi,, gifted behavi,os includes three basic clusters of traits: above average abiijty (high IQ and/or aptitude), task commitmeM (persistence), and creatiwity W e n tbese three traits c m together, Ihe student is said to be exhibiting gifted behavior. The distinction between traditional giftedness and this definition is that ability is demonstrated through performance; his defi~~ition focllses on \zrhat the student dt>es,not what the stude~ztis, and moves away from labeling students. His khoolwide Enrichment Model is buiIt on this belief. This m d e l is based on thrce types of experiences. Type 1 experiences enrich and expose students to interesting and exciting toyics. Type :I1experiences include specific skills training based m student intemst and need, and Type IE activities involve stude~ztsin red-world problem solving, The model involves many children in the exposurelensichmnt phase. Fewer students are involved in Type 11, specific skills trahing, and only those stdents exhibiting high levels of gjfted behavior move on to real-world problem solving, Type Ill (Rcnzulii and Reis 1985). Accelcrated learning occurs in both Type I1 and I11 activities. Students learn skills and content that grow out of their interests and the specific problem they are inwstigating, Because this model builds on stud.ents%intests, their talent and potential giftedness arc. nurtured.

The Planning Model for Academic and Talent Diversity Carol A m Tomlhson (19962, like Joseph Rezzzdli, is interested in fi~zding the common elements of ""good ixrstmction in general and.good instmction for higbly able learners" (p. 156). She argues that good imtruction for the gifted s h o d be good instruction for all stdents. Because general educatim has moved more toward cmstmctivist learning, instructional practices mostly used in the past with gifted learwrs are now widely used with all stude~zts.Tomlinson proposes a model, the P1 for Academic and Talent Diversity, which .includes the elements 'found in m y effective classroom. The model, drawn from m examination sf what makes a giAed class djfferent from a regular class, ofkrs principles of content, pmess, and. product that are effective for diverse learners. She also provides a cclnthuum of adaptaticms that allow all students exposure to chnllenging cmrricmlum but that accommodate variation in learners' talents and interests, Accosding to Tomlinsm, there are no envirc3nmental mc>difications;principles of content, process, or product; or instructional strategies uniquely appropriate for gifted learners. CurricuXurn and instruction far gifted learners will be uniquely appropriate

30

Accelerate = Servieg Gifted and Taketzted Students for those learners when teaching and learning are at a level of transformation, abstractness, complexity, muttifacetedness, mental leap, open-endedness, problem ambiguity, independace, or pace suited to advanced learning capacity. (1996: 3 72-1 73)

Although acceleratio~~ for gifted and talented stude11t.s has a long history; it receives little attention and support f r m most teachers and administrators* Many educators are philosophically opposed to accelerating bright learners (Southern, Jones, and Fiscus 1989), especially when these learners merely move more quickIy through a course of study. They are cautious and use accderation as an option infwquently because they worry about the p r e s s e s on ch,ildrfjnand the affective and socjal development of c h i l h n who are pushed into an age group beymd. their age peers. In addition, most educatctn; assume that socialization with age pwrs is best for the youngster (Schiever and Maker 1991') Although research strongly supp~rt"he use of acceleration with individual students tffrody and Renbow 1987; Feldhusen 19891, it is not widely supported in practice. In Natiolzui" Excellence: A Case for Deuelql?ig America's %lent, Ross underlines the need to challenge students: Reforming American schools depends on challenging students to W C I C ~ harder and master more complex material. Few would argue against this for students perfc~rmingat 1c3w or average levels. But we must also challenge our top-perfc~rmingstudents to greater heights if our nation is to achieve a world dass ducatiunal system. (1993: 1)

The rhctance to prouide fie best possible education to the nationfs brightest students does not fit well with the commitment of public schools to provide equal educational opportunity to all students, This tension between excellence and equity has a connection to the d e w (jraphics in Axncrican schools. Educational praetiees =served only for gifted and tajented studcnts are avoided for fear of appearing elitist or exclusive, particularly when low-fncome and minority students have been and continue to be mderreprese~~ted in gifted programs (Ford 1996). Tkem is now a focus on inclusion and serving all students well, ?"he emphasis has shifted from labelinf: students to exploring how to challenge all students, iutcluding, but not limited to, those labeled as gifted. As this chapter illustrates, we may be able to achieve both equity and excelle~~ce in education. Many of Che practices once reserved for identified gifted m d talented students have now moved into mainstream education (e.g., higher-order thinking, projects, group problrm solving,

Accelerate = Servilzg Gzfted and Take~ztecudStudefzts

31

pmblem-based learning), h addition, mmy leaders in gifted education advocate for the devebpment of new approaches and for stronger collaboration with regular educa.t.ion(Renzuli and Reis 1981; Treffinger, Cal:lahan, and t'aughn 1991; GalZagher 1991; Bireley 1992; Todinson and Callahan 1992). 'This kind of collaboratim and focus on challenging all students addresses the common la~~exrt that our curriculum has been ""dmbed down" and that much time in school is wasted, not just for gifted students, but for many students (Renzuili m d Reis 1991). Shoutdn't educators consjder the benefits of fast-paced, challenghg curricula for all of our students? The real and potmtial benefits for gift-ed students are evident h the research base on acceleration, If gifted students benefit, isn't it passible that others will, too? In particular; the application of curriculum models of acceleration to all students is promising. Curriculum models, shi-tped aroulld hdividud studentsYleaming needs and interests, could help shift the focus from ident-ification and sortkg of students into grczups that fjt into current courses and programs to a focus on reconfigwing courses and programs to better educate all stude~zts. Educators must mderstand the context of where we have come from to determine where we need to go. The cmtext is clearly differcmt now than at the turn of the past century and educators wed to talte a lesson fPom approaches that were once reserved for ''gifted m d talented" students and use tbose approaches to mowe all students, including gifted students, forward. Gifted education has been and can conthue to be a laboratory for experimentation with innovation and challeng.ing curricula. Educators should not discard the acceleration strategies discussed in this chapter as options for gifted students. The strdegies dearly work well with bright students. The key is to find ways to open up these approaches to other shdents.

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liz'cftard used to hate school, A f his elerrlerztlzry schwl he felt stupid because he had trouhk readincy. He htcng orct aJitl.1other boys wlzo zwrf having tmzlble in school mzd zuas begi~fiizzgt~ cardse problems in class, His fifth grade tcncher ftraglght liichtkrd sbictzild he wtained beca~seof his ltfw readiq ability. The elementary principal Ifnmed of an itt77oZ:atz'veclass v(lcent1y created at the middle school designed fir students like Xichard. A p z r p of sftzderzts zuk~are belzind grade lewl nm tullght the fifth and sixttg gmde curYil:~l~zm i~1a11 intotse, individtkalized, h n d s - m p q r a ~ ~At i . the cirzd c?f one year, these stuclt?)~lts will enter the n o r ~ ~seve~ztiz al ~unde. Richrd loves fhis class. ft has made him a beftcr reader &cause he enjoys the clevnnt can-ictiltlm, the wcwfuzzifyto w e his h n d s , u z d Iear~zingrnlsrzy t h i ~ q s at m e lirne lhmugh tlzeurnlfic:zlrzifs of strldy. l ~ this z accelernfed class, Riehard zoorks with two teachers. One teac1tt.r zoorks intensively and individz.ilallywith Ricltard tnz his reading, writing, m11 ~ ( n n m ~ ~ ~ z i cskills. a t i ~ The ~ z ofher lender wouks wit)? individzlals and small gmlcps on scimct: and malhenlafks. Tlzc t w tmchcrs plan ilzterdisciplnza stlrlies, alrd the l a m i n g activities are often based on real-2ifc siftmtions. Because the class is small, o~zlytwelve stzrdents, the ff~achers ficus on Richad's specvic stre~gthsa~sdamde~ricn e d s ulzd tailor Iearvri~zgaetiztit ies to f~tovehim qzr ickly tlzmzigh the leanilzg. Richard exemplifies a nekv apflication of acceleration." Applying the notion of acceleration to IOW-achievirrgstudents is based on the assumption that these studmts simply need to ''catch up" with their peers. fn order to catch up with their higher-aChieving peers, low acfiievers rnust move more quickly through the curricuXum they have not mastercrd. As in the case of gifted students, accrleration for bw-achieving students ~1atc.s tc:, speeding up; unlike gjfted stdents, speeding up i,n this case is geared to *"Thischapter is coat~tkoredby JaneE Zenger and Julie D. Swanson.

33

34

Accelerate = Targeti~gLow-Achicrvi~gStudents

catching up. Speed and pace are the key concepts in the application of X celeratk~glow achieversf learnfng. What works with low-achieving youngsters ta move them forward quickly and enable them to be successful h school? W : ~ Fin spite of billion~;of dollars and over thirty ycars of effort, have programs geared to educatkg law-achievhg stude~~ts failed to meet the needs of so many? The earlier discussion in Chapter I provides a context for why this particular group of students has been targeted for acceleration and suggests rclasons wlny so many efiorts have failed to meet their needs, In this chapter, we challtlnge the concept of remedlation (i.e., reteaching discrete skils out of context fiat have not been m a s t e ~ d m ) d propose a more direct and practical methodoloa of acceleratjng low-achjevlng students. The chapter exmines what it m a n s intheory and practice to accelerate low-achieving students, describes students typiralIy laheled as low ac,hjevers, and highlights several hovative, successful acceieration programs for law-achieving students.

Remediation or A~celeration? Remedialion, intended to help students labeled as low achievhg gain the skills necessary to catch up with their age peers, has unfortunately had the opposite effect. In fact, remediation slows most studentsf learning down to the point where they rarely catch up. Typical remedid appmaches include discrete slcills instruction that is linear and sequential, that is, reading instruction emphasizes phonics rules and skills, and mathematics hstruction provides drill in operations. Underlyhg remed i d approaches is the pmmise that learning must move from basic to more advanced skills. Unitil students master the basics, they c (Means, Chelemer, and into hjgher-order skills and advanced curricul~~~n a a p p 1991; a a p p I995a; Jennings 1998). Since remedial programs were designed to overcome societal ineqrxjties, it is i m i c that they have failed the very students they were intended to serve. Begun in the 1960s as an effort to address ineytlity issues highlighted by the Civil fights Movement, the Title I/Chapter :Iprogran-t has spent: biHions of dotlars providing resnedial progrms for childm in poverty. Although well 4ntmtimed, the basic idea behind remediation is Aawed; students cannot spend years ""catchhgup'"because they are trylearning at normal or ading to catch tap to a movhg target-tudents vanced levels. At the same time remedial imtructim slows down t-he pace for l w actnieving students, average s t d e n t s move ahead in the standad curriculum and gified students move even faster. While low-achieving students =peat instruction in discrete skills they c d d not master the first

time, gifted students are engaged in group activities, self-selection of books, independent =search, creative writhg, and inquiry learning. Educators who advocate raishg, rather thm lowering, the academic expectations for low-achieving students criticize these dkcrepant approaches for gifted learners and slow learners. The failure of competnsatory and rernedial progsams to preparc students for academic success is likely one reasm some educators are using acceleration as m approach with low-achieving shdents. Remedial educat-ion has proven umuccessful in upgrading student aelnievement: for a nunnber of reasons, Research conducted by rvfeans, Chelemer, and a a p p (1991) indicates that remedial instruction underestknates studentsbbilities. It postpone"teresting, chatlenging, and rigorous academic work. Often the more chalenghg work is put off for so Iong that low achievers turn off, b s e their motivakn, and never catch up enough to get the ""good,rich stuff.'Ty!lpicat rcmedial instruction takes learning out. of a meaningful and motivating context (Means, Chelemer, and.h a p p 1991). Numerous studies point to increasing evidence that at children, including low-achieving strxdernts, respond ~ e ltoi rich and challenging curricula (e.g., Peterson 1989; Pugrow 1990; McLaughlin and Ttlbert 1993; b s s e l l and Meikamp 1994; Gomales 1994; k a p p 1995a; Knapp, Shields, and Turnbull 19995; Nebvmann et al. 19536; Je12nings 1998). This growing body of evidence indicates morc dgomus, accelerated, and enriched approaches improve student achiwement for low-achieving s h dents. In, an attempt to raise acadcrnic expecta,t.ionsm d standards for all students, schools are in transition, irnpkmmting and evaluating different types of pmgrams, many of which fncorporate the same techniques and concepts developed to motivate and challenge gifted children, The idea of using acceleration rather than mmediation with low-achieving students is gainhg papdarity and support, but the actual implementation m y take a number of forms. These forms are desesibed later in this chapter,

Who Are Low Achkvers? Childretn who do not thrive in our public: schools have many labels, and just as many theories are posited to explain their failures in the classroom. Remedial progran-ts kveloped through the years have been used to both identify low-achievhg children and provide diagnostic data to help determjne their problcnns and level of skill Fn acadernic areas, The data were in turn used to sort, isolate, and =mediate so-called problem sludents. Prograrns varied from state to state and s h o d to school, 'The U.S. Department of Education estimates that almost one-third of the school pupd"Gion has significant learning prcrblems. School or state-

36

Accelerate = Targeti~gLow-Achicrvi~gStudents

sponsored progrms serve some students; federal progrms such as Title % m d the fndividuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) serve o&ers.

Idea tifjing Low-Achieving Students Poor grades m d l o r poor stmdardized test scores idetntify law-achievhg students. These tests include norm-referenced tests such as the Metl-opolitm Achievement Test, the California Test of Basic Skills, and the Stanford Achievement -Test, or state-developed basic skj.lls, criterion-referenced, or cormpensatory tests. RegardIess of the method used, most students identified as low acbiewing come from low socioeconomic backgrounds and nnay have a high rate of absenteeism and/or retent.ion. Once identified and placed in a remedial program, many students are tested further to determine a ~ a d i n tor ; skills level; individualized instruction fdlows based on prescrfied tasks. These tasks reteach skills that students seem to have missed in pmvious grades. Often, teaching in remedial programs consists of rote-type instruction in vocabulary or practice in reading pnssages and answering questions kom a metnu of m a h idea, inference, or detai%-basedpassages. The activities often lack meaniq and are ~petitivc;the literabre used in instmction is not inspiring and is described by many students as ""bring," "cause remedial programs have not been successful in improving student achievement, Levin (1987), Alhgton (19941, a d others adwanced persuasive argumetnts that techiques and concepts developed to motivde and ehalletnge gifted children should be incorporated into remedial programs for lowachiwing childrtzn,

Labels for Students Iden t ified us Low Achievers Most often, &uden,ts who are labeled as low aehkvers have some problem with readmg. Because reladlng is the basis for learning in other content areas, difficulty with ~ a d i n can g create low acbiewmmt in other areas. Z,ouise Spear-Swerling and Robert Sternberg (1996) point out the difficdties of labeXing poor ~ a d e r sThey . have found. that readjng problems d e n result in shdents being labeled as learning disabled. 'Their research, indicates that special education rcferrd and placemcmt has more to do with the student" gender, race, and classroom behavior thm the student% actual abitities (Spear-Swrrling and Sternberg 1996: 7). However, they contend that progrms for students with generalized reading pmblems do help students who may have readjng disabi,li.t4es. Low-achieving students are often labeled ""at risk" or ""disadvantaged.'T~"oorahievemcnt m d performance of students at risk of failare often attributed to deficih in the students (Means, Chelemer, and E ~ a p p1991). Mmy believe these sbdents have the potential to do much

better than their performance in.dicates, but socioeconomic or famiEy problems inhibit learning. Often easy to spot in classrooms, students from impoverished or difficu,lt home enviror~melntsshow poor lmguage and socrial skills development, Lirnited experiences outside the home environment may lead to a lack of background schema about the society and world around thcnt, A short &ten.t.ion span, hability to accept authority, and a lack of understanding about how to study and l e m inctude a k w (Jf the characteristics attributed to disadvantaged andim atrisk students. Although the student might have high academic potential, artistic talent, or charismatic teadership skills, the student" nakaral abilities may not be redized in many school emvironmnts. Excessive absences, &Sruptive and inappropriate behaviur, ot. avoidance mechanisms often make success for certain students difficult, even when the student is placed in special or remedial,classcs. Beyond the label "at risk," students may be further labeled. For example, the ~ l u c t mlearner t is one who can succeed but seems unmotivatred. Finding how to change the student's attitude is t-he ofen-cited solution for the reluctant learner. Specialists suggest that more innovative classroom procedures and personalized curriculun-tmight stimulate the reluctant learner to become more responsive and involved in the learning process. The ""sow learner" is one whose IQ is below 90, and experts tell educators Ihat expectdions for studcnt acfiievememt shodd be locvered. Reading specialists and special education teachers oftm state that it is natural for students with a low IQ to perform below chrcmologicai expectatims and that hstruetion should be adapted to the st..udent's Lxnited abilities. Diagnosis of mmy students as disabled learners is due to an emotional or physiological impairment. The disabled learner includes mentally handicapped students identified for placement in special education classes; these students are required to have Individualized Ehcation Plans (IEIPs). h o t h e r type of disabled learner may actudly "nave an above-average intelligence. Their readmg and/or math scores may be m grade level or above, but for Mlhatever rt.asrm, the student is workinl; below hidher potential. n e assulnption exists that the disability is not caused by a lack of motivation or intelligence but by some bjalogicd cause (Spear-Svver1in.g and Sternberg 1996). 'Teachers and parents report that learning seems somehow ""hocked" and normal classroam procedures are hadequate or inappropriate to help these students achieve. The factors causing the disabilities may be complex and difficult to precisely pinpoint. Sevo~ecases may require extenshe psychologjcal and/or medical evaluations' m d these students mi&t be confined to self-contained classes or require special btors ar one-on-one instruction.

38

Accelerate = Targeti~gLow-Achicrvi~gStudents

Spear-Swerling and Sternberg (1996) believe that the use of readkg disability- as a label is seriously flawed and that educators need to focus more broadly on ljteracy and titeracy acquisition. They m& a distinction betwem reading disability and literacy acquisition by exylajning literacy as inclusive of reading comprehension and word recopition and also spelilhg and written expression. The underachiever, often described in school settings as one of the most difficuft to change or motivate, may be gifted in one or more areas and does not lack the abil,ity to acihi,eve. These students perform below their potential, and as with the reluctant student, a lack of motivation seems to be the primary reascm for substartdard academic performmce in school. These s t d e n t s ntight score wry high on stmdardized tests and yet have dismal or wideily inconsistent grades in contcnt area classes. Strusfents matching the characteristics cJf the &owe profiles are in almost every puhlic sckool. At one time, these students were allowed to quit or drop out of school, and a sort of "natural selection"' determined academic success. As our society becomes more dependent m a trainable, literate workforce, we work to retain these students in our schools and build up their skills so they can be successful in today" modern, technological society.

A Model of Acceleration [or low-Achiefing Sludents Unliikrr acceleration of gified and tdmted students, it is difficult to fjnd a body of literabre that defines and describes models and programs for accelerating low-achieving students. Our definition and model come from an analysis of specific programs that accelerate low achievers. Specific exmplcs range from local, school-based programs to national a d international programs,.Most of "ce p g r m s have wading as the focus; some am conducted in early childhood, otEters in elementary, middle and hlgh schools. The model draws on the ccmlmlm elements of the programs and includes curricdum, instruction, and studew learning. In general, accelerating the learning of low achievers means that what students need to h o w has been boiled down to the essentials, and an Fntensive, focused program has been developed to push students forward and enable them to master those essentials, The model, illustrated in Figure 3.1, is explained bebw. In this proposed model, identification of strxde~~ts is made through a diagnostic process, based m indjvidual. need and the match of student need with the program's god. For example, if tbe program's goal is to move students out of middle school and into hjgh school, then students included in such a program are at least a year behind, and they are prepartrd to move forward through irrtensive, focused efforts. If tbe acceler-

* Advanced skills

successes

Supports for Learning FIGURE 3.1 A &lode[ ol Accelerating 1,earning for I,ow-Achieving Students

ated program's goal is to prepare students with skills necessary to pass the high school exit exam, then students who have repeatedly failed the e x m are included im the program. This type of acceXerated program pmvi,des studmts with the skills needed to pass the exit exam, goals that asc? quite specific and attainable. Curriculum in accelerakd pmgrams for tow-achiewing students is intensive and focused, It incldes hteresting, rich, and ~ l e v a n content. t 'The curriculum's stmcturc allows for indiviauali;r,ationand self-pacixzg. This defixlition and model of acceleration draws from accelerated programs with the primary purpose of catching st-dents up with thcir peers in a shortened. t h e period, Assessment in these pmgrms includes traditional paper m d pencil tests and quizzes as well as authlrmtic assessmmt. Students in some accelerated pragrarns have wcekly quizzes on specif:ic inlormation; in addition, they build portioZios of written expression used to assess s h d m t progmss. %l-evaluatim is part of assessmmt for two reasms:

40

Accelerate = Targeti~gLow-Achicrvi~gStudents

Studentsbotivatim improves with clear goals, and self-evaluation enhances understand% of academic content. Specific academic goals tailevel help to make goals anainable. Acdemic suclored to the sknde~~t's cesr;es of students buad in small steps and make long-tern goals, such as pass@ the exit exam for high school, attainable. Assessment in accelerated progrms for low achievers determines student pmgress tow& establihed individual goals. I'mgrams that accelerate low achievers"learniz.lg provide a co of learnhg m d support in various ways. Some programs requi m i b e n t horn parents and students. Tn some cases, students m s t sign an agreement regwding their responsibitity and ccrmitment to the program. Other accelerated programs provide support servjces such as counseljng; most work to inspirc; studentsbdotivatian by situating learning in a ~ l e v a n cmtext. t :Instructional strategies that allow students to work cooperatively on teams as well as individually, with spedfie, shortterm, goals, help to b d d a sense oi community and msponsibility, as well as provide opportunity for academic success m d achievement. Curriculum, is indjvidualized, often sel,f"paced,allowing for ehoice m d personal responsibility*Some programs primarily skills based; others include skills instruction but are more ovative and focus on construc-tion of h~owledge.Most of the progrants have aspects of connected, relevant learn@ and interdisciplinary and/or tlzematic uni.ts. Whc.t.her programs are traditional or mom ir~novative,what separatres accelerated progranns from others designed for low-achieving students is the rigorous pace, the tirne on task, the provision for academic success, and the fostering of hdependence and love of leanling. These programs tea& students how to learn and &ten have some aspect of building the student" ccultural capital:(Mehan, Villanueva, Hubbard., m d Lintz 1996). A variety of instructional strdegies are needed to accelerate low achievers9earning.. Cooperative grouping and individual research on topics of interest engage learners who have met with limited successes. Basic skills strategies, such as stratregies for reading comprehension, vocabulary enrichment, schema building, scaffotcling, and test-taking strategies, are integrated with advanced instructional strategis, such as metacognitive skill dcrvetopment, o p e n - d e d questioning, Socratic method, graphic organizers, and tecfinoloa as a tool b r learning.

Programs Thai Accelerate low-Achieving Sludenls :111 his exploratory article "The Schools We tlave, The Schools We Need,"' Richard Allhgton (1994) rclnninds educators that expectations are cmcial. As long as we continue to believe that some children, usualty children with the ""wrcmg parents,'" cannot learn to read beside their m m adwan-

taged peers, there will be little reason to attempt to design instructional progrm"hat ensure all students succeed. If we remain ensnared by unexmined bdiefs concerning the limited ptential of some children, &ere will be little mason to work intently to accelerate their literacy development. We must not continue to confuse lack of experience with lack of abilivThe failure of rclrnedial programs to provide opportunities for building bacicgrcrund howledge, readkg and discussing high-interest and authentic reading material, or experiencing wrii-hg creatively for personal satisktion deprives the at-risk student oi the necessary and.critical: experiences needed for irnpmvemmt. The IOW eri~)ectationsfor these libdents, combined with a lack of rich and interesting curricdum in their classes, help us understand. why unmotivated students placed in these classes do not significantly improve in their scores on achievement tests and often remain in remcdial classes yeas after year, 717 response to the ineffectiveness of many remedial, programs, educators have looked elsewhere. to f h ~ dprogram models to positively impact the achievement of studelts labeled as disadvantaged, at risk, and low achieving. A number of interesting experimental programs being used across the country successfuliy accelerate those labeied as low achievers in early childhood, elementary school, and secondary school. The programs vary in size; some are smalf, while others serve entire school districts. In most cases, the program's curricular focus is (or hchdes) reading. Table 3.1 summarizes general informdion about thcse examples of local, regional, national, and international programs that seek to accclcrate the learning of low-achieving students.

The Craytotz Accelerated Program (CAP) CAP moves students from the sevezzth to the ninth grade through m intensive vlterdisciphary self-contained program. To qualify for the special class, the students must be fiAeen years old or oldele, be in the seventh grade, have f d e d at least one gradc, and be willing to sign a personal conkact a h g with their parents syeciqing t e r m of attendance and behavior. Fifteen studmts we= initially identi.fied and eleven studmts were selected based on a prelhhary student interview hvolvhg the program teachers, school guidance counselor, parents/guardian, and in some casm, the school nurse. In the pilot year, ten of the eleven students cornpleted the reyuireme~~ts of Che program and emtercd high school, CAP combines elements of the Accelerated Schools Project (Levh 1987; Hopfenberg et al. 1993) with an in-school alternative progmm. Ifi this nine-week, intensive accelerated program, students have guidance and an individualized acadeznic program not possible in the replar classroom. The learning environment h~cludesa key teacher Mlht) works col-

Accelerate = Targetieg Low-Achicrvieg Students

42

TABLE 3.1 Programs That Accelerate Low-Achieving Students

P togram

Locntiotz Local

Focus

Students Seraled

Reading, language arts, and sociat studies Thinking skills

Transition to high school; age 1S ar older Elementary

13rojecc Success L,r>cal/regionat Ready for School I,ocal Urban Colla horative L,r>callregionat Acc-eterated Program (UCAP)

Reading Reading English, math, social studies, science

Secondary Early chiEdhood Transition to high school

Reading Recovery

Reading

Early chitdhood

Higher-Order Thinking Skills

Nation

(HOTS)

National/ international

laboratively with another cmtent area teacher. The sell-contahed class allows for flexihiliQ in scheduling and enables weekly academic-based field trips that winforce the interdisciplhary course content. Course materials hclude sevezzth and eighth grade texts, authe~zticmaterials (e.g., newspapers, magazine artides, maps), videos, guest speakers, field trip guides, personal journals, and portfolios. Students work cm cooperatrive t e m s and individual research, projects in cmtent areas as nceded. For example, students m i e t spend two days on a slngle history project or several entire days perfecting an essay or =search report. Emphasis is on studelzts prese~ztingreports, essays, and vocabulary-based creative writing to their classmates for teacher and peer feedback.

Higher-Order Tlzinking Skills (HOTS) This program is an ir^ltmsive thinking skills program cltesiped fctr at-risk sludemts. The program, part of the Ndional Diffusim Network, is used primarily with Title :Istudents, FXOTS"s goal is to increase studcnts9asjc skills through the use of techncrlogy and the Socratic qwstioning method. Four thilzking techniques form the basis of the program: metaco@tion, inference from context, decontextualization, and spthesis of information to scrlwe a prciblem. Classes meet four days a week, for thirty-five minutes, over a period of two years, Teachers gzJide students as they work through diff-icult,complex problems, Data from five years oE research indiicate basic skills achievement gains in mat%-iand readin,g (Fogrow 1,990). HOTS program designers believe that at-risk students do not understand "understandi.ng" and. that grasping the cmcept of what it means to understand is a key to learning.

Project Success Project Success is an academic intervezztion program used in secondary schools based on systematic m d stmctured readhg/writi~~&; instruction seyuenced fmm simple to complex. The grogram includes both reading and writing instruction b d t into t-he daity routine. The project's goal is to accelerate reading skius as y u i c w as possible by Inelpir\g students learn and apply decoding and comprehension skilit;. Project Success, fastpaced and inknse, takes about thirty to forty minutes a day in addition to balanced classroom instruction; it does not take the place of regular reading and languqe arts classes. Readivlg materials consist of authentic trade books and magazines, sequmced from easy to difficult, The materials contah high-interest content and include cmss-cultural and interdisciplinary books and articles. Students wriFe both expository and narrathe essays and are required to retell or rcwrit.e the book or story in their own words, Students attend the grogram for 76-90 days. The goal is to quickly raise studentsf reading levels and move them out of the program as soon as possible. Teachhg strategies include using graphic 0rgani.zt.r~and reciprocal teaching, an approach in which students read with the teacher as they summarize, clarify, question, and predict (Palincsar and Brown 1984). Scaffolding, building backgrowd. skills needed to help students become independent, is anoher emphasized strategy.

Ready for School Program 'This program, used successfully since 1994, is an intensive program teaching reading, readiness skills, and world knowledge to low-income gre-first graders duriw t-he summer before. first grade. The program is desig~zedto provide children wit-h Eteracy background and base knowledge about the physicd world. Approximately Wenty-five children from public cornmuni.f-yhousing and boys and girls cubs am identif-ied to participate in the eit);ht-lveekprogram.,The children atte~zdthree classes per week in the s u m m r prior to the first grade. Identified themes that help the p u n g child better understand how the wwld opemtewarc. the basis ~ a public television proof the curriculum, The Rending I k i l ~ h o z uSeries, duction, is used in the program. A Readiyp RnLzbowa tape is used for each unit; they c m be checked out at most local libraries. The books discussed in each series are also readily available at libraries or can be purchased from bookstores, Volunteers are trained as instructors, and since the Reading RainboroQ materials can be checked out, there is no cost for the program resotlrces, Children are exposed to m esthated two hundred new terns and. develop a strong founitation in how to create written language and the

44

Accelerate = Targeti~gLow-Achicrvi~gStudents

structure oi g r a m a r . Further, the children learn classroom '*etiquette,'' how to sit and listen to a story and how to approp'i"tely respmd. Other areas that help studel~tssucceed in first grade are learnirrg how to share, to take turns, and to express ideas in a group.

Urban Collaborative Accelerated Pvogranz ?"he Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program (UCAP) is a publicty funded alternative school serving three participating city schod districts in m o d e Island. The UCAP is also an independent, nonprofit mtity that receiwes support from almost two dozen public and private cmtrihutors, U'CA13 provides a small school settjng whercl studmts who have fallen behhd their academic peers can complete t h e years of myuirements in just two years. All students at UCAP have repeated at least one grade of school. Students may proceed through the seventh, ei&th, and ninth grades in two years as long as they meet the p~determinedstandarcis for promotion in these grades. The school helps thcse students return to their fcgular high schools with the academic and social skills that will enable them to graduate from high school. Because acceleration in grade is a necessary objective of UCAP, a crjterion-referenced grading system allows each student to move forward at his or her own pace. Outcomes for the skills a d content expeted of a student in each grade of W'CAP's four core sub~ectsinclude the following: English, math, social studies, and science. When students meet their necessary crituia for subject, promotion to the next grade in that subject occurs" The majority of sttldents%structional t h e focuses on work in one of the four core subjects. The school cortducts a number of special pmgrams to support shl,dent weds. Molj\r&ion, a key aspect in progrants for lowachieving students, tics to a mward system, of which the most obvious reward is student acceleration and promotion. Recognition of academic szxccesses during school meetings and special presefiations to successiful students build motivation, The school social worker provides counseling and uses a case managemelnt approach. I:.,ocalqencies may be part of the case management plan, and family servires are provided if needed. Students receive individual and group counselhg and may receive follow-up help after leaving the school,and rctuming to high school.

Reading Recoverya This program addresses reading failure FR the early years (first grade). ot read has academic difficulties m d may suffer from

low self-esteem. Reading Recovery" is an early intervention program that seeks to prevent years of readhg failure. The Reading Recoveryq program includes a lesson framework with specified procedures for working with children, a teacher in-service program design that provides continuous monitoring and support, and a cost-effective intervention that reduces the wed for future remediat.ion and tutoring. The rnajor investment is in staff development. To qualifiv fnr the program (in the United States), the lowest 15 to 2(1 percent of a beginning first gmde ppulation is identified. Reading Recovery" teachers receive training from a "teacher leader" who has participated in a year-long academic training program at Ohio State U~~iversity. The Reading Recovery" teacher provides daily one-to-one instruction for fifteen to twenty weeks. The program" goal is to accelerate students to the average level of their cfassroclm peers and to make &em independent readers.

Retrtming to our example at the beg ing of the chapter, we h o w that Richard was on the fast track to dropping wt.if: he had not enrolled in an innovatiw accelerated learning pmgrm. We have learned a lesson frm thirty years of remediating students like Richard; they rarely learn and often drop out. As described above, legislalion passed in t-he "190s yrovided special, remedial classes for low-achieving shrdents, but these pmgrams tended to slow down and simplify instruction. Pull-out mmdial classes were initially set up for students not fitting into a special education category, Since these programs have not been as successhl as was hoped, researchers and inmvators in education have proposed alld tested a number ol other progrms to take the place of ineffective and sometimes even detrimental remedial classes. Mandates to make changes in remediation abound acmss the country, 'The idea, of accelerat-ing iutstruction fos fow-achieving students rather than slowing it down is consistent with the standards and accountability movements. a l h u g h acceleration has been used successfully for many years in Ihe curriculum, development of programs for gifted shadcnts, Ihe strategies have only recently been expanded into use with low-achievhg students, and the results have been positive. The chapter points to several issues for exploration relative to acceleration of low-achieving students. First is the issue of why so many students are allowed to get so far behind. Why is it that although there has been a clear frtclns on indkidual diagnosis and “treatment" of learning problems, the treatments bave been unsuccessful inheliphg students to catch up with their age peers? Why has it taken educators more than thirty

46

Accelerate = Targetieg Low-Achicrvieg Students

years to realize that when appmachs arc not successful in m v i n g students forward, we need to explore other approaches as pclssibiliticls? Is Have the answer related to our beliefs m d values about some stude~~ts? we exglajned away programmatic failure through a deficit view of at-risk students (i.e., minority, low income, immigrants)? Next, and related to the issues above, if we h o w reading is the key to ather learning, how do we ensure that all studcnts become strong readers? Most, of the pmgrams discussed in this chapter have reading as the central piece of accelerated earning. H w might we build on the strengths of students who are not strong readers to provide them with the essentiai reading &ills they need to be successful? Identifying students' strelgths and weaknesses is not the problem. Educators need to h o w what students know and where they need help, However, labeling students leads tcr tracking students, and tracking has beell detrimental. to law-achieving students (Oakes 1985; Wheelock 1992). The discussion in Chap.ter 1 about remediation illustrates how a program" label can he shifted to t-he students in the program, and when that shift- happens, the student is seen as defjcjent and the carnse of the pmblem, S;t-udentsfopportunity to learn may be bhtcked because of the prevailing belief that mast.ery of basic skills must occur behre rich and Meresting curriculum can be tackled by the low achiever. The widespread belief many bold about the hierarchical nabre of learning creates difficulty in cmvincing educators that not only can basics m d advanced learning be combined, but we perform an educational disservice if we do not c m Zline them. I ' r o v i d a access to higher-order thinking and problem solvand nnotivation and coning opportunities enhances student i~~terest tributes to lerasnhg. Oiagnosis and treatment is too simple a solution for the complexity of helping shdents become successful learners.

Sara cadf w i f to gef to the m~lsicpractice b e i ~ ~held g befonr school, I n k e ~ i t z g zrtith the schoul's theme on cooperafiu~,her chss ztimte an opem describing coopernfimz dtrri~gtlze journey in fa~rzesu~zdthe Ciu~ztPeach. Sam is playing the mle offhe sitkr-uonn,and she w m f s to be szrre she kntmts all of her lines. Althozrgh she is typicaEIy shy, she is excited about si~zgingin front of the e r z t i ~schod, S R M ~ tmclier-works closely with mnlzy #the 0 t h teachers ilz the school, especially fk art urzd mzisic teacher. The arl teacher helped the sfudmtsfigure oaf how to use rrzatl';z to draru large insects to scale, The music teacher tdught them abozrt opera as an art form a ~ isd working with then to pzzt on their ymducfion, Snm's mvftzer is plmsai zoith the pruigrcss Snm has made a f WrYsfviewElementary Scljool. She is hlapy:~that the school does ~ o s tq a m f e s t u d e ~ ~by t s ability beca~kseshe knows that Sara would not be placed in the advanced class. Sara comes home ercited abozkt zuhat she has learned. Sometimes nssignmenfs are dificzilf, but Snm is alzvuys able fo get helpponr her teacher o r b u n classmates. Not only h ~ v ult e of Sara3 teackrs expected a lot from Sara, they ltaue gotten ta know her and have helped her to dwelop more mnfidence, Snm, her bmthers, a d her mother all fief like they are part ?f a family at Westview Ete~zenfnry School. 5ara is experiencing accelerated learning, but the context in which her learning is accelerated is wry different from that of A m a and Richard. Where Ama and.Richard. are identified as special and separated from other students to rt;ceive accelcratred learning, studmts are not sepi-lrated by ability in Sara's schoal. Each classroom teacher provides a challe~zging, learner-centered educational experitnce to all studmts. Gifted students, average students, and slower students l e m tagefier at Westview Elemntary; everyone in the school is committed to fhding ways to ehallenge eveq student. The pri~xarydifference between Sa.ra"s school and the schools attended Zly a and fichard is fiat energy is diwcted to-

48

Accelerate = C=hdJle~zgzfzg All Students

ward. identifying the best w q s for students to learn rather than identifying differences in students. Sarafs school and teacher are not focused on the speed of learni~zg-moving gifted students faster or catchi~zgup slower students. It is focused on the depth of learning, on providing a rich, challenging learning enviro ent to all of its students. Atthough classrooms Eke Sara's arc unusual, and schools Iike Westview arc q&e rare, inlel-est in p r o m k g such classroonns and schools to accelerate the learning of all students is intensifying. Pressure to better serve all students c m e s horn a nu~nberof directio~zs, l."het"~? is great pressure to be more i n t e r n a t i d l y connpetitive and to better prepare students for a radically different workplace. Americm students' poor performmce wi.lhin the international arena conthues to be a critical issue in today" ggloal economy (Ross 1943; Mathematical Association of America 1498); this cmcern highlights the need to set high standards for all stude~zts. Schools are also being p ~ s s u r e dto mjnixnize the practice of labeling and sorting sbdents by ability. S m e educators of the gifted are moving acvay from a focus on identification of gifted students to building o~zthe potential of all students (Gardner 1983; Renzulli and Reis 1985; Sternberg 1985; Tomlinson 1996).Educators concerned with low-achjeving sbdents arc fislding that acceleration is more effective than remediation in encouraging slower students to learn (Means, Chelemer, and Knapp 1991; E~app 1995a; Newmann et al.1996; Spillane and Jemings 1997). Finally; the accountaibility movement may constitute the greatest pressure on schools to accelerate the learning of all students. Acct>untahili.t)r legislatim in states across the collntry estabiishes the same high standards for alf students. This push encowages schools to find ways that enable afl students to reach these standards. Drawing on what we know has wlrrked well to accelerate the learning of select groups of students can help schools identify or design programs that accelerate the learning of all students, Although presswe to change schools to accelerate all students9learning exjsts, schools and classroonts are likely to be sl,ow to change. The kirrd of cbange required to accelerate all studentsqearning is deep and systemic. As later chapters descrilbe, accelerated learning requires a change in school and classroom cultures and in the assumptions individuals hold, These assumptions-about students, teachers, and. other adults, appmpriate educational prartices, communication, and changelie at the center of school and classroom cultures. The bad news for school change is that assumptions are difficult to change; the good news is that once they have changed, assumptiom help to sustain and foster cmthuous improvement, 'This chapter provides a review of the research supporting accelerated learning for all skrdents as well as examples of programs available to help schools and classrooms accelerate learning.

Accelerate = C=hdJle~zgilzgAll Students

The Impelus for Acteleration ol All The emphasis at the national and state tevel on accountabffity m d standards is onc impetus for accelerating the learning of ail students. Designed to eliminate the practjce of settFng hi@ standards for some students and low standards fur others, accountability policies call for are taught. The standardslacschools to examke how m d what stude~~ts countability movemnt has increased the emphasis on standardized test scms, but it assumes different ways of teachjng and a recmceptualization of tfne teacl-cingllearnjngprocess. Another impetus for accelemthg the lea g of all students deals with concern with the mediocrity of educatrional experiencm for mmy shadents. t (Ross For exarnple, National Excelkrrce: A Clusefor Developi~zgAnlerica's Tale~r 19931, a report commissioned by the U,S, Office of Education, states that "most h e r i c a n shadents are encouraged to fir~ishhi& school and earn good grades. But studcnts are not asked to work hard or master a body of' chdlcnghg knowledge or skills. The message society often sends to students is to aim for academic udequnc!, not academic excelInzwM((p. I). This report suggests steps to im,prove education for top stude~~ts, which when implemented, improve education for afl students. The recommended steps include sett* challengjng curriculum standard" pprvidhg more challenghng opportunities to learn, increasing access to early childhood education, in.cl-easing opportuni.ti.es for disadvantaged and minority children with outstmding talents, hroadenfng the defil-zitim of gifted, emphasizing teacher development, and mdchjng world performance (Ross 1993: 2). As the title of the report indicates, determjning ways to build on students' strengths and develop their talents is the path h education. to excelle~~ce Althougbt not an impetus to accelerate learning of aI1 students, concern ower the quality of teackrs is heightened MIhen we think *rough the ramificatio~zsof: encmaging accelerated learni.ng o r all students. As we reform. curriculum, we must also reform buw we prepare teachers and sustain their development. The Natimal Commission m Teaching and Amerira's Future (1996)makes a strong case for =form oE teaeher education and professional development. The commission" reseasch is based on three premises: What teachers know and can do is the rnc)st important influence on what students learn, Recruiting, preparing, and retaining good teachers is the central strategy for improving our schools, Schvof reform cannot succeed unless it fmuses on cwating the cc>nditionsin which teachers can teach and teach well. (19%: vi)

The commissim speIls out five recommendations to accomplish the stated gads: take standards for students and teacbers seriously, radicaiiy

50

Accelerate = C=hdJle~zgzfzg All Students

change teacher preparation and professional development, recruit and retain enough qualified teachers for every classroom, encourage teachers to he knowfedgeable and skillful. and rclkvard their efforts, and orga,nize schools to ensure student and teacher success, The Nation4 Commission on Teaching anci America's Future and many other researchers m d policymakers lclclieve that teaehers are the critical element in school reform.. Teachers need to Iezlrn to teach very differently than in fie past since students arc. expected to learn in d i f f e ~ n t ways, Stude11t.s need to work produdively within groups, to think critically and solve problems, This approach to teaching a;nd learning is very different from translnission teaching parling-Hammond 1997) where the teaeher knows all and sludents are p a s h e redpients of knowledge. A final impetus for accelerating all shdents" learning is the fear that American students cannot compete internationatly and do not have skills needed for today's jobs. The Commission on the Skills of the b e r i c a n WorIcforce (1990) notes that current employment needs arc not being mt, and the technology/service orientation of hture jobs will require different skills, rcsulfing in a demand for educating young people in difkrent ways. Technulogical jobs myuire workers to be able to solve problems and use computers a d other advanced technology (Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills 1991). These jobs also necessitate higher levels of literacy and critical thinking (Darling-Hammond 1993. Few employers are interested in low-skilled, compliant workers. Most employers wmt all employees to be able to solve proble~as,think critically, and communicate clearly. Their d m a n d s provide more incentive to move may f m sorting students to desiping programs that will provide all skdents m opportunity to be employed, to support family and self, and to live productively.

A Researth Framework Supporting Atcelaated learning for All Students As described above, pressure to improve education for all students is coming from many directions. There are obvious reasons why all studentsyearning should be accelerated. The United States will become more competitive inkrnati.nnally, the wnrkforce will be better prepared for the future, and educational hqualities will be addmssed. Current research on the effectiveness of educational strategies malies it clear that accelerated learning strategies are available (e.g., Means, Cheiemer and a a p p 1991; Mct.,aughXir\and Talbert 1993; Floplenberg et al. 1993; Newmann, Secada, and Wehlage 1995; Mehan, Vilhueva, Hubbard, and Lintz 1996;Jemings 1998). These studies provide the framework for our definition of accelerated g, and they clariq what is and is not a part: of accelerated. lea

Accelerate = C=hdJle~zgzfzg All Students

51

This research makes it clear that acceleration is not remediation and does not try to compensate for perceived student deficits. The studies provide evidence that acceierated leaming builds on students' strengths rather than m their weaknesses, Accelerated learning need not be skill-based. drill, and it is definitely not learning disgrrised as fun, gan-tes, m d trivia. Accelerated learning a s s w e s high expectations for all students. It includes rich and interesting curriculum that connects and is relevant to the studentsf world. Aucelerated learning embeds basic skills in leanling that rclquires advanced skills and high-level, thinking and problem solving. Acceleration for all applies what we already know about effective teaching: Students learn best when new ideas are connected to what they already know and have experienced; when they are adively engaged in applying and testing their knowledge using real-world prcsbtems; when their learning is ol-ganized around clear, high goals with lots of practice in reaching them; and when they can w e their own interests and strenghs as springboards for learning. (National Commission on Teaching and America" Future 1996: 6)

Blending what we know about students and how t h y l a m to create a rich leanling e m ent is another critical part of acc&rated learning. An accelerated learning enviro1zme1zt includes varied leamir~gexperknces, continuous learning, mtivation, and scaffolding by identifyjng and building ""n skengths. Teachers who accelerate learnkg are hi@ly skiZlcrd m d howledgeable about both students and co~ztent"&search co~zfirmsthat teacher howledge of subject matter, studmt karning, and teaching methods are all impcrrtmt elements of teacher ekfectivenessr"(National Commi.;sion on Teachitng and Rmerka's Future 1996: 6). 'The st-udics cited above also support raising s t m d d s of achieverncmt for all students; higher expectations demmd higher achievement. Accelerated learning for all rewires that all students be held to high stmdards of learning. It is fPom this research base that we developed the debition of accelerated leamhg presented in Chapter 1: Accelerated learning is learning that is of high intellectual quality; it is substantive, authentic, and relevant. Accelerated learning is cc~ntinttousand comected, and it is grounded in high standards. Accelerated learning occurs when students are active and respc~nsible,involved in intellectual pursuits with other students, and tamed on to learning. It happens when teachers are highly skilled and knowledgeable; they learn alongside their students and engage in meaningful dixussic~nand dialogue with students. They are reflective in their practice and care about all students,

The folowing discussinn provides more detail on the studies informing our definition of accelerated learning. The key poistts from these studies are summarized i.11Table 4.1,

Accelerate = C=hdJle~zgzfzg All Students

52 TABLI,E 4.1 Students

Researcl1 Base for Definition of Accelerating Idearningfor All

Gifted and Talented Teaching Strategies (Tc~miinson1996) * maintain a student-centered classroom a students engaged in active, participatory learning * students solve relevant problelns * studcnts make sense of important ideas * opport~lnitiesfor higli-level thinking * opportunities to apply Icarl-ling and understanding a opportunities iar a sense of empowerment through learr~ing Powerful L,earning (Hopfenberg et al. 1993; Ketler and Huebner 2997) * tcarnirlg that is authentic * tearning tbat is interactive * tcarning that is inclusive a learning that is cclntinuous * tcarning that is centerect on the learl-ler a a learrling environment that enlphasizcs the interplay between curriculum, instruction, and the context of learning Authentic Academic Achicvemcl-lt (Ncwmann, Sccacta, and Wehlage 1995) a high intellectual quality * construction of knowledge by students a disciplined inquiry * in-depth understanding * elaborated communication * value beyond school Teaching for Understanding (Gohen, hteI,au&tin, and Talbert 1993) a students and teachers learn collaborativeIy * classroollt. discourse used t o challenge thinking * conceptual ul-rderstanding as the goal * students are expjorers, conjecturers, and constructors of their own knowledge * tcachcrs are guides, coaches, and facititatars of students' lear1-ltxlg Advanced Skills Teaching fhjeans, CI-relemer,and Knapp 199L; Knapp et al. 1995) * integrated instruction tbat builds on students2trengths and intellectual aceomp.lishments a basic skills ernbedded into more "gtobat, complex tasks" * challenge, dialogue, and thinking as part of instructional. practices

Gifted and Talented Teaching Strategies Reseaschers interested in gified and talented students have identified a rrunlber of classroom gractice~;that stimulate h i g h - a c h i e v students. Card Ann Tomfinsm (1996) points out that recent: research on brain h c tionhg and un the effects of cmstructivist practices m student learning have attracted regular classroom teackrs to strategks fomerly used

Accelerate = C=hdJle~zgzfzg All Students

53

only with students identified as gifted. The strategies traditiionally used with gifted and talented students that define and suppo" accelerated learning include the f ollowhg: sbdents work in a student-centered classraam where lea hteractive and collaborative; * students engage in learning through active, participatory strategies; s t u h n t s solve relevant pr&lems that arc meaningful in the world outside of the classmom; sbdents make sense of important ideas and construct their w n understmdhg; * students engage in higher-level thhkhg, includjng both critical and creative &Ming; students apply their understmding and skills to deepen learning; and s t u h t s dcrvelop a sense of empowerment through learning, which emables stucfcnts to appreciate and pursue intdlectuat actiriities, (Tomlinsan 1996: 157')

PowevJul Learning Powerful learning guides the conceptualizatim of teaching and lenrnjng within the Accelerated Schools Project (Hopknberg et al. 1993; Keller and Huebner 1997). R~roul;hresemh m effective practice, the Accelcrated Schools Project identified five characteristics of powerful learning: authentic, interactive, inclusive, conthuous, and centered on the learner, Attention to the fnterptay between cwriculum, instruction, and the learnare also critical in creatjng powerful learning. Powerful learning co~~text ing is a vehicle for helping students meet internally or externally developed standards (Levin 1998).

Authentic Academic Aehievenzent Authentic academic achievement focuses on the intellectual quality of schoolwork (Newmann, Secada, and WeXllage 1995; Newmann et al. 1996). Three criteria define authentic academic achievement: construction of k~owledge,disciplined inquiry and value beyond school. Students construct or produce knowledge rather than reproducing it through memorization and rote leami~~g. Just as professionals produce new howledge or meaning in their work, strxde~~ts learn more m d become more engaged in their learning when they have a rofe in constmcting howledge or meaning. Discir>lined inquiry involves tbr use of stu-

54

Accelerate = C=hdJle~zgzfzg All Students

dentsupprior howledge base, striv.ing for in-depth understanding rather than superficial awarmess, and expresing conclusions through elaborated communication" (Newntam, Secada, and WeMage 1,995: 9). When engaged in disciplined inquir):, students buiid and develop d e r s t a n d ing thmugh spoken and written communication. Students see the value beyond school when they understand the relevance of learning and thinkislg to the world outside of tbe classroonn.

Tenchinyfor Understanding Chailmge, diahtgue, and collaborative l e a r ~ n between g teacher and s b dent are critical to teaching for understmdhg..Teaching for understanding also focuses m conceptual understanding of a discipline, Raching for understanding assumes that classrooms are places "where students and teachers acquire howledge collaboratively; where orthodoxies of pedagogy and 'facts"= continually chalknged in classroom discourse, and where conwptuai (versus rote) understanding of subject matter is are "explorers, cor;ljeduress, and the goal." h these classrooms, stude~~ts constructors of their o m learning," and teachers are ""guides, coaches, and facilitators of students9eaming through posing questim, challengthhEng, and leading them in examining ideas and relaing stude~~ts' tionships" "cLaughlin and Talbert 1.993: 1).Teaching for understmdlng assumes tbat ""adwenhrous teaching" occurs (Wlson, Miller, and Yerkes 1,993: 951, teactning that allows teachers and students to take risks asld learn togethr. Students are expected to understand deeply not merely cover material,

Advanced Skills Teuching Advmced skills teaching is integrated instruction that builds on students>trengths and intellectud accomplishments (Means, Chelemer, and b a p p 1991; E ~ a p p et al. 19%). Ihree primary principles guide advanced skills teaching. The first is an attitude toward disadvantaged learners that recognizes, appreciates, and buifds on students>xisting stmngthe; and that encourages understartding of studentskdture. The secand princjple focuses on providing curriculum that is based m relevant, meaningful problems that comect learning to what students know and have experienced. Basic skills are embedded into ""more global, complex tasksf"o help students make connections between new learning and their experiences and culture. lnstmction that integrates relevant contcnt enfiches learnfng and allows students to engage in challenging m d interesthg work. The third principle describes instructional strategies that explicit2y model h w to learn, promote opm-meied problems with many possible

Accelerate = C=hdJle~zgzfzg All Students

55

solutions, use scaffolding to permit students to "reach higher places" (Means, Chelemer, and Knapp 1991: 1 3 , and use diatt,gue and rczciprocat teachjllg to exchmge ideas m d build understanding. To summarize, considerable cornrnonality exists between these studies, They cat1 b r learning that is srtbstanthe and of high htellectual quality 'The learning is aulhetnticl and retevant, and continuow and connected. Learnhg experiences for all students are grounded in high standards, These studies describe students vvho are active, responsible, and involved in htellectual pursuits with other studel~ts.In other words, students are turned on to learning. Fhally, the studies highlight teachers who are highly skilled and knowledgeable. They learn alongside their stlldents and ellgage in meaningful djscussion and didogue with students, These teachers are reflective in their practice and cam about all students. This research provides a strong framevtrork supporting the provision of accelerated learning to all students. However, the framework alone will not: create change h schools and classrooms. In most cases, school communities and teachers need a structure or process to change their school and classroom cdture and to shift their basic assumptions, The followhg programs, projects, and educational strategies are examples of how accelerated iearning can be integrated into schools and classrooms.

A(celaaled learning Programs, Projetls, and Educalional Slraleqies A number of successful programs and projeds have been designed to accelerate learning for all students. Most are schoolwide programs, seeking to transform the culturt. of the entke school. We also provide several examples of programt; whhin schools and progrms based on specik curricula and instructional strategies.

Comprehensive School Reform Initiatives The Accelerafed Sctzarrls Pmject. The iaccelerated Schools Project (ASP), the brainctnild of Dr. Henry M. Levin, is desi,ped to crcate schools that tseat all students as gifted (see Hopfen:be~et aX, 1993; Finnar7, St, John, McCarthy, and Slovacek 3996; Levin 1987). Trained in ecmomfcs, Levin focused his =search on issues of inequity in education. In his studies of schools, he found that in most classrooms students received a deadening routine of worksheets, drill, and memorization; the only bight spot he faund in these schoals were the classrooms for studellts idelltified as gifted. Me wondercd why all students could not benefit from a similarly engaging a d challenging learning envir,runent; from this ques-

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tjon the Accelerated Schools Project developed. Levin explains that the "idea was to create a school that would accelerate the development of all of its students by buildi,ng on their strengths rather than searching for and "remedia ting-heir weaknesses" (1996: 10). Since its beginning in 1987, the Accelerated Schools Project has been adopted by more than 1,000 schools in thirty-five states and several foreign comries. Schnols across the countv are served by regionai satellite centers established in colleges and universities, state departments of educatim, and school distrids. The Accelerated Schools Project works with school c ~ m m n i t i eto s instill its philosophy, decisicmmaki~~g process, and governance s t r u c t ~ into their school cultures*The phihophy rests on three principles: uniCy of purpose, empowerment with respansibility, and building on strengths and nine values (the school as the center of expertise; equity; community; risk taking; experimentation; reflection; participation; trust; and communication), The project's philosophical commitment to teaching and learni~~g, described as powerful learni~~g, was described earlier in this &apter. Acceferated schools use an inyuiry process to make all decisions related to sbdent learning. Keepkg the school" svision, the ASP philosophy, and the connponents of powerful learning at the ccmter of all clecisions, cadres of teachers, parents, school staff,and in some cases students engage in a systematic inquiry p m e s s This pmcess is designed to identify root callses of problems, investigate potential solutions, and develop action plans to make the vision a reality. A set curriculum for accelerated schools does not exist; each school determhes ar-tions that address its u ~ ~ i q needs, ue TmproviRg student achievement is the Accelerated Schools Project's primary goal. Levin explains that the Accelerated Schools Project is based on the nation of viewing all children as dexrving of and benefiting from the same appmach that [has] been reserved for gifted students in the past. . . . Acceleration necessitates the remaking of the schoc~lin order to advance the academic and social development of all children, including thase in at-risk situations. This has meant creating a school in which all children are viewed as capable of beneBthg fram a rich instructional expericmce rather than retegating some to a watered down one. It means a school that creates gc~weri-ul learning situations for all children, integrating curriculum, instructional strategies, and context rather than pro>vidingpiecemeal changes. (1996: 43-14)

Inte~stingly,much of the philosophjcal basis of the Accelerated Schools Project has been adopted by the mainskern reform movement calling for challenghg and rigorous curricullam for all students.

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57

School Developmerrt P q m m , Jarnes Corner's work with schook began in the late 1960s and early 19"i"s in New Haven, Connecticut (see Comer 1,980, 1988; Cornex; Maynes, and Joyncr 1996). In his work with the Yale Child Study Center, Corner found that schools serving what he calls "underdeveloped children or differently developed children""often punishrd children because teachers and administrators viewed their behaviar as bad. Comer saw the need to build trust between parents and the school because he realized that many parents had a deep mistrust of authority and that they saw the school as "the authority." The School Development Program (SDP) provides a system to organize and manage the schod that is desit;ned to remedy child development and relationship issues. Its purpose is to build a child-centesed school with psychological developmnt as the key to studmtsh~acdemk success. SDP focuses cm the mental health of shdents; many SDP schools have mental health teams and crisis rooms for students who are out of control. This mental health focus grows out of Corner" mmedjcal background m d training as a psychiatrist. The project has three guiding principks: consensus, colfaboration, and no fault. These principles reflect the focus on creatixzg pasherships and trust between parents and schools. Comer includes p a ~ n t as s a critical and srteia issues related to part of the discussion of developne~~tal schooling of minoriy and low-income children, The School Development f)rot,;raxn places parents and families at the center of change, encouraging teachers and principals to radically change the way they involve parents in students' education, Actions taken by school cclmmunities focus on improvi~~g student achievement and are viewed as long-term cornmii-~aentsrequirhg cooperation and collaboration among school staff and parents, Decisions in SDP schods are made by the School Planning and Management Team, the Parent Tern, and the Student and Staff Support Team. 'The Schoul Planning and Management Team plans and coordjnates scbool activities; the Parent Team works to involve parents at all levels in the school; and the Student and Staff Support 7'clam addresses schootvcride issues and mmagemmt of hdividual student cases. They work to develop a comprehensive school plan to guide the improvement efforts of the school. In 1,995, there were 550 Sclhnol Development Project schools across the country,

Coalifion of Esslrrlfilxl Schools. Founded by Tfieodurc Sizer, the Coalition of Essential Schools provides a set of principles descri:bing an effective school (see Sizer 199%). C)riginalLy oriented toward refcrrrning high schools, the Coalition of Essential Schools has member schools across the country, Their philosophy is articulated through. a set of twelve principles:

58

Accelerate = C=hdJle~zgzfzg Ail Students schools that are small and personalized in size; a unif ed course of study for all students; a focus on hetping young pclople use their minds well; an indepth, intra-disciplinary curricufurn respectful of the diverse heritages that encompass our society; active learning with student-as-wc)rker/student-ascitizen and teache~as-coachstudent evaluation by performance-based assessment methods; a school tone of unanxious expectation, trust, and decency; collaborative decisictn making and governance; choice; racial, ethnic, economic, and inteltlmtual diversity; and budget allocations targeting time for collective planning. (%me1 1999: 19-20)

The Coalition of Essential Schools does not specify a process for schools to foliow as they mstructure themselves. Each school shapes the princirples to their particular setting and faculty. The principles are used to guide the reform effort, not structure it, Coalition schools have had success in improved acaden-tic performance of students, but some schools struggle wi& the lack of structure (Semel1999). Central Park East Secondary School (GPESS) in East Harlem, New York City District 4, is an example of a successEul Coalition school. Founded in 1,985by Deborah Meier, CI'ESS uses integrated curriculum,, is student centered, has advisory groups for students, and works to develop a community of learners in the school. This school is considered a modern progxssive school itnd has been held as an cxmple of an effective school for workhg-class African American and Latixlo students,

Progranzs Using Gifted and Talented Materials and Approaches Schools fir %let1 t U~uelopme~z t. Schools for l;alent Devdopment emcourages teachers to use both accelcratim and enrichment for. all students (see Renzulii 3994a). These schctds have a focus on concept learning rather than skills learnhg. Schools hvolved h Schools for Talent Development use interdisciplinary curriculum and theme-based studies, student portfolios, performance assessment, and cross-grade grouping. Schods are encouraged to implement: alternative scheduling patterns and to provide "opportunities for students to exchange traditional roles for more demanding and challenging roles that require hands-m learning, fksfhand investigat.iom, m d the app:iication of knowledge and thinkhg sk2l.s to complex problems" ((Renzulli 1994b: 3). ScLzools for Tdent Devdopmmt has been effective in stimulating the learning of stdents considered low or average achievers. For exarnple, in a study investigatixlg mrichment clusters (i,e,, students of silnilar interests study together to explortrl an area and develop an authrntic product), rclsearchcrs bulld that quality of s t d e n t work was similar despik differences in studentshchievement levels (Reis, Gentry, and Park 1995). This model takes approaches that have been reserved for gii'ted and tal-

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59

ented students m d uses them successhlIy with students of all achievement levels to accelerate and enrich learning.

Prc,ject Bueakthrortgh, This demonstration project, funded in. 1998 through the JaviEs Gifted and Talented Educatim Act, has as its goal the appkation of: gifted and talented cllrriculum to all students in Chree schools serving primarily low-income students (Swansan 1998, 1999). ?"he expeded outcome is improved achievement cJf all students. 'Three eleme~~tary Title 1 schools are the demonstration. sites. Teachers are using problem-based science units and language arts units with all of their students in grades two through five. The curriculum was developed through earlier Javits delnonstration projects and has a research base of impr0vin.g achievement of low-, average-, and high-achieving students. Faculty h the schools applied to participate in the project, so the commitment to accelerating the learning of all stlldents is present at the school level. Classroom observations and teacher logs from the first year of the project indicate that both students' and teachers3espmses to the challengirnrg and interesting curriculum has been quite positive (Swanson 1999)*

Progrnnls Within n School Aduancene~tVia ItzdivZ'd~alDetermination (AVID), AVID is a secondary school progrm focusing on preparation for four-year college for average students (see Meban, ViXLanueva, Hu'bbard, and Lintz 1996). It provides access to college preparatory courses to underachieving average students, most ol whom will be first-generation colfege sludents. AVID provides a rigorws curriculurn for all students who signaI an interest in continuing their education after high schocrl and provides i n c ~ a s e dsupport for students t?l. risk of failure. 'These st-dentsare taught through a college preparatory curriculum and are provided mmtors and tutors to learn about the college experience and to develop study and time management skills. Teachersf professjonal development focuses on high expectatjons for themselves and their students and teaches them how to enable students to complete a rigorous academic progrm. Academic success is built around teachkg stude11t.s writirxg and language skills and collaborative pmblern-solving strategies. AVID is based on the assramption that teachers and studmts are pawerful and capable of changing che pattern of student undemchievement, Students and teachers develop new strategies for teaching and teaming that focus on success..The teacher becomes as much a student advocate as a teacher, gaining howledge of students' cultures and special needs. Learning ocrcurs in heterogeneous groups inan acadcmirally rigorous env i r o m n t . Support for studmt leanling includes mentors, often minor-

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ity college studcnts, who model the academic, social, and cultural knowledge nee&d to succeed in college. The program is integratctd into regutar school staffing, cc~trricuX.u~n, and funding.

Specific Curvicljla and Classroom Strategies The prqrams described above are either schoolwide or integrated into the total school program. Accelerated learning can also occur in isolated classrooms through the cmmitment and creativity of individual teachers. Specific curricula m d instructional practices are available that show promise in accelerating the learning of all sbdents. Under the leadership of Joyce k n Tassel-Baska at the Center for Gifted Education in the College of Wlliam and M a y , curriculum units have been developed for high-ability learners in scicllnce, language arts, and social studies..The curriculum units arc not a comprehensive cufriculum; they are not memt to hclude a11 the content that students should study in a particular disciplhe. They do, hcrwever, include rigorous and challengi.ng models of thinking entbedded wiChin the study units: problembased learning, the need-to-know boarb, Richard. Paul's (1992) wheel of reasoning, the vocabulary web, the literature web, and Hilda Tab& (1962) model of concept development. This curricz.rl~.rm was developed for gifted students but bas a research base of evicrtence that indicates fiat low-, average-, and high-achieving students show achievement gains (Swmson 1999).

The Keys to Atceleralion for All Sludents As a student at Westview Elementary School, Sara benefits from accelerated lemjng in her fourth gradc crlass. She is lucky to be in such a class but even luckier to be in a school committed to accelerated learning, The teachers and principd at Westview Elementary have made a commitmelnt to provide powerful learning to all students. We hnvc profiled her fourth grade class, but. she has had similar experiences throughout her years at Westview. Her teachers are committed to providing the best possibe education to all students in the school, and the principal ensures that resources are available for them to do so, Westvkw Elementary is a rare example of a school that provides accelerated learning to all students. Its teachers hold assunptims and beliefs that motivate and sustah their efforts to meet the needs of all children. They believe that all students, no matter what cfifficutties they may bring to the classroom, can be challenged to learn. How did Msestvicw become like this and why arc so few schools like Westview? First, Mrestview joked the Accrterated Schods Project in an

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61

effort to improve student learning. The Accelerated Schools Project is not the cmly vehicle for helping schools improve, but it provides a decisiftnmaEng process m d a structure to involve all members of the school cornmunit.y in decisionmaking. Many schools am unahle to sustain efforts to change because they do not have an ongoing decisionmaking and communication structure in place. Second, Westview" school culture encourages individuals to change, At the core of Westvieds cufbre art?a set of assumptions that encoumge risk taking, hold high expectations fos all students, and promote active involvement in learning. The culture oi many schools hixldcrs efforts to change. Deep fn the culture are assumptions about stueients, teachers, and the teacl-ting and learning process that blcxk any efhrts to chnnge. Classrooms also have culitures, m d these too can be difficult to change, The rest of this book a d k s s e s issucs of changing school and cbssroom culhres* Third, everyone at West\iiew takes learning very seriously. Teachers engage in professional development, students take responsibility for learning, and parclnts recognize their responsibiMies for encouragiing their children to learn and model lifelsng learning. MthougX-1all teachers ctaim to take learning s e r i o d ~ many do not seek substmtke learning opportunities. Teahers often lack the pedagogical content hocvledge necessary to accelerate learning (Shu1m.m 1987), and.their howledge of the core concepts in the academic areas taught is often limited (Stein, Smith, and Silver 1999). Too often teachers feel comfortable only at the level of superficid teaching, seekixlg "cute, fun activities" rather than substantive and deep ideas. Fourth, the teaelners at Wstview =cognize student variation, and they see it as m inevitable part of their job as teachrs. They do not spend time lahelfng students and trying to find other placements for t-he very students whn need thcm the most. They recognize and b d d on studmt differences and create learnixrg experiences that allow students to engage in concepts at diffewnt levels of complexity. Arthough student differences are recognized, all students are held to the same high standards. Few teachers view student diversity in such a positive light. They become overwhelmed by the diverse needs of students, and they lack the skills to creat-e learning envi ents Chat chalfenge students of all ability levels, :In some cases, their assumptions abwt how students learn, about which students are likely to learn, and about effectiwe educational prxtices prevent them .from seeing the strengtt.ls in all of their students. The following chapters delve more deeply into these issues.

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Anna walks to her school in a comforfmhle middle-class ~~eig!zbo~I~aod. A strlall perce~lfageof stt~dcrrfs125 pel-cezt) receiw free or redlrcrd-price lunch and live mz the otIler side of a busy highway. Beginnil-zg in fourth grade, stzldents are groz,upl.il by ahilify. Most of the strkdelzts irr ArznaS gqfed class m e from her ncighhaulzood; very fcm ~ome~f'rom acrass fhc higlrway, Thefaculty and administratirt~zhave been at ftze school for years nlzd are comfortable wifh their tcachhg practkes and k~nwledgec$ content. Xiclzard atfmcis a Inrge m i d l e school iz the ifidastrinl,Frinp @a rr~idsizecity Ouer 90 prcez~tofthe st~defltsreceiwfree or redtlced-price lanch, a~zdn~osfare either Hispanic or Apimn American, Many stzidents colTie to the rrrickifk school behind gmde level; discipli~eatzd ahse~~feeism are serioas problems. Several ymrs ago the district encoaraged teanri~zgto addrcss chmic. low aclziewrrler2 t and poor disc$lil-le, hzrf thefnculty determirzed after nfclw months flat it did nob zuork. Two teachers who stkpyorted tmming ruere uruarded u grarrt to develop an "ilccelemkdfiftfl gm1"'er')i"r s t n d ~ t f ruho s had beof retailzed. Together, I h q msl~rt'that a gmup iff tzue~tysiltdents h r n thtvfiffjt a ~ sdk t h grade cilrriatlum so f h t they can join their peers in seve~ztlrgade. Most afthe people in Snrn's small town work il.z the loml butfonfactory. Approxirvrntefia 70 pexen t of ftltze sfuderlfs at her elerne~tlar!!scliool receive free a~zd rednced-price lzltzch, h response to an itzflux of Spa~isk-speakitzgn l i g m ~w0l.k; t ers, the fnctrlty and administrath n'eteumi~zecdthnt t h q needed to teach di.ffel"-. ent-f;y to better serve all stzldetzts. They explored wrt'tlzls programs and deternlii~zedthul the Acceleruled Schwls Project was f-he best fit fir f-heil. school. l'hq h u e bee12 inzrolued witlr the project sincc 3395 and are cut-tti~zzlutrslyworking to refine their teaChing SO thaf all sf zkdeats rxperktzce prtwey)irl lear~zirrg.All clnss-

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moms are izeter~?~qe~rrnzlsly gm~lpen!;S@mSclnssrrtnfrs rqrrsnrt a ruide range of academic ability u ~ display d varied interests and stw~gths.

As described in Chapter 2, many students identified as gifted experience accelerated learning. Anna has the opportunity to move quickly through the typical fifth grade curriculum and delve deeply into her newfound passion for astrammy. A growing number of low-achieving students also expericrnce accelerated learning*Richard is gjven a chnnce to learn basic skills while developing higher-orber t:hmking skills in a supportive environment. Mthotrgh they represent opposite ends of the achievment continuum;, students like Anna and IZrchard have been givm opportunities to move faster through a course of study, Git'red students skip grades and progress through material faster than average students. Incrcaskg numbers of low-achieving students, especially those who bave been retajned, are provided opporbnities to cortdense two years of work into one in order to attain normal grade level. In these cfassro~msstudents are more apt to learn in an envir ent that is relevant and learner cmtered than are other students at their school. They understmd the importance of what they are learning and havc hands-on opportunities as a regular part of their learning. The teacher and students all expect high levels of achievement from everyone in the room. These classrooms are ofterz isolated from others and have little effect on the rest of the school or on other classrooms, In most schools hwhich exciting programs exist for gift& students or for low-achieving shtetents, the school and all of the other classrooms remain the same; the culture of the school does not change. Too often these rooms sit aside as islands in a sea of traditional educational practices; the teachers are often viewed as odd and out of touch with the rest of the school. Sara is fortunate because her school is committed to providhg an accelerated learnhg etiperience to all students. Such a commitment requires a majnr change in a shoal and in all classrooms in the school. For this reason, examples of schools accelerating the learning oi all studmts arc rare, especially when we focus on schoois ser\iing large nurnbers of lowhcome stude~zts.Haweve&the rare exmples like Sara's school do exist, providing evidence that, rander the right conditions, acceleration can occur, even when poverty and culturai a d Ianglaage differaces m i e t 0therwise m k e mccess fctr all students more djfiicult. This chapter and the following chapters describe how acceleration for all, students can be achieved only t h u g h a transfomathn oE school and classroom cdtures.

Members of a s c h d or classmm culturc must agree to change their culture for it to occur. Mandating change from outsidcr the school, in\rolvement in whether from the district or state or throtlgh jn\rol~~~ntmy a school reform initiative will not result in culture change. Contrary to conclusions drawn by Sarason (3996) and Tyack and Cuban (19951, school cultures are not hhere~~tly resistmt to chmge. They can be resistant to externally imposed change, but they are not necessarily resistant to internally initiated change, Most eft'orts to impose change m schools fail because the change agents fail to realize that changhg a sehoo involves changing the culture of the schooli, which involves changing the assumptions, beliefs, and actions of the indiwiduals involved in the school. Tndivjduals must engage in m examination of the deeply beld assumptions, beliefs, and attitudes that shape their behavior for change to occur in schools and classrooms. h essence, they engafiSe inm examilmtion of culture as it is reflected and manifested in schools and classrcroms and in themselves. Change in school and classroom culture is complicated by the fact that culture at these e v e s rerlects the assumptions, beliefs, and attitudes that shape behavior in the surrounding community and the larger sociev. The following discussion of cult= further explorcls the importance of identifying and exmining the influence of assumptions on initiating and sustaining change. Chapters 6 and 7 further examine how assumptions encourage or discourage efforts to accelerate the learning of all studernts at both the school and classroom level. Chapter 8 draws on the preceding chapters and describes how i~~dividuals, both those inside and outside of the school, can act on their assumptions and ultimately assume responsibility to promote acceleration for all students.

What Is Culture? 'The concept of cdture, whether used to describe schools or larger societies, is not easy to define. It is smethirtg that surrounds us, gives meaning to our world, and is constantty being constructed both through our i~nteractionswith others and through our reflections on life and our world, Culture is so implicit in what we do that we really do not know it is there. Glyde Kluckhohn (1949: 11) said of culture that it is like fish and water-fish will be the last creatures to discover water. We do not h o w it is there, but it is the lubricmt of our lives*Cultures have six ccharacteristics that have an hnpact on schools and classrooms. First, &hough culture is essential to mking waning, it also rcst-ricts our objectivity and shapes our preferences. Gulbre is not neutral; by valuing certain attributes (e.g., thin figurns over full figures) and behav-

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iors (e.g., spontaneity over deliberate action) over others we limit our exposure to and appreciation of our wmld (Spindler a d Spirtdler 4987; McDermott and Vare~me1999; Mcaillan 1998: 3). Culture serves a restrictive role in society by making some behaviors, ideas, and interactions natural and seemingly right, thus making other ways of doing things and seeing the world. seeln strange and wm.mg. Just as culture?allows us to make meaning in an otherwise chaotic world, it also constricts us by cmdoning limited and oftm repressive perceptions of others and ourselves. In schools this characteristic of culture is evident when we value studmtsbanalytic and.verbal ability and overlook their artistic and hesthetie ability. It is also evident in people" hinsistence that students learn best when placed in hom~gmeousability groups. Second, culture is both conservative and ever chang-ing.As a conservat h e force, culture protects people from the unhown, providing often very limited answers to what would otherwise be unanswerable questions. As Schein writes, culture reflects "our humm need for stability, consistency and meming" (1992: 41). At the same time that it pfays a cmservative function, culture is also ever changhg (Wax 1993: 109); it is "a 'cmtested"phenomenon (Clifford 1986) that individuals can use to their strategic betterment, not an unwaveriw prtrscripticm for behawior" (Eklc@tarn1998: 214). It adapts to hfiuences from other cultures and from changes in the phpsicd, social, m d political environment, We see this characteristic in classrooms when we visit one teacher" room over the course of several years. Her room alvlrays looks and k l s the same even though it reflects the influence of different students and new teaching strategies. Third, boundaries between cultures are usually very permeable. Multiple cultures are always interactin.g; although some are relatively b u n d e d , such as the Amish, others are rather amorphous, such as "American culture," Cultures are nested within each other, mutually influencing each other. At times they are permeable and open to change from outside; at other times, they are closed and ~ s i s t a n to t change, Scrhoals contain and are influel~cedby multiple cultures. Each classroom has a culture that is nested in a school culture, The classroom cultures influence each other as teachers interact, as students pass from one class to another, and as the whole school makes decisions about appropriate educational practices. In addition, each school has a culture that is at once influenced by the multiple classroom cultures and also by the culturcls that exist in the local community asld in the wider society. Fourth, individuais experience the c d k r e through their rote or position within it (Spindler and Spindler 1993). A teacher's eexperiellce of school culture is different thm tbat of the principal or from that of students. Overlap in expectations and assumptiom occur, but the scl~oolbe-

comes a social system and has a cdture through an orchestration of differences and similarities of idlviduals with distiwt roles (Spindler (1999). School change usually necessitates role change, which is not always easy for everyone to accept. For exannpk, the principal" role changes dramaticaily when schools implemmt reforms such as the Arceierated Schools Project, Ratt-ter than making all decisions, the principal facilitates group decisi aking. From, a teacher" position this change can be invigorating, or it may appear that the principat is abdicating responsibility for decisjnns. Pi&, culture is transmitted, shaped, and maintajned through language and dialogue (Hymes 1974). Within schods and ciassrooms, culturt. is created and maintained by what is talked about and what topics are avoided, by how language is used, by whose lmguage is encouraged, and by who has control of the discourse (Hymes 1972; Phillips l"383; Florio-Ruane 1989). Finaliyflthe most inlportmt characteristic of culturc for the purpose of this book is that it manifests itself in both tangible a d intangible ways.. Cuilure at its most fundamental is intangibfe; it is the assumptims peapie of a cullure share. Assumptions are those things we take for granted, that we accqt as true without proof. We assume that fie sun wilt rise in the east and set in the west, We assume that our hearts will beat m d our lungs will fill with air. We do not spend a lot of time thinking about these things; we just take them for granted. We also make assumptions &out peopie, about learning, and abouhchoals that go unchallenged. mese assumptions shape our values, which in turn shape our behavior ( E m s 1996). For example, if a teacber assmes that university professors are tclcr theoretical m d moved from day-to-day challenges in the classmom, he or she will not value advice given by miversity professors, The teacher acts on fiis belief by sittiw sullenly through mandatrory in-service sessions offered &rough the local universi.ty The relatimship beheen these components of culture (assumptions, values, beliefs, and actions) is not clearly understcrcrd to most people. As I'atriek McQdlan writes, "'Cuiture is sornethjng of a paradox: People create culture, hut their cultural vatues predispose them to perceive the world in particuar ways. Culture does not determirrc social action, nor is it. predictive; but it, defines the possible, the logical" ((1998: 3). It is assumptions that define the possible and the logical. 'Ihese assumptions are made manifest in the belief systems evident in schools and in the tangible, visible si,ws of a cdture. The school culture supports the teachersbnd principalts decisions on how to set up classrooms, how to schedule classes, h w to group children, what to display and h e r e to display it, and m n y other aspects of the school that arc easjly seen by a casual observec It also irthences less tangible features of school life such as what is considered beautiful, what is considered fmc-

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tional, and what is considered worthwhile, The school culture also hfiuewes the processes, d e s , and procedurrs that guide work, play, and social interactions of adults and studel~tsboth within the school and, to s m e extent, beyond the school.

Sotielal Assumplions Influenting Sthool and Fldssroo~nCullure Culture in the context of schools does not exist in a vacuum; schools, classrooms, and the individuals involved in schools reflect and influence the society around h. Assumptions held by people in the immediate communities surromcfing the school and the largm sclciety influence the culture found in schools. Some oE these assumptions change (a1bei.t slowly and mevenly) as ecmomic m d demographic shifts cause society ~ m ~ o resistant ~ to change because they are embed.. to change. 0 t h are ded in our national culture, in who we are as citizens of the United States. Tensions arise when assumptions held by some indhiduais do not reflect changes in society; tensions oftel~escalate because they largely go unspoken and ranexamined. The followhg are six commonly held socrictal assumptions that, depending on how they are acted upon, support or hinder efforts to accelerate learning. These asszxmpli.ons m su~nmarizedin Table 5.1,

Assumption: All People Need Skills for Productive Work and Active Citizenship For gez~erationsschools have taken a lead in providing young people necessary skcills to work md. to participate in socieq. In the past, it was assumed that schools hnctioned to prclvicie basic skills to those destined to work in factories and on farms, reservi,ng more advanced skills for the few who would engage in morc managerial or professional work (Tyack 1974; Darling-Mammond 3997). It is only recently that we have begun to rclalize that all people need a mix of basic and higher-order skills to htion productively In today" s o r c complex technical and servire-oriented society. Wl~enmernbers of local communities and the nation agree that for all people to lead productive lives students must develop strong cornmunicatim skills as well as basic and higher-order thhking skills, eiforts of individuals w i t h schools to challenge all students will be enhanced. Shared assumptions that we need a workforce and a citizenry that can solve prdblcms, communicate efkctively, work collaboratively, and take initial;ive will trmslate into decisions at the school level that all sbdents must have opportux~itiesto learn and practice these skills in school (Secretary" Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills 1991; Rurnberger, Darrh, Levin, and F

T.4BLE 5.1 Assumptions That Support Efforts to Change Schaots and Classrooms

Commotzi")!Held Societai"Assunzpttolils

*

All people need skills for productive work and active citizenship.

* Groups of people share certain

Asszzm~;tti;o?zs That Support Acceleratzon EIZ Sch001 and Classrooms

*

* Students are judged by their accomplishments, not by t1:;teirrace, eth~~icity, social class, gender, etc.

innate characteristics and abilities.

* Equal opparwnity extends to all

All students are capable of leading productive lives and consequently need basic and higher-order thinking skitls*

* A11 students need access to a cballengirzg and engaging learning environment,

citizens.

* Success is a limited commodity.

* A11 students can be successfut.

*

There are simple answers to complex questions,

*

h4ultiple perspectives and thoroug1:;t inquiry are more apt to provide effective solutions to problems.

*

I3ivesity and unity are mutually exclusive.

*

Diversity is a strength when it is channcied toward a g a d or vision.

Assumption: Groups of People Share Certain 11"~nal"e Clzaracteristics and Abilities As described above, culture provides meaning to our world but it dso restricts our objectivity This is exemplified by our tendency to assign attributes to people based on their ethniciiry; race, social class, gezzder, or other characteristics. For example, a lost tourist may nut approach an Asian Americm for directions because he assumes that the Asian Arnerican does not speak English. These stereotypes hinder everyone. The tourist rernavls lust, and the Asian American has to repeatedly prove that he is as Americm as anyone else. Despite a preponderance of etsidcnce to the contmry, the assumption that certain groups of peopk are capable of contributing more to the community and the nation than others still exists. Ste~otypesof the ability and bchavi,or of people of different dlhnic, racial, social class, and gender groups have peripetuated iwquities and have limited. opportuniGes for gmerations of students. n e s e assumptione; are mmifest in decisions regarding which studezzts are provided access to advmced courses and to cballlenging curriculum. They are also evident in the allocation of financial =sources and teachirlg st& and in tbr conditim of school facili-

70

Cz.tltz"vattegCzalt~rc"Change

tics. For too long, people have justified hequiw by saying that hferior teachers, buildings, or curriculum are "gcrod enough for those students." Fm schod colnntunities to successfully accelerate all students' learning, we must continue to challenge these assumptions and encourage people within schools to judge all mernbers of thc.school community by their accomplshments, not by group affiliations (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, social class) and to actually proiride equal educational c-,pportunitks.

Assumption: Equal Oppoutunity Exterlds to All Citizens For a country founded on the belief that ''all men are created eyual," able to advance through hard work and dekrm,jnatim, the chronic economic disparities between social,classes, races, and ethnic groups arc difficult to justify it is clear that aei\iancement because of merit appears to be easier for some than for others. Although certa,in segments of society have histoncally benefited from social and economic cmections that ease admissions into elite schools and p m the way into good jobs, efforts to open such paths to other groups are see11 as unfair.For instance, a%jrmative action efiorts desiped to increase access to work and higher education for racial and ethnjc mi~~orities and women have b e n challenged as unconstitutional. States such as California have e l h h a t e d affirmative actim admissions to higher education and minurity/fernale set-asides in business, a d racial quotas are rareiy used in school admissions decisions. Few middle-class Americms attribute their success to the social connections and cultural knowledge they acquiwd at birth or see tbem as a argue that their success was aehievcd form, of privilege or capi,td."ey through hard work. When asked why other people who also work hard find it harder to advance ecclnomically and socially, they arc. reluctant to credit the advantages Chat came from how and where they grew up. Oa the one hand, they know that their path to success was made easier by partrnts Mlho knew the value of a good school system (Metz 19981, who exposed them to cultural, economic, and artistic experiences, and who knew people who could he@ them m their way to success. On the o t k r hand,this recopition goes against our belief that we succeed through hard work and hitiative. Schools are assunned to be social, equalizers and avenues to advancement. Many tales are told about the poor child w l ~ obecame succrssfut through hard work in school and with the help of caring, dedicated teachers, However, it is more common for the children of well-educated, middle-class parcmts to be successful, whereas the students horn lowhcome, working-class families are more apt to either accept the inferior education provided them or to rebel against a social system that tolerates inadequate schools. We are l d e d into an acceptance of the fallacy of

equal opportuniw by stmcturirzg schools so that on the surface they fook like they offer equal academic opportunity. As Mary Metz (1998) points out, midde-class parents recogni2;e that this is a case of "smoke and mirrorsm"hey carefully choose schools or districts for their children where academic excellence is likely, Low-income families often lack the resources or expertise to m k e such choices, leaving them to send their children to schools that on the surface offer similar programs but in reality fall short of academic excellence.

Assumption: Success Is a Linzited Commodity As a society, W have assunted that for some people to succeed, others must fail (Spindler and Spindlcr 1989; McDermott 1997,1989).American society values individual ctrmpetitim; we strive to be on the top. In the workplace, we compete to advance as hdividuals even if much of our work is collective, Parents wmt their children to attend the best schools and to be at the top of the clatis in these schools. Inherent in this striving is an acceptance of the fact that for one person tn "'win,"" many o t k r s have to ""lose," We assume that students will fail in school, and rather than sett* up school so that all students will succeed, we pit sbdents against each othcr in a competition to be "above average" "pinder and Spkdler 198%McDermott 1997,1989). Individuaiism and competitim are central to who we are as a nation. Rather than build on. collective stre~~gths and pull all members of a group up, we hold to old adages such as ""pll yourself up by your baotstraps," "one rotten apple spoils the barrel," and "may the best man win."' 'This is not to say that individual pursuit oZI excellance and all competition is bad; as a nation these assumptjons have led to great prosperity for many, However, the basic assumption that education of chi1drc.n is a win/lose proposition is destructive, Failure is institu"c0nalized in our society; it: is expected that some will "not make the cut," The devastating consequencewf thj, asslrrnptiltn are that studentsf future opporbnities arc. severely limit.ed if: they fail in school. A more supportive assurnptiorl is that all students can be successful and that it is the respansibilitJi of eveqme to find ways for all sbdents tcr succeed.

Assumption: There Are Sin~pleAnswers to Complex Problems How often do we hear ophions m d read letters to the editor proposhg simple solutions to complex problems? People arc very quids to shake their heads and say, "If cmly they would . . . .'"With a little distance from a situaion people are able to offer wry clear, very easyf and usually very inadeqtlate solutions to prdblems. Knee-jerk reactions and ""new" quickfix mforms abound on the policymaking level a d in the m i ~ ~ of d sthe

72

Cz.tltz"vattegCzalt~rc"Change

public. Poorly performing schools and low-achiving students are part of a complex problem that does not have a simple answer (Finnm and Swanson, forthcoming). To turn schools aromd so Chat students' learning is accelerated istvolves a process of culture change, which by its nature requires listening to multi* voices. It also involves engaging in thorough inquiry into the causes of: problelns and an in-depth examination of potential solutions, This kind of inquiry takes time and focus, It rarely results in cme solution; rather, many actions by many people cmtribute to Ihc ensuing chmge.

Assumptiotl: Diversity and Unity Are Mutually Exclusive Diversity is both the strength and the challenge of our society, We am a richer society because of the diverse artistic m d intellectual expressims that abomd in this corntry Our cdturc has benefited from diverse perspectkes on the issues and challenges we face as a nation. However, diversity can be destmctive if it splinters any society, communitli, or organization. Diversjky becorns a powerful strength when it is alowed to flourish in pursuit of a shared goal or vision, By seeking unity we do not mean conformity to one way of thinking and doing; rather, we look to developing unity through setting shared goals. Multipk approaches to achiev.ing these goals are encouraged, explored, and irnylemented. For schools,the shared goal becomes to accelerate the learning of ail students; it is accomplished by listenhg to many voices and incorporathg many pesspectjves in pursuit of the goal. These slrcietal assumptions exist in all school and classroom culbres, al&ou& how thcy ase manifeskd digers for each school, They remain ~ l a tively mcherked In. schools like Ama" s d Rchard". We c schools tbat acceierate the learning of all.shrdents wi&out a d d ~ s s i n how g these asswptions influence the values asld acticms of everyone in the schod community, We revisit them in Chapter 8 wbm we examjne the actions individuals must take to make acceleration for all shrdmts a realiv.

Cullivaling Culture Change The remaining chapters in this book fwus on changhg school and class-

room c u l t u s by changing assumptions, expectations, and behaviors of key individds in schools. As described above, culture, wl-ie~~ thought of as the assumptions, beliefs, values, and expected behaviors of a group of people, is ccrnservath even though cdtures continuously change. Chnging cultures to accelerate the Iearning of all studel~tsr e q u i ~ purs poseful, not reactionary change, It requires nurturing chmge from within, not imposing change from outside. 'lb understartd purposeful

culture change, it is productive to think of the term cdture not d y as a noun (as described hove) but also as a verb, as in to culture or cultivate. Murray Wax introduced this disthction between "a cdture" "(noun) and '"to culture" ((\re&) to refine the use of the term culture as applied to multiculbralism (Wax 1993). Scrientists, horticulturists, botanists, and medical and agricultural researchers design experiments to culture change in living things. Experiments may take place in petri dishes in a laboratory m on exprirnental plots in laboratory farms, Whereves the culturbg takes place, the outcomes and pmedurcs are clear, the experixnents are casclfully tended, the ent is controfled, and experiments are ~plicatedto assurr research reliability and validiqm a t d.o such experhents have to do with s c h d changd We suggest that schoots, classrooms, and individuals that accelerate the learning of all students engage in purposeful change by essentially "cultivating" change toward clear goals. For change to he purposeful and lasting, the outcomes or desired goals of the change are clear and the process used to rclaeh these goals is well defincd. Once the change process is underway, it is carefully tmded. Wespread support for the change must exist in the school, and resources (both human and material) must be available. Careft11tending involves more than providing a rich soil for gsowth; it hvalves constant atmtion to the change effort so that the change goes beyond surface change to deep change in assumptions. Essentially, the change must be water&, fed, and protected from adverse forces in the environment. Change imposed k m outside of a school is rarely closely n u r t u ~ disolated ; trahing sessions and mandates to change do not prom d support. vide the needed atte~~tion Unlikcl laboratory experiments, it is difficult to contsol change efforts in schools and to replicate change efforts that were successful in other x h o o l ~ Scrhools . do their best to control their environment by building support in the community for change (Mathews 1996; SchIechty 1997) m d aligning their goals with state and local i~~itiatives. However, external factors often complicate change processes, Sixnilarl?r,successM experiments with school, classroom, or individual change are rarcly replicated. Teachers and principddrequently borrow ideas from others, brat efforts to transplant successful practices typically fail (Wehlage, Smithf and Lipmn 1992; Tyack and Cuban 1995), largely because they do not account for the influence of the existing schod or classroom culkre. and because they are not nurtured and supported. This is analogous to agricultural researchers at-tempting to replicate an experiment without ensuring that the cl-raraeteristicsof the soil in the two experiments arc. the same m d w i t h o u " f : ~ ~ ~ that ~ ~ rcrops k g are watered. Culturing change in schools and classrooms requires a clear tmd.erstmding of the desired outcomes and careful attention to the change

74

Cz.tltz"vattegCzalt~rc"Change

pmcess-essential@ the tending m d nurturislg of the change and a thorough understartding of tbr context in which the change occurs. 7'he followkg chapters describe differences between schools and classrooms h which a culture supporting the acceleration of all students has been cultivated and tbose in which it has not been cultivated. Chapter 6 explains wfiy Che xhool Sara attends is so djfferent from Annn's and 17jchard's schools. Chapter 7 iIlctstrates that although all three students" classrooms are accelerated, classroom culture isolates Ama's and Richard" classroom from others in the school, while it is nurturing and supportive in Sasa" schoal.

1. The concept of social and cultural capital derives from the work of Bourdieu and Passeron (1877) and MacLead (198";7.They argue that knowliedgebrtth sclcial and cultural-is a valuable r e ~ o u r c ejust ~ as economic capital is a resource.

Sara atfends WesCviezkj Elerrt.02trrq School located in u s m l l ii/Iidroesf.n.~ community, Ftrr ymrs Westview3 sfzrde~rfpnflzdlntion rms stable, mostly children of firvr~families nlzd the fezu fizrrrilies zuho worked at the loml brhf ton fnctor;t6. S f udefzt achiewnt.02t k v e k wew about crverapfor the state, and Westview sltrdclzts znere c4lfnmlly seen as ready fir middle school zdren they gmdzafl'd. Begilzr~it~g ltrvurzd 1990, Spalzish-spmkitzgfamilies began movirzg ilzfo the community to zuork on farms and in the batton fictol-y. Westz~ifiu's fac~iltyfelt unprqare1.1 f~ t e ~ li~~ifed-English-speaking ~h stude~ztsa ~ to d ble~zdthe Spanishspeaking finlilies ir-zto the close, caring nlmmzrr~ifythat ulrmdy exisfed at Wesfaiew. Althoztgh some faculty longed fir the *'good old days" zuherz all CMdrefz ruere blow~zin the ~ ( n ~ m t ~ and ~ z i commza~zicutirnz fy w s easy, a c~~ritjrnifnlmt to teaching all childrn~peruaded the school cud f we. Tfu: admlvzistrnfiotzandfgculfy bcfgalz to %search strategies fo betfer work with the new chifdrcln. Through their reselnrch thry came a p m the Amcrlerated Schook Project and found its yhilosophy ufholding high eqatatmns fclr all studelzts mid involving all members of the scI~oo1comfrl~~zity in decisions ca~lzpatiWe wiffltheir school alltaw. In 1995 t h q joifzed the Accelerated Schools Puclject and ha= used it as a z~ehicleto examine their.existi~zgschool ndture and to f ~ t a h chnges in the school fo szipp~rtnccledernted lcnr~zil,pforall sttkdenis.

'Jilday Westview Elementary is an inviting school. ft. is clear f i m a rwlk throzdgfi fhe building mid fmm convcrrsnticltzs zuith faczilty, stzldmts, mid pare nts is wlued, fhat ~ldliltsare active leurrzeus, and fhat t k ftlul child~n'slear~zi~zg school slrpprts tfncfzers' ffforis to i~iproztcr h f and how c h i l d ~ nlearn and the cotzfcxt in Whiclz fhey learn. FOP the lasf three yean, sfrlcfenfperfcor~nnlzct.on sfnndardizrd t ~ t hs ~ inlproved, s ulld seueml Westview teactlers krizm taken l eadershie;r mles in providin,p yrofissiclnal deuelopme~ztto other teachers in the region.

Change is z~~elcornt. at Wstitielu because they have control over the direcfion c h n ~ g etakes, and they are canfid~rzfthat all proposalsfor cknlzge arc. well Wsearrhed fhntzigh fhcr Accelerilted Scl'zttols inylsiy p r i r ~ s s , As described in Chapter 5, efforts to accelerate leanling of all shtetents Wcur within school and classmm cultures." n e s e cultures are a colnpfcx mix of assumptions, beliefs, and actions of key individuals in the schools, Changing schooi culture iwolwes deep change, not just change at the level of displaying student work or adding processes of site-based mana g m n t (Elmore, Peterson, and McCarthey 1996). This change has to be nuftured hternally; a school community cannot be t d d to change its school culture. To create a culhre that fosters and ellclourages the acceleration of all students, the basic beliefs and assumptions oi all school community members (e.g., teachers, parents, administratim, studentti, staff, and c o m u n i t y mmbers) must he examhed and potentially changed. These changcrs occur as individuals reflect on their basic assumptions, as they engage h1 discussitm with each other, and as they take actions to irnprove learnling opportunities of all studel~ts.Uitthately all members of the schooi community assume that it is their responsjbilit)l to challenge all students. Once tbis process has begun, lasting change in the more visible manifestdions of cdture (e.g., display of student work, classrmm schedules, student placement dccisims, ceremonies and rituals) change as an expressim of the deeper chmge. School cdture describes both the sameness and uniqueness of each school. When you walk into almost any school you are struck by how familiar it is. 'I'herl, is somethi~~g &out the place tbat just says ""school.'" 'The functio~lof tbe school-to provide a site for teaching and learningcan be felt as som as you waXk through the door. Most schools share a simitar design for classrooms and comn-ton areas, organize the day in predictable ways, and develop recognizable patterns for relationships a m g the students and adults. Despite these simitarities, it is dscl easy to =cognize the differences of each schod, Even the casual observer will recognize and unique~~ess that each school feels, looks, sounds, and smells different f a m m y other school. The cultwe of a school can change radically when a pri~lcipal l e m s and is replxed bp someone with a diffcmnt philnsophy and leadership style. It changes when demographic changes in the communiv change the shdent poputation, It chmges when the state or district dictates radically different qproaches to teaching. School culture functions at its most important, deepest level in framjng individuals3basic assumption" even as it shapes everything else in a

*Portic~ns of this chapter appear in C, Finnan and H, M. Lwin (2000).

school, from what is seen and heard (e.g., the way physical space is used, the use of lmguage in the school, the dress and deporment of the people) to what is valued as "the way we do things" (Evans 1,996: 42). AS Evans states, the basic assumptions arc 'Yfundamental, underlying shared convictions that guide behavior and shape the way gmup rnernbers perceive, think, and feel" (1,996: 43). 'These asslxlnptions are rarety stated explicitly, but they underlie all actions and interactions in a school. For example, individuds in an inner-city school may assume that tbr sbdents cannot learn chatlenging materid because they live in poverty Teachers give students a steady diet of uninteresting worksheets and textbooks and proceed to allow s a e n t s to slide t h r o w to the next grade level havhg mastered neither basic nor higher-order skills, When asked why these students have not learned what they need, these teachers assum no mspomibility paw"ing the b l m e to the shxdents themselves or to their f arnilies.. h important determinant of school culiture is the history of the school-both red and perceived. f i s t schcrols hawe a history that molds both the structure m d culture of the school (Schlechty 1"390),Westview Elementary SchooYs history as a mainstay in a smaU r u d community had. to be considewd and respected. before ini~atingchanges to accommodate new students. The origins of the school, the popdation it: has served, its unique claims and accomplishents Lalt cmstihte this background. From this history come heroes and villains, ceremonies, rituais, legends, and stories (Deal and Peterson 1998). These are very importmt links to the community and can give children the feeling that they are attending school in an important place and that by being a part oE this school, they too wilX "'malte hisbry" Private schools, elite publjc schoo:ls, and speci;zl schools such as m a p e t schools and charter schonls pmudly display artifacts from their past: and cultivate continued involvemat in the schttl cJf szxccessful a l ~ ~ (Conway ~mi 1995). Schools with strong cmtinu,ity to the past yuirkly acculturate new teachers, parents, and c h i l b n to the culture of the schod (unless the student populaticm chmges radically). Alternatively r n m y inner-city and rural schoois find it diffictrlt to shake off the 111 effects of their history. Many schools attempting to improve artr burdened by cmentional wisdom irr the community that the school is inadequate, that it is a school for "losers"" This historical legacy takes its toll on teachers, parents, and students atkmpting to improve the learning environment. Efforts to improve these schools artr oflen seen as little more than attelnpts to look like "real schools" (Metz 1,998). It is irnpossible to understand the culture of a school wilthout examining the past. h o t h e r aspect of school cult-urefshistorical dimension relates not to the collective school culture but to the experiences each individual brings to the school, whether as staff, parents, or s a e n t s . Teachers' expecta-

tions of students, of their mle in the school, and their comfort with different educationat pm"ftice"lerive from their experimce as students, as teachers in preparation, and as practicing teachers (OtI,aughliz~l"300). Parents bring to the school experiences from their past, both when they wew students and mare ~ c e n t l yas parents concerned about their children's learning. Students also bring expectations leamed from other school experiences (e.g., preschool or other schools) and from cmcounters with their peers and older chjldren.

Basic Assumptions Shaping School Culture A school" culture is a composite of a culture that existed in the past, the cultufal assumptions brought to the school by memben; of the school community, and the cultural forces in the lartjer community. These cultural forces come together within the context of the school and. shape, and artl shaped by, the school culture Westview Elementary School's culturc is a composite of past m d present hfluences. It includes melnories of what the school was like in the past and assumptions brought to the school by longtime ~ s i d e n t sof the communjty, by teachers wbo commute to the school from othcr communilies, and from parents and other family members of the Spanish-speaking students, It is at the level of assumptions, beliefs, and values that culture has its most profound innuewe, and it is this level where change must occur in most schools to accelerate the learning of all children. The assumptions, beliefs, and values that shape school cultures can be grouped into five components of school culture. They include the following:

Assumptions related to expectations for children Asszlmptions held by ct-tildren about themselves and their future * Assumptions related to expectations for adults (teachers, principals, and parents) Assumptions about educational practices that are considered ""acceptable" Assumptions about the value cJf change This chapter del;ineattrf;each of these components and descrjbes how assumptions rdated to each component can discourage or encourage efforts to xcelerate Icaming. As each component is described, a contrast is made between how the assumptions rclated to a component of schvoi culture function to create an environment that discourages or encourages the acceleration of all stude~zts.Far most descriptio~zs,we have focused on research on schools serving low-hcome students, Table 6.1 summarizes assumptions that encourage or discourage acceleration oE all students.

TABLI,E 6.1 Cultural Assumptions: School 1,evel Assumptions Adults Hold for Children * Some students cannot attempt advanced material because they have not mastered basic skills. a Low-income students come to schooj with deficits. a Students lack sell-control,

* High academic expectations for att a

a

students are shared by cclmmunity members. Build on strengths students bring to school. Students are expected to Learn, n ~ l t be controlled.

Assumptions Studerzts Hold About Themselves and Their Future * Students feel disconnected from * At1 students can learn from eacl~ school and society, other, * Scl~oolis important onty to meet * At1 students can acquire the social friends or participate in sports. and cultural capital needed to * Students feel that no one cares about succeed in wider sodety. them, * Students expect adults t o care. Assumptions Related to Expectations for Adults (teachers, principals, and parents) * Only ineffective tcachers work in * Teachers are highly effective in the ctassrooin and in rnalcing decisions schools serving low-income students. * Admir-tistrators' rotc is to keep order, far all students. a Administratclrs facilitate a learning a f'arents do not provide adequate comrxzunity. support for tl~eirchildren. a Families love their children and wilt do what they think best for them. Assumptions About Acceptable Educational Practices a Schools are structured to maintain a The schooj structure gives alt order and provide ""appropriate" students access t o challenpng learning environments, education to all, * Students and subjects are sorted and * Teaching results in understanding, scpara ted, not acquisition of facts. * Teaching is an act of trans~nissionof ktlovvledge from teacher t o student., Assumptions About the Value clf Change * Resist all change, a Systeinatic change is impossible. * Student acf-Eievemcotwould improve if other people changed,

* Change will tcad to improved achievement for all students,

* Positive changes arc possible when a

they are suppclrted internally and externally, f'ersclnal change is challenging and invigorating.

Assumptions Adults Hold [or Children Adults expect all children to receive an education at school, but do they expect all students to receive equal access to stimulating education? Each school's cullwe shapes the answer to that question. Adults at VVestview expect all students to receive a stinzulating education, but this eqectation is not the same at Axtna" slichool where d y studmts identified as gjfted are expected to be chakrnged, Adults have a powerful influence on the expectations all school coolmunj.ty members have for children. Adultsf expectations of children shape the curriculunl and instruction offered, the school" organization, and the climate in the halls and the classrooms.

Assumptions That Discottvnge Acceleration Some stadelzts CUI.ZTZO~attempt adval~ced:i;linnteriatbecause t h q have I?& mastered basic skills, In many schools people share an assumption that some students (primarily white, middIe-class students) benefit from engagement with advanced material, ideas, and cmcepts, whereas others (primarily Low-income stdents, oAen stude~ntsof color) must spelnd time in school mastering basic skills, Chapter 1, in tracixlg the historical origins of 't70tl-i.gifted and talented education and remedial education, illustrates that this sortkg of stude~ntsby perceived ability has been carnnrto~nsince the turn of the twentieth century In addition, a h e a r conception of learning (i.e., that basic skills must be maskred before advancing to higher-order skills) has shaped cmrricmlum since the early 1900s. AIthough there have been dissenters (e.g., W.E.B. &Bois, John Dewey), this belief in a progression f m basics tc:, advanced material has prevailed. For an agricultural m d industrial economy the assumption seemed to work. The elite were educated for thinking occupations and the poor (especially indigmow minorities and immigrants) were taught basic rnath and reading and were prepared for vocations (7jiack 1974;Darljng-Hammond 1997: 7 ) .This was a convenient belief sirtce the factories sf the north and the farms of the south needed a large submissive workforce that could follow orders but wodd not question the social order. Although our economy now requires m m advanced skills from almost ail wnrlters, children are still driLXed on basic skills, and many are denied an opportunity to develop more advanced skills. This practice has been prevalent despite research that indicates that lw-achieving students benefit from opportunities to work with advanced, higherorder materids (Knapp 3.995a; Jennings and Spillane 1996; Newmann 1996).

Lozu-income stzlde~tscome to schvol with deficits, A related assumption that permeates the culture of many schools is that low-income sbdents c m e to school with deficits that must be remediated. The label "at risk'" is applicd, to h o s t any student who comes to school with a background differmt than that enj0yc.d by a shritlking number of middle-class, white f amiIljes (Swadener children who come ftom two-parent/ one-i~~come m d Lubeck 1995).'Too many teachers m d admhistrators assume that all students &odd enter school with the s m e type of language, fine motor, and social &ill devdopment that most middle-class crhildren possem. These schools arc ill prepared to accommodate cultural., language, and social class differmces (Ladscm-Rillings 1994; D a d i n g - k m o n d 1997). Rather than accommodate these differences, the students are labeled as '"at risk," and m a y will eventuauy be further labeled as having a learning disabiljty (Franklln 1994; Spear-Swrling and Sternberg 19%). assumption that This labeliurg of childre11 results from an u~~derlying the skills and cdtural knowledge low-income and minority students bring to school are not valuable (Swadener and Lubeek 1995; Fine 1995; Amold 1995; Payne 19963). From the day childre11 are born they are surrounded. by a social network of family and cornmwity that provides them with a cultural lens through which to see fie world. Pierre Bourdjeu rcfers to this knowledge as cdtural capital (1986)because it exists as a valuable commodity in a mlticultural, world. The cdtural capital acquired by low-hcome and minority children is quite different from that acquircjd by middle-class children. It is the cultural capital of the n?iddle class that is valued in most schools (Mehan, Villanueva, Hubbard, and Lintz 1996; Bsurdieu and Passeron 197'7");students with different cultural capital find that they have bowledge that is v a l ~ ~ eindtheir cornmm~ity but not in school (Pay-tne1998). That low-home and minority students come to s c h d with strengths is rarely given m m than lip service..

Stzkdelrfs lack scv-confrcll, Finally, many school cultures perpehaate a belief that lw-income children must: be c a r e f q controlled and disciplined. 'They mnintain that students lack the sctf-control needed to be successful,and that '"it: you give them m inch, they will take a mile.'?n an attempt to appear culturally sensitive, people will justify punitive discipline and a quasi-military emphasis on order by saying that s t ~ d e ~ ~ t s come from cultures where punishment is not only acceptable but "the only thing they respond tcl'"(Hale 3994). In case studi,es of urban high schools, Fine (1891), McQuillan (1898), and McNeil, (1986) found that urban, low-income, minority students were sjlenced in school in an effort to maintain order and discipline. Mc@tillan and McNeil also fo~lndthat- the quest for cmtrol usually led to lowered expectations for students. Rather than threaten the social. order Zly providing students challcmg% work, teachrrs a s s i p them work they

know the students can already do so that students will not become disruptive. Administrators cmdcme this practice, discourage teachers from taking risks, and limit time and opportunities for stude~ltsto develop a sense of communit)l because t a h g risks and creating commnity threatens the delicate order they find so p ~ c i o u (Mc(ruil1an s 1998: 6).

Assumptions T h t Encourage Acceleration All schocti" communif'y nt.evrrbers sham high academic rixpr.ctlrtiltns fop.all students, A first step to creating a culture that holds high expectations for all studmts is to engage all mernbers of the school community hdeveloping a shared vision for the school, m e that hcludes setting high standards for all students (Filman and Levin 1948). By -aging everyone in this process (e.g., parents, community mernbers, students, teachers, staff, b d d i n g and district ahinistration, fiigher edwcatim representatives, poliitieians), school community mmbers begin to make their assumptions public and openly discuss what they value and assabout s k dent learning. "IItose who might not &uly believe that all students can learn through chiallenging, engaging curriculum and instruction have these assumpticms wstioned by their colleagues and by the success of other schools trhat have adopted a similar philosophy. As the school c m munj.ty embraces the vision, it becomes a ljvjng part of the school, not just a page in an accreditation report. Discussion and dialogue are key to this process. In addition, school cultures that support acceleration expect that all students witl be successful with materials that demartd higher-order thinking, are rich in lang~tage,and have relevance beyond school (Newm m 1996). These schools provide challenging curriculum to all students, support teachersf efforts to teach for meaning, and provide organizational support and adequate resources (Knapp, Shields, and Padilla 1945). It is easy to ask members of a sCI7001 community to expect that all students can learn throlagh chaltengil^lg, relevant curricdum and to expect teachers to teaeh for understadng. However, it: is di,fficult to accomplish this without adequate resources for materials, professional development, and flexihle use of time and resources (Darling-Hammond 1997). Build OH the strengflts students bri~qy.to school. Rather tban dwrlling on wfiat: students do not bring to schsol (e.g., an extensive vocabulary in Standard English, well-developed fine motar skills, pre-reading skifis), schools that accelerate the Learning of students identify strengtbs in all of the student.^ and build on these strengths to develop the skills requircd for successful engagement h school (Hopfederg et al. 1993). From elementary schools to high schools, teachers, admimistrators, and staff mem-

bers build acti:vities and programs around the developmental level of the students (Corner 1988). Early childhood teackrs build on yolang children's natural emccgy, imgin&ion, hquisitivemess, and playfuhess (Piaget 1970; Uarling-Hammond 1997). Middle and high school leachers build an students' growing social wamness, energy, need of affiliation and autonomy' and peer orientation (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development 1988; Phelan, Davidson, and Yu 1998). Effective middle and high schools build on the social and cultural capital the students have acquired, m d they provide access to the social m d cztlttural capital needed for skilled jobs and higher education (Mehan, Villanueva, Hubbard, and Lhtz 1996). Schools that accelerate lear~ningalso view diversity as a strength. Rather than limiting their focus to a narrow set of skills, these schools recognize the complex mix of intelligence studmts k i n g to fie educational experielnce (Gardner 1983; Sternberg 1986; Darling-Hmmond 1997). fn addltim to recowzing th.e importance of individual diversity schools that accelerate learning celebrate the diversity of thinEcing brought about bp the interaction of peape Trom different c u l t u ~ ssocid , classes, and geqraphic arcas. This emphasis on cultural, diversity is not only important: to make members oE minority groups feel valued, it also elncourages the valuing of multiple perspectives (Darijng-Hammond 1997; Banks 1998) and of culture as a nurturing process, not a djvision between people (Wax 1W93).

S t ~ d e t l t sare q e c t e d to learn, rrof to be cut-ttrulled, Visitors to schools in t which shdents are invdved in an active, e n g a g e learning emir t often colnrncnt on Chc hum of activity, the en"fhusiasm students for their work, the lack of any visible disciJ3line rules, and the happy dememor af the students (F an m d Svvmson, forthcoming). This kind af conschool environment exists not because studentsf behavior is ti.ghl.1~ trolled but because students feel a sense of control over what and how they learn.They do not need to engage in a battle with the teacher or the administration over who controls the school. Everyone in the school knows students are at school to learn and that they are responsible for their w n learning and for maintaining a climate in the school in which ail stude~ntscan learn (Wasky Hampel, m d Clark 1997). In addition to providing students an engaging learnhg mvim adult members af the school community make it clear to students that they care at?otll: thcm as individuals (Noddings 1984; Phelan, David,son, m d Cao 1992; Phelm, Davidson, and Uu 1998). In addition, they demonstrate to students that they understand and appreciate their culture (Solomon 1992; iJadson-Billings 1,994). Racial and ethnic minority students arc less apt to resist learning if they feel that teachers and administrators understand their culture and are not afraid af their community

(Foster 197'4; Solornon 1992; Ladson-RilXings 1994). These students attend schools that have close comections with the community and create an ""extaldedfamily" for students so that the high expectations held by the school are supported by th rest of the communi@.

Assumptions Students Hold About Themselves and Their Future Studellts actively participate in shaping school culture, both hdividually and collectively. As individuals, students may want to succeed in school, but as mecnbers of a peer group, they may accept, even applaud, fail~tre.iZs a culturcl that ellcowages and w a r d s jndividualjsm and individuaI accomplishment, most Americans ignore the fact that people act in terms of the m e m h g that is made through social interaction (MCQuillan 19998: 85).

Assunlpt iom That Discourage Accelevaf iot? Stzkdelrfs feel d i S ~ ( ~ ~ ufrom f ~ f eSCI?"(I(II d and society. Many low-income and minority students determine that they do not fit into &&er the school environnnew or mainstream snciety. Students who f,nd themselves in remedial tracks or low-ability groups and studcnts who attend schools that fail to educate large numbers of students feel that they are not: really a part of the school and are unlikely to be accepted wif-;hhthe economic mahstream, Students in low tracks are d e n restricted from participating in extracurricular activities (McQuillan 1998), and they form a sense of community with other students who are not destined to do well in school. IZather &an behave as the rugged hdividual.ists that we idolize in the United States and pull themselves up by their bcrotstraps, most of the students choose to participate as minima:lly as possihle in this system they believe will not help or work for them. I'hrougl~tracking, low-achfeving students are isolated from the fnfluence of higher-achieving students. Those who make obvious their disengagement from school cut themselves off from adults who might help them meet higher academic goals (Mehan, VilXanuewa, Hubbard, and Lintz 19996;;McQuillan 1998).Overtly resistmt studellts attempt to exert power over the system by sendhg the message, ""Vou may not want us, but we don%want you either" (Solomon 1992; Ogbu 1987; Ogbu and Simons 1998). By actively resisting the rdcs and beliefs of the system, these students dismpt the order that is so important to most teachers and administrators,

School is ilnportafzt only to meet piends or prficipate irz sports. For many students, school is a social institution, not an academic one. Ted Sizer

bluntly states, "School" rresidual attraction for many kids is sirngle; it is where their friends arc." "992b: 326). Zn many schools, strtldents find the curriculum dull and meaningless, the adults indifferent or remote, the structure oppxlessive, and the assignments meanjngless. The only engaging aspect of schocrl hvolves the social hteraetions strtldmts create. Social interaction often leads to disengagement from academic pursuits and creation of subcultures that mock academic achievement and further alienate low-achieving studmts from aduts and higher-achieving peers (Solomon 1992; Sizer 1992b; Lee 1994; Mcatillan 1998). Students, especially in middle and high school, usually form. tight friendship circles that are not highly pwous (krenne 3982; Phelan, Davidson, and Cao 1992; Lee 1994,1995)*These groups arc usually very brnogeneous; students of the same racial and e t h i c groups stay together; students oi similar academic ability stay tc,geth"r. Fais social grouping hrtber limits access to alternatlive views on academic acfievement for low-achieving students, IR addition to being a social imtitution, many students find athletics to be the only snurce of posikivc engagement in school. Poor academic performmce and overt resistance to the academic courses by athletes is often tolerated because of their importance on the playing fields (Solomon 1992). Given the limited likelhaod of anyolle making a career in athletics, this is a poor choice. The 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams (Jarnes 1994) vividly illustrates the fragile hope athletics gives to low-income minority students. It folfokvs the d a i y life of two hner-city high school st* dents who hope that basketball will be their route w t of puverty. Neither boy made it close to a prokssional basketball career. Both suffered fmm hattcntion to their acade~nicwork, but they did use basketball to leave the i m r city. The film leaves the viewer asking, if even a fraction of the time spent on the baskethall court was applied to academics, would these boys, like r n m y other alhletes, have benefited?

Sfudentsfeel fhnt Iza olze about tlzenr. Many students believe that no one in their schoctl cares about than, and many of them a s s m e the lack of caring is because they are not good enough or smart enough. Caring adults are prime mcrtiwatcrrs for many students to take learning in school seriously (Darling-Hammond 1997: 173). Both high- and lowachieving students desire caring relationships with teachers, but these students define ""caring" "fferently (Phelan, Davidson, and Cao 3992: 698). Whereas high-achieving student-S describe teachers as cariz~g when they provide assistance in academic matters (e.g., suggegions to improve a paper, help solving difficult math problems), low-achieving students express a desire for direct, person-to-person interaction with teachers (e.g., engagement in conversations, expressions of interest in family and friends).

Although, most teachers choose a teaching career because they care about students, many studmts h d teachers uncaring. tJnfortunatelyf the press of too m n y students, too little time, too little support, addcd to the nuxnbing effect of losing students to apathy, cynicism, md. to other negatke intluences takes its toll on even the most compassionate teachers..Schools, especially middle and high schools, are not structured to encourqc the development of close, casing relationships between adults and students..Most urban high school teachers see between 121) and 150 studel~tsa day (McQtillan 1998: 192), and teachers feel lucky to even h o w the names of all of their students. They are more apt to develop a relationship with a class than with individual students, contributing to students3beliefs that they do not matter as individuals. Just as children are quick to assume that they are at fault when their parents divorce, students assume that teachers do not want to know them because they are not goad enough or smart enough for teachers to take time with them,

Assumptions That Encourage Accelerntio~ All stzcdcrrts c m lear~lfrolrzeach other, For all students to hold high expectations for themselves and others, they must all be give11 equal access to challengi.ng learning environments. This involves eliminating trackng and making ability grouping more fluid while supporti~~g teachers and sludents as they better understand the strengths of all, students.. Students are also more like@ to develop high expectatims fnr themselves a d others when schools provide awenues to break down the social barriers between students. Phelan, Davidson, and Yu (1998) and VVasley, Hampel, and Clark (1997) present case studjcs of adolescents that illustrate how barriers develop between students that are rr.lated to culturaii, Ijnguistic, and efass diiferczmces; these barriers are exacerbated by the structure of schools, Schools that accelerate the learning of ,711 students provide avenues for students to interact with a diverse set of peers in ways that promote a positive exchange of beliefs and opinions. As Stanton-Salazar writes, 'Tor minority children and youth, the abiljty to cross borders, overcome barriers, and resist the violent effects of exclusionary forces has rnuch to do with developing resiliency through supportive ties with pvutective agents zoithin the home and cmmzlnity (1997: 26, italics added). In these schools, teacl-tersand administrators bemme protective agez~ts,and the considerable energy that is spent erossit~gand mahtaining borders is chameled toward understandiflg and buildjng on stmngths of diversity

All stzrtlents: can acquire the social and cult uml mpital needed fa succeed in the zuider sclcilcfy. Mmy sbdents not only need access to chailengkg acade-

mic contmt but also to the cultural and social capital: they will need to make use of what they have learned. Recognizirng that some students need help translating the acadcmic content h o d e d g e inlo productive work or further study, some high schools augment college preparatory courses with special supports so that shdents will have the social and culturat capital nedecl to make best use of this opportunity I'he AVID (Advancement Via Indkidual Determination) program works with high schools to provide such support. Schools participating in AVID make college p~cparatorycowses available to students who dern0nstra.t.e potantial to succeed even thollgh by traditiional masures they would not be eligible for fie college preparatory track, Irn addition to enrollhg in college preparatory courses, students enrol1 h an AVID class that teaches them study skills, skills for entry to college, m d conflict resolution strategies (Mehan, Villanueva, Hubbard, and b t i : 1996: 84-88). The AVfD pmgram also provides a network of resources (social capital), s ~ ~ as c htutors horn local colleges, visits from college recruiters, and interaction with former AVZU studmts whcr are currently enrolfed in college. Wth access to both c~~ltural and social capitd, student acceptance rates at colXeges have been highf m d students are complethg college (Mchan, Wlanueva, Huhlnard, and Lintz 1996). Programs such as the AVID program diminish the selnse of dislocation experienced by many minority studcnts who attempt to cross cultural and class borders (Stantm-Salazar 1997). S f u l f ~ t l fexpecf s adztlts to cilfc?. Possibly the most important hvay that school culture helps students develop hi@ expectations for themselves is by structuring the school to show students that aduits care. In these schools, carhg is not coddlhg; it is caring elnaugh to hold all stude~ntsto high stanbards (Noblit 1993; Wasley, Hampel, and Clark 1997). In these schools, students are giwn a voice (Fine 1991; Mahiri 1998) a d are treated as suhjiects (Le., peope h v h act) rather than objects (i.e., people who are acted upm)(Freire 1970, in FJlhiri 1998).St.udents develop high expectatictns for *emselves by having teachers who care enough to challenge them to work for the intrinsic rekvard of learning rather than rewarding work that the students know is mediocre ( K o h 1993). Schools that accelerate learning develop structures that encotrrage the development of caring rclatimshiys among students and between students and teachers. Teams, tutorials, and " f a d y " "groupings all provide opportunities for people to kxncrw each other as indjviduals rather than as faces in a crowd (Carnegje Comcil on Adolescent Developmernt 1989; Sizer 1992b; Wasley, Harrrpel, and. Clark 1997). These efforts have the effect of reducing the size of otherwise large and impersonal and Croninger 1,995)' thus alowing , schools (Sizer 1992b; f ~ e Smith, students to have an identity to be known by everyone, When adults h

small schools hold high expectations for students, students cannot escape these expectations.

Assumptions Related to Expectations for Adulls (Teachers, Pridpals, and Parents) Adults play an important role in shaping a school's culture, and the school culture shapes the expectations held for addts. Students are direct beneficiaries when their teachers, administrators, staff members, and parents are held to high standards and.are seen as positive inRuences in their lives. M m y adults are connected with schols, but the most important adults for this discussion are teachers, prjncipals, and parelzts.

Assunlpt iom That Discourage Accelevaf iot? Orzly inefective tmckrs zoo& in schools scrcui~zghu-irzccrt~iesttldenfs. What is the irnage of the average teacher working in a school serviw primarily low-income or minorily students? Unfortunately, most people do not think of the best and.the brightest. Descriptions such as "'burned out," "unirzspiringff"knmotivated," and "ill-prepared"' come to mind. Rather expertise and experience have been found to be the most impctrtrant dcterminants of student achievement (Ferguson 1993, in Darling-Hammond 19937). merefore, if student achievement is low, if: is assumed that their teachers are?inferior to teachers of high-achieving students. Excdlent teacbers can be found in nearly all schools serving low-income and minmity students, but these teachers work side by side with medllacre to poor teaehcrs. The school cdture in m y of these schools assumes that rnedjocrity is the norm, and it helps provide a rationale for low achievement of students and poor performance by teachers. 'The coltective culture works to mai,mtain pride in teachers, assuring them that if it were not for "these kids," we would be effective teachers (Metz 1989). State m d district policies and procedures do little to encourage excellent teachers to teach in schools in which they are most needcd. Efforts to contml educational practices f m the state or district level (e.g., accountability mandated teform,, centralized eurricdum) &ten alienate teachers, especidly in schools where teachers feel helpless to meet the mandates because of chronic l w student achievement m d highly politicized envin addironments (Cedoline 19882, in LeCornpte m d Dworkin 1991: 99). X tion, schuois arc emplrzying increasingly large numbers of teachers who are ill p ~ p a r t l dto teach (National Commission on Teaching and America's Future 1996). Since the 1980s there have been few incelztives ta recruit teachers, so many states and districts hire uncertified teachers through "temporary" or "emergency'qdesignatiom (Darling-Hammond

1997). Schools also fjnd it diffjcult to find teachers qualified to teach certain content, especially math and science, and mmy teachers have limited understanding of child development and W to teach cfiildren with special needs, These condie-ionsare worse in usbm and rural schools because of poor working editions and lower pay (National Commfssim on Teachhg and America's Future 1996). What are the expectations of teachers who work in many of our schools serving bw-income, minority students? Unfortunately, teachers are often expected to do little more than fill time, keep order, drill students on skills that will be tested on stmdardized tests, and not ""rck the boat" (Mcmillan 1998).:111 too many sckocrls, teachers artr not expected to take respo~~sibility, be lifelo~~g learners, or reach out to their stdcnts, As WiXliam h e r s writes, ''The structure of schooling combines with a defeatist and cpical school culture to render teachers silent, passive, and powerless" (1992: 15). Teacher burnout is mare prevale~~t hschools serving low-income and minority students because many of these schools have cultures that exacehate the stress, sense of inefficacy and norrnlessness that can be a part of wrking in schools (I.,eCompteand D w o r b 1991). In an effort to be considered ""real" schools, teachers, especially at the high s c h o l level, engage in what they know is a charade. They offer courses with the same titles as those offered hmore afGuent schcrois, but the material covered in the courses is not nearly as challenging (Metz 1998). held by adults and students also rub off The expectations .for stude~~t-s on teachers. As Metz reports from a study of three magnet middle schools, the characteristics of sbdents are often trmsferred to their teachers. She writes, ""Always unspoken was the assumption that if some teachers were "gifted and talented' by association with their students, others were 'inner city teachers' by association with theirsff (1989: 21.5). 'This associatio~~, coupled with low pay and often poor workhg conditions, works against even the most dedicated teachers. As Lecllonnpte and Uworkin state in their book Giving Up t,tz School: Strddc~ntDropozlts ultd Teactl(n Brcmozff.s,"these phenomena [dropping out and burning out] are generated by identical socio-cultural and structural forces, Factors that lead teaehers to quit teaching also cause shdents to drop out of schocrl" (1991: 2). They fhd that alienation triggers both dropphg out m d burning out,

Admi~zislrtafodntle is to hr.?order. If expectations for teachers are to mair~tainorder, fill time, m d prepare students to perform adequately on standardized tests, what are the expectations for principals and other building-level adminjstrdors? It is no surprjse that the crea.t.ion of an cnvironment that fosters student learning is not high on the list. M m y principals behave as compliance officers, enforci~~g mandates and policies

fPom outside of the school (Christensea 1996) and as managers, not leaders (Evans 1996). Principals are also expected to serve as pacemen, ensuring a quiet, orderly, and highly disciplined school (McQuillan 1998; Fine 1991). Mc@illan (1998) provides a vivid description oi the orientation of many principals: If one never knew that Russell High was a school and you happened into the building you might think the school's administrators were actually a squad of police Betecthes. Wearing coats and ties, they walked the school's corridors, stopping students to question them, usually. asking for passes. During lunch, one principal worked the lunchroom, another patrol1ed school grounds, the third remained in the main oi'fice, 53) they could cornmunicate instantly with one another, they all carried walkie-talkies. . . . In brief, controlling students and keeping the building ol-derty were high priorities for RusselYs administrators. (p,62)

The traditimal principalship is a produrt of a bureaucratic hierarchy that leaves principals in the rde of middle manager. Most principals artr expected to carry out decisions made at the state and local level and to make ali other school-level, decisions (Murphy and Ilallinger 1992; Chsistensen 1996). They are not expected to facilitate collaboratiwe decisionmaking among their staff and parents, and few are expected to have expertise in curricullar and instmctjond amas. Wilh pressure from t h state or district to respond to disparate directives (e.g., accountability, insafe schools, better transition ta the workcreased student achieve~~ent, place, drug-he schools, etc.), principals often grab a potpourri of curricular, instmctional, and student behavior reforms and inform their faculty that: thcy need to implement the reforms. Often just as injtialives are beginning to take hold, a new set of initiatives is proposed from on high and the p r i n c i e ~ s p m d s . In mmy schools, prhcipals make little effort ta engage the entire faculty in making decisims. Many principals are not trained ta facilitate shamd decisionmaking, and they have little confidence in their teachers" ability to work col:taboratively and pian effectively (nften because the teachers aXso lack trajning in effective collaborative planning) (Christemen 1996). Principals often inform teachers of decisims made in priat how vate ( s s with a small cadre of loyal supporters) m d are s~~rprised powerless they feel when the teachers' implementation of the plan is not as they expected (Evans 1996: 150).

krekzts do nut pvovi~ieadequate szlpport f i r their ctzildrekz. If expectations for teaehers and administrators are low hmany schools, it is no surprise that: they are especially low for parents..Generations of parents have been bla~ledfor the poor school performance of their children. Labels have changed, but "cufhrrrally efeprivd,'"Qisadvantaged," and ""at risk'" im-

ply that students" homes are lacking because their families, mothers in particulaf tl,uheck 19951,do not pmvide the skills needed to do well in school (Moles 1993; Chavkh 1993; Swadener m d Z,tabeck 1995). Low student achievement is linked to poverq, single parenting, culture, and parental employment. In a survey cmducted by Lubeck and Garrett, school superintmdents and principals summarized their perceptions of the causes of poor student performance: We have large numbers of children who corne from homes with no emphasis on education. . . . Large numbers of youngsters come into school with absolutely no background, either academic or social. . . . Many of our fiveyear-olds corne t c ~kindergarten with minimal experiences and marginal skills, partially due to poor parenting skills. Many parents are ""drop-orats" and lack the know-how and ability to provide quality p~schoofexperiences for their children, . . . Many of aur homes do not offer children the support needed to develop emotionally, socially, and academically. (Lubeck and Carrett 3990: 33G337, in Lubeck 1995: 55)

This focus on student weaknesses precludes understanding the strengths of their families and their cultures (Bilfingsley 1968; Cook and Fine 19%; Amold 1995) and places the blame for the ill effects of poverty and inequity on the victims (Fine 1995; Levin 1986). Families living in poverty bring to school a relationship to many aspects of life (i.e,, material possessions, stxlial interactions, time orientation, and language) that difers from that held by middle-class famili,es (Payne 1998). A lack of parmt involvement in their children's school is a common lament of teaehers and principals. 'This concern is supported by research linklng student achievement with parent involvement (Menderson 1987; Dombusch and Rtter 1988). Haderson found that gairts are especiaily significant cvhcn minority and Iow-income students' parents are involved in their schooling (1987).Teachers and principals in many schools gmdgingly accept fow levels of p a ~ n t a involvement l because they understand that work schedules, transportation, h i t e d edwational level, limited English ability#and an aversion to schools prevent many parents from being involved at t-he schod. They rarely examine their definition of parent- i,nvolvenent to cmsider if a d i f f e ~ n defbition t consjstent with the c u l t u r ~and lifestyle of low-income mimrity parents d g b t bring more invofvement,

Assumptions T h t Encourage Acceleration Teachers are highly tfectiue in the clussroorrt.and 1'71 mii-jtzg decisiolzsfiir lrll slzidents, The portrait painted of teaclrters in schools that discourage acceleration is rather bleak. Forh;lnately, this is not the situation in all schools.

:In schools that accelerate learning everyone makes their blgh expectations for teachers clear during the hiring process, and the school provides a structure m d environment that encourages strong teachers to remaiin at the school and to continue to grow as professionals (Darling-Hammnd 1997; Finnan and Swmsm, forthcoming). Medicrcrity is not acceptable. 'These schools use their resources to hire the best teachers possible and to structure the school to encourage innovative teaching (e.g., reducing class size, teaming, providing mentor teachers, creating alternate schedul511g and student grouping arrangements, etc.) (Darling-Mammond 1997). In other words, teacher excellence is expected. and supported in the school culture. In schools &at accelerate l e a r ~ ~ everyone hg expects all teachers to make decjsims that infiuence every child in th school and to take responsi:bility for these decisions. These schcrols generally have a governmce structurc in place that involves all teachers in malting dccisj,ons a%eeting all students, School reform models such as the Accelerated Schools Project (Hopknberg et al. 1993; E' an, St. J o h , McCarthy, and Slovacek 1996) m d the Coalition of Essen khools (Sizer 1992b) stress the importmce of invoiving all teachers (as well as family, communi.ty, students, and other schlrol staff mernbers) in making decisions. Teachers find that this in decisio~~makhg is time co~~suming, but it builds a level of hvolverne~~t sense of cczlIlegiaXitJs c siveness, m d pTOfessionalim that is missing in many other schools ( and Swanson, forthcoming). Rathers in schools that: accelerate learning remain active, lifelong learners, Through engagement in inquiry, reflection, and. reseasch, teachers are able to influence curriculum and act as professionals in determizling wh& is best for their stdenis (Caltloul-r 19%; St. John, Meza, AllenHaynes, and Uavidsm 1996). The enthusiasm teachers exhibit for their learning rubs off on their students, and students understmd that learning continues throughout life. Possibly the most i q o s t a n t assumption held for teachers is that they are expected to care for shrdmts. As described above, students are more apt to havc high expectations for themselves hvhen they are taught in a caring enviroment. The expectations for teachers insuch schools are not only to care for students but to cart3 mout;h to expect high achievemcynt from all of them (Noblit 1,993; Ladsun-Billhgs 1994), Tracy W d e r (1989) szxntcnarizes the expectation that keeps excellent teachers inthe profession: Teachers usually have no way of knowing that they have made a difference in a child's fife, even when they have made a dramatic one. But for cKldren who are used to thinking of themselves as stupid or not worth talking to or deserving rape and beatings a got& teacher can provide m astonishing revelation. A gocd teacher can give a child at Ieast a chance to fee! '‘Size thinks I'm worth samething, maybe f am," Good teachers put snags in the river af children passing by, and over the years, they redirect hmdreds of fives. (pp. 312-313)

Adnzinistmtclrs fncilitnte

65 ICIRrniflg ~onlmunity. High expctations for administrators no longer equak to mainta g a quiet, efficient school but =search to cuitivatjng a school culture of high expectat.ions for all. Rece~~t is clear that school administrators play an important role in shaping school cultures (Evms 1996; Deal and Peterson 1998; Peterson and Deal 1998) and that such cdtures call upon different characteristics than traditional managerial administrators (Christensen 1996; Mirns 1996; Evans 19%). 'The top-down managerial model of the past is clearly not effective in schools comitted to holding all mennhers of the school comxnw~ityto high standards and to involving everyone in decisionmakng (Christmsen 1996; Evms 1996). Evans states that ""authentic leaders build their practice outward front t h i s core comrnitmenks ralher than inward from a management text" "(1996: 193). They have both ixrtegrity and savvy, using their personal integriv to engage in practical problem solwing. Deal m d Peterson (1998) suggest several actions principals c m take to Olre includes understanding the school, shape successful school cult.-. both past and present. To u n d e ~ t m dthe schcrol, they suggest that the prinbo& e a historian to understand the importmt r i t ~ ~ astories, ls~ cipal b e c o ~ ~ hems, and vitlains of the past m d an anthropdogist to understmd the beliefs, values, and assumptions of the present. They also suggest making eveqolle inIhe school a bader, which invokes recognizimg a wide range ofleaderhip rolesf some of which are visible whik others are symbolic.

Fanzilics love their children a ~ will d do what the!/ thilzk is best f i r them. Schools "chat accelerate learnjng are open and accepting of all family members. RRembers of the school community understand the hardships r e to poverty and inequity, but they do not asmany families e ~ ~ d udue sume that poverty and hardship create dysfunctionality ( P a p e 1998). As the chapkrs in Smdener and Lubeck's ChiMrm u~zdFa?lzili~?s ""At Pmlnisc." (1995) describe, the assumption that poverty single parenting, maternal employnent, m d minoritJi status automatically lead to failure blames the victim and potentidly harms more than it helps. Schocrls that treat li on an assumption that the poor, minority fmilies as "'at promiscz" "bud family members love their children and want the best for them, Cultural. diffewnces, fear of letting children go, and suspicion of the white middle class often lead to adversarid relationships (Cook m d Fine 1995). 'These reiationships can be turned a r w d through better understanding of the communities h which families live and of the cultures families bring to the school and though demonstration of true caring f t l r al)children (Ladson-Billings 1994). Schools that accelerate the learni~~g of all students hclude students entails. and fmiiy mernbers in determining cvhat "family involveme~~t" As pamnts, teachers, and studcnts work together to develop an understanding of how, when, and where families are best invoived in their chil-

dren" schooling, the circle of blame for poor achievement can be broicen. This unlierstmding of involvement includes knowing that im some cultures it is disrespectfd for parents to "'challenge the authoritfkof the teacher (Yao 1993). En addition, in some communities parents do not attend evening meetings because they fear for their own or their childrenfs safety il they leave home (Cook and Fine 1,995). In other situations, language differences, lack of formd educaticzn, and. lack of c o d o r t in schools must be avercome (Moles 1993). %hools that accelerate learning find ways for family m e ~ ~ b eto r sbe involved in their children" learnkg that are within the limits of their available time and resources and that build on family mc.mbersf strengths.

Assumptions About Educalional Praclices That Are Considered "Acceptable" Although the bulk of all teaching occurs in hdividud classrooms, the school culture shapes the assumptions held by teachers, parents, admin&out what is acceptable classroom practice. 'The istrators, and stude~~ts school structure, both in terms of how time is used and how classrooms and gracle levels are grouped and organized, dirwtly inflwncee; each child's ecfucational experience. 'The school; culture also indirectly inAuences what teachers do in their classroms. Chapter 7 discusses in depth the characteristics of classroom cdture that make each classroom unique. Despite cansidera:ble differences between classrooms, the school cdture determines if classrooms fit into a uni.fied whole or if they stand alone as isolated islmds. h all schools a few teachers do not share the basic assumptions about the educational practices that are considered acceptable, but the majority do, and they find comfort and support inthe school culture for their beliefs.

Assumptions TIzat Discourage Accelrra tion Schools are sfrzlctureir fo mailzfgin order and provide '"upprclpriafcr" educatz'cn~ to all. Many schools are structured to provide little more than minimal learning to Xarge nurnbers of students, reserving more stimulating learnjng e~~vironments for those students identified as gifted asld talented. By sorting, labeling, and grouping students, the school is struct w d to provide a wide varic?ty of educationai experiences, from very stimlating (reserved for thme identified as gifted and talented) to uninspired repetition of basic skills (reserved for those identified as slow learners) (Tomlinson 1996). Often those students who are sorted into the lower-track courses cantinue to fad. Their failurcs are rarely attributed to the educational practices used to teach them but to their lack of ability. With the "medicaliza-

tion"' of low achievment (Franklin 19941, most low-achieving students are eventually tested for learning disabilities. Those who are found to possess these disabilities casry the label of reading or learning disabl.ed through their school career (Spear-Swerling and 5tern:berg 1996). Students benefit from special education piacements when the placements help overcome their disability However, researchers have found that special education teachers hold much lower expectations for students" growth in reading than do =medial reading teachers (Allington and Li 1990; McGill-Franzen and Jacnes 119911; McGill-Franzen 1994, in SpearSwerling m d Sternberg 1996: 11).Because of low expectations, students often develop ""learnedhelplessness" because they lower their expectations for themselves (Diencr and Dweck 1978; Mlnng 1991, in Spear-Swerling and Stemberg 1996: 1.0). 'fhis practice of sorting students by ahifity not only denies many s b dents an opportunity to learn in a stimulatbg enviro ent but also sorts students by race, ethnicity, and.social class. In many schools, sorting students effectively segregates students withirr a school. Weelock uses data from the Nationd Educational Longitudinal Survey of 1988 fSNEZ,S1988) to show that ""Africm-American, Latino, Native American, and low-income eighth gmders are twice as likely as white or upper-income eighth graders to bc in remedial math cotlrsesff(1992: 9). The structure of the scf7ooJ.day afso influences educational practices. In many schools, especialiy middle and high s c h d s , the bell determfnes instructional practices. Students see five to ten teachers in set blocks of appmxhateIy forty minutes. Within this time period there is little opportunity to engage in extmded dialogue or deep exploration of suhjects (%er 1992a; McQuillan 1998), Teachers are concerned about "eoverage," and students become increasingly passive. Students move through a sea of divergent topics and teaching styles and find that their cmly anchor is a locker located in a hallway teeming with other &uden,ts (Darlhg-Mmmmd 1997). a a p p , Shields, m d Padilla found that ""leaching for meming" was least likely to happen in elementary schools with a great deal of stude~ztmovelnent throughout the day and in districts that emphasized the learning of discrete skills (2995: 164). State and district policies that shape the size of schools and classes have a direct influence on educational practices. Driven rnorc by budgetary concerns than by research on effective practice, djstricts create large schools, prcrcetising as many as 3,1100 students a day. In thczse schools, teacl-cers see as malzy as 1151) studelzts a day and feel fortunate to at least know the nannes of all of their students (Darling-Hamond 1997). We hawe &wady discussed the effect of large schools on students" expectatitms for Chemselves, but large schools and classes also lead to educational practices that are unlikely to stimuXate students. It is difficult for teachers to engage large nun-tbers of students in discussion, inquiry,

and exploration and for t h s e teachers to work as members of teams with other teachers tcr plan for meaningfial instruction. Top-down governance and autocratic decisiomaking inRuelnce Ml)nat is cmsidcred acceptable educational practice. h3 many schuois, decisions about curriculum and instruction are made at the district or state level. Principals are expected to oversee implementation of these decisions ( h a p p 1997). l["eachershave little say in what they teach, relyhg on the closed door to exert their influence over curriculum and instruction. S k dents and parents have ever3 less jnfiuel~ce.

Skidmts and subjects are sorled and sqmrated. Most educators assume that learning is an orderly progressior~of acquisitim of skills and facts, from basic to more advanced ( h a p p 1995a; Darling-Hammund 1997). When the basics do not come easily to children, they are separated from others to work on these basic skills. This sorting, or ability grouping, us~lally places students in permanent tracks with students of similar ability. Anna's a d Richard"~schods are m a p l e s of this practice. Anna is a m n g a smaXI nuntber of stlldelrts who, became they mastered basic skils easily, have the opportunity to develop more advanced skills. Prior to enrollment in the "accelerated fifth" class, Kchard, like other sbdents in the lower-abiliq groups, received a heavy dose of instruction that many feel is apprclpriate: [Children] need more control and structuring from their teachers: more active instruction and feedback, more redundancy, and smaller steps with

higher success rates. This will mean more review, drill and practice, and thus more lower-level questions. Across the schoc~lyear, it will r a n exposure to less material, but with emphasis on mastery of the material that is taught and on moving students khrc~ugfrthe curricuium as briskly as they are able to progress. (Brophy and Good 19236: 365, in Mnapp, Shields, and Turmbull 1995: 183)

Strudents lose interest in school when they are separated into classes that emphasize basic skills. This is especiauy damaging to students as they mature. Lounsbury and Clark nute that an emphasis on rote m m o rization of basic skills is especially deadening in middle schods, since by the eighth grade nnost students can consider alternative solutions to problems and imagine cmseytlences of a variety of actions. They can make plans and think ahead, and they uneierstand multiple perspectives and consider different points of view (liounsbury and Clark 7.990, in VVlheelock 1992: 11). In addition to focusing on the acquigtion of basic skitfs, su"ojects are typicdy taught in isolation from each other, Even in elemem.t.aryschools where students remain with the same teacher all day, there are rarely connections drawn between what is learned in each subject area. The-

matk units and efforts to integrate the curriculum are often discouraged because this f o m of teaching is seen as less effective in preparing students for stmdardized tests. Midde and high sehoo teachers rarely attempt to integrate curriculum. Studies of bi& schools typically describe a studmt's day as a patchwork of unrelated classes. Studmts move from topic to topic, teacl-ting style to teaching style; they are expected to rnake the comections and find relevance in what is being taught (Sizer 1992a; Phelm, Davidson, and Cao 1992; McQuillan 1998). Tcachi~zgis an acf af tms-zsrrrissiclrzof ktzcrwfedgefram teacher to sftrdenf. In schocrls that discourage acceleration the admi~~istration rewards transmission teaching and maintenance of order. Transmission teaching involves a teacher in front of the room transmitting hformatiun to a group of students. The students are in various states of attention, or lack of attentio~~. Some listen attel~tively;some are clearly hanother world, while others are actively engaged in other actkities (e.g., completing homework for mother class, writkg notes, talking to friends). Teachers are often aware that: this mode of teaching does not reach all students, but everyone in their school expects them to engage in this kind of leaching, and few teachers resist for the follow* reasms: Transmission teaching is much simpler, Teachers can ""gt through" texts and tzrorlxbooks, CIassroom routines are straightfcjward; controls are easier to enforce, There is a sense of certainty and acc~mpXishmentwhen a lecture has been given, a list of facts cc>vered,or a chapter finished, even if the result is little learning far students. When a teacher has t r a n s ~ t t e dinformatian, it is easy to say '2taught thatw-efien when students have not learned it. Active learning situations infuse more rmeertainty into the teaching process. (Darling-Harnrnond 1991;":13)

The pat-i;c.mof providing whole group, direct instmction foflowed by individual seatwork consisting of worksheets and review of textbook chaptms has a long history and a loyal following in the United States. 111 some cases, when lcctures are stintulding and seatwork is well plmned and challrmging, this form of instruction is powerful (Hirsch 1996), but most often shtefents find it dull, frrelevant, and repetitious. Stuknts are unable to become engaged in Ihe material and ideas because trhejr role in the learnjng is passive, 'They arc unable to build on their natural hclination t o w d group or collaborative learning (a skill f o d to be in demand in industry) (Secretary" Commission on Aclhievixlg Necessary Skills 1991; Darling-E-Xarnmond1937). When it is assumed that the teacher is solely responsible for the transmission of knowledge, classroom management ennghasizes maintenance of quiet and ordcr, often to the pojnt of creating an oppresske environment (R/IcCollum 1995). In these classes, little joy in learning is evieient,

and the balmce between teacher talk and student talk large@ favors the teacher (McCollum 1995). To retain the attention of t w n t y to thirty s b dents, teachers often find themselves devoting a great dcal of time to quelling disruptive behavior and to bringiq students who have "lost hcus" back to the topic.

Assumptions T h t Encourage Acceleration The scfiaol strrrctalre g i m ~all students a(;Cess fo challe~zgilzglear~ifzgenvimrzrrzents. In scbools that accelerate learning, students are placed in classes according to what they can contribute to the class, not because of a label that has been applied to them, As Wheelock writes, "students are sorted by collective strtlngth not by weakness" (1992: 16) Heterogeneous gnruping and detracking is not merely a mechanic& task of randomly assig~~ing students to classes,.In schools that accelerate learniing?administratim and teachers are careful to group students for "productive diversity'" and to provide teachers and shldents the support they need to make heterogeneous grouping s~~ccessful. All teachers in these schools are provided the professional development, assistance horn =source or mentor teachers, peer suppc~rtteamsI m interventions needed to reach all students. Large schools determined to accelerate the learning of students often create smatler units witbin tbe school. In this way teachers can work pmductively with each other, and students develoip a sellse of community with each other and with their teachers. Stmctures of this kind can be found in schools associated with the Coalition of Essenl;ial Schools (Sizer 1992a), the AVID program (Mehan, ViXlitnueva, Hubbard, and Lintz 1996), and in Philadelphia as part of the Philadelphia Schools Collaborative (Fine 1994). Efforts to reduce the size oE the units, provide common cllrriclnlurn for all students, and build close working relatims among faculty reflect the extensive literature on the positive effect of m a l l schools, :111 particular, student achievewnt (especially for low-income and minority sttzdmts) innproves when sludents learn in smaller, more d i m a t e environments (see Lee, Bryk, and Smith 1993for a review of the literature), The kind of educationd strategies that accelerate leamfng rewire flexibilit-y in the use of t i m and resources (Newmann et al. 1994; Knapp, Shields, and Padilla 1995; Sizer 1992b). Students and teachers need time to engage in inquiry, discussion, and ~nection.Rigid forty-minuteblocks are not amenable to fostering deep, sustained thought and djscztssion. Schools that accelerate learning have developed structures that allow this Aertibility flarling-Ha ond and cdleagues, in a study of =source allocation, found that the most productive schools follow three organizationaI p*iples: elimination oi the division between planners and doers; organization of teams of staff (including classroom teaehers, specialists,

special education teachers, teaching assistants) who are responsible for a group of students; and development cif a calendar allowing shdents and teackrs to spend more time in fewer dasses each day parling-Mmmond 1997 179-180).

Teaching m u l f s in urzdersCa~zding,uclf in skills acquisitiol~, Since these beliefs are primarily mmifttsted in the classroom, these issues will be discussed im more depth in Chapter 2.However, school-level assumptions shape what happens in classrooms. Everyone in most schools that accelerate learning share a ""culture of inyuiry" eencourag4ng all school c m munit;v membcrs to engage in ongoing researclh or inquiry into i m p v ing student learmg. CoXlectlve inquiry i s a key feature of sehoo reform projects such as the Accelerated Schuols Project (FJopfenberg et al. 1993; an,St. John, McCarthy, and %vac& 1996), the Coalition of Essential Schools (Sizer 1"32b), and the School Development Project (Corner 1988). In the Accelerated Schools Project, school community members form cadrtls (small working groups) designed to conduct inquiry into prohlelns in student achievement. mrougk cadre work, teachers become familiar with researchislg the cause oi prclblems and the most effective solutions rather than jmping at convenient sciluticms. As teachers become more farniliar wi& the process, they d e n adapt it for use in thcir classrooms. As inquiry takes hold, these schools tmly become "communities of inquiry'" (St. John, Meza, Mlen-Haynes, and Davidson 1996). ch Without a governance structure and decisionmakhg process s ~ ~ as this in place, it is diffjcuultfor people to make the deep changes in conceptuaiizing the teaching and learning process =wired to accelerate the learning of all students (Elmore, Peterson, and McCarthey 1996). As Darling-Hammond writes, ""complementary goals and.supports must be present throughout the entire school environment-and, ideally, understood and supported in the home-if the habit of ulndcrstanding is to be developed across domains and disciplilres, Lone ranger teaching cannot enable students to become cornpet& thinkers and decision makers as well as constructive human beings" 0997: 187). &app, Shields, and PadiIla reach the same cmdusion in their study of teacbing for maning in high-poverty classrooms. They conclude that cciliegial, supportive staffs encourage teaching fnr measling by providing advice, consult-ation, materials, trouble-shooting, and curriculum direction to each other (1995: 166). Darling-Hammarrd (1997) delirzeates nine key features of school envients that she found in schools that teach for understanding. These et al. (1995) in their features artl consistent with those found by -pp stlldy of teachilng for meaning and by Newmann et ale (1996) in their study of authentic achievement. Darling-Hannmond's key features are summarized in Box 6.1.

6

acthe m-~i'epthkeartzing. Scl-tool cultures encourage a focus on core concepts

so that students can engage in in-depth inquiry into subjects and can demonstrate tl~eirknowledge of thc subject in a mcaningfu-ulway. Teachers arc evaluated on their ability to skillfully manage activity-based Learning rather than content coverage, In addition, time is structured to allow far meaningful snzphasis on authent2c performn~zce. Studel-ttsthroughout the schoot arc expected to demonstrate tl-reir knowledge in authentic performances that account for the audience and are iudged tl~roughmultiple criteria. The school community supports efforts to move from norm-referenccCf multiple-choice standardized tests to criterion-referenced rests that allow students to demonstrate how they think as well as what they know af~precktio fir ~ d i v e r ~ z ~The . school prclvides ongoing suppclrt for teachers to learn ta use diversity to their advantage in structxlrixlg thc learning environment, in selecting instructional strategies, and in seiecting the curriculum, The school also demonstrates a commitment to keeping all students in the regular classroom, attetztio~to devekc~prne~t, The school culture focuses on making the school ""user friendly" by buildir-rgon students' normal devejopment and usi~lgthelr energy to learn what is devetopmentally appropriate for them. This involves ongoing discussion of child and adoicsccnt dcvctopme~~t and makil~gcurricular decisions that respect the wide variety in normal devetopment. npportazlnities for coEE~borativeEe~nai~zg, The schoot culture values classrooms that are a buzz of productive talk and redprocal teaching. These schools encourage all teachers to be skilled in establishing collaborative g o u p s in cIassrooms and to engage in collaborative work outside of the 6

a collective perspectiue across the sc13oc~E.Schools develop sl-tared goats, standards, and assessments, which are enacted collectively. Teachers are given the opportunity to make important decisions about liow and what ro reach and are also held responsible for the outcomes of these decisions, To make these decisic~nseffectively, scboots have a governance structure and decisionmaking process in place that involves all school cornrxzunity members, structtdres for carifag, Sct-~oolshave in place processes that promote trusting and respectfui relationships "atween and among adults and students, They design structures to provide the most personalized learning experiences pclssible, and they encourage the use of curriculum that develops respect and emsupport for denzacratzc Ee~nai~zg, Sct-~oolsmodcl democradc tearntng by including aXt scl-tool community members in dedsion~~zaking. Con~rnuniry members' ideas and beliefs arc heard and valued, and multiple avenues for involving the entrre cotnmunity in sl-rared activities are maintained. con~zectzonsLB family nrzd conznztl~zi~y. Scf-~ools create true partnerships with families and comlnunities and involve family members in tl-te studentsyearning process, FainiIy rnernbers and teacl~ersdevelop shared goals for each student that arc consistent with the standards set at the scllool level and the norms and expectations held in the home, (Darting-Hatnmond 1997:

Assumptions About Iht Value of Change C:hapter 5 discusses broad issues of culture change. The following discussion concentrates on the impact that assumption-about the value of change have on schooIwide efforts to accelerate the leaming of all skrdents.

Assunlpt iom That Discourage Accelevaf iot? Rcsist all change. A large body of literature on school reform. describes fajled attempts to change schools (Cuban 1990, 1992; "rjrack and %bin 1994; v a c k and Cuban 1995; Sarason 1996; F ~ ~ l lmmd Hargreaves 1996). These efforts fail for many reasons (i.e., failure to involve school-level personnel in their design, neglecting to exarnine the fit between the Eform, in3iative and the exjsting schanl cz~1ture,and a lack of resowces follow-up support). Even when schools want to implement the reform, they often shape it in ways that render it unrecognizable to the refclm designer (Berman and McLaughlin 1977; Jelmings and Spillane 1.996;). In addition, school culkrc plays a conservative role in maintaining the status qua."Tradition plays a large role in schools, m d teachers and adminjstrators often conlinue practices that ace ineMective because they are familiar and because there arc few rewards for taking risks (Tyack and Cuban 1995; Sarason 1996). Change and risk taking requirr-?time, reflection, and open discussion, commodities that are rare in most schools (Fullan and Hargreavcs 1.996). Given the conservative nature of culture and the lack of opportunities for collegial discussim, schools rarely change in any sig~nificantways solety from their owl7 initiative (Tyack m d Cuban 195351; Sarason 1996). Even wben teachers or adminfstrators initiate change, factions within the school often engage in overt or covert actions to thwart the change. For exannpk, Datnow (1998) describes how a group of self-described "good old boys" used gender pdftics to stop efforts to detrack a high school. The cornbindion of rclsistance to chaslge from outsid,e, in,ternal micropolitics, and limited opportunity and incentive to cbange from within keep many schools rnired in mediocrity Systmit. cha~zgeis i?~lpossible. Given that school cultures tend to resist changes proposed from outside and legitimate the status quo, major systemic ehanges are rare, Tyack and Tobin (1.994) and Tyack and Cuban (1995) describe what they call the "'grammar of schooling" or the persistence of practices*Tyack and Cuban write: &ce established, the grammar RE schQ~Iingpersisted in part became it enabled teachers to discharge their duties in a predictable fashion and to cope

with the everyday tasks that school boards, principals, and parents expected them to perform: controlling student behavior, instructing heterogeneous pupils, and sorting people for future roles in school and later life, Habitual institutional patterns can be labor-saving devices, ways to organize complex duties. Teachers and students sarialized ta such routines often find it difficult to adapt to different structures and rules. Established institut.ic>nalfc~rms come to be understcysd by educators, students, and the public as necessary features of a ""real school.'Tihey become fixed in place by everyday custom in schaols and by outside forces both legal mandates and cultural beliefs, until they are barely noticed. They become just the way schools are. (1995: 86)

Deepl. sydemic crihange is difficult because it calls for chmge h what we accept as "real schoot." Efforts to make changes of this kind rarely succeed. It is much s&r m d easier to ""t~ker~, with the current system, senling for snnaller changes. S o w school reform advocates, in fact, suggest that these smaller changes are preferable to fostering systemic changes. Strldelzt achievement WOUM ilfzpmue father people changed, Most people are reluctant to change even though they wmt to irnpmwe and grow. As the adage states, "People want to go to heaven but they don't want to die." We want to see improvements, to grow, to make schools better for students, but we resist c h q i n g routines and comfortable practice?; (Evms 1W6). me11 students do not learn, too often the circle of blame beg4ns. Parents point their fingers at teachers; teachers have a wide range of people tcr blame-parents, other teachers, administratcrrs, and central hstioffice. Administrators blame parents, teachers, teaeher preparatio~~ tutions, and state and district policymakrs. Rarely do we collectively look at our own role in poor student achievement and examine what everyone could du to make schools better for a11 students (Schtechty 1"397), There are many reasons why teachers resist personal change. Many veteran teachers have been hvolved in prior change efforts that: failed. Those who support& the chmges became disillusioned, and those who resisted felt justified in their resistance ('Tyack a d Cuban 1995). Teachers may d s o resist change for reasons that have nothjng to do with, thc value of the proposed change. Most veteran teachers are middle-aged, a period. cJf life when chmge is not as welcome as in earlier years. Middle-aged teaders are dealing wi& cr:hanges outside of work (e.g., aging parents, children leaving home) and find solace in the sense of competency they have htheir work (Evms 1996; Fulian and Hargreaves 3996). "Tb sutjgest that: they need to chmge dest-mys their sense of competence and d h h ishes their sense of professionalism.

Assumptions T h t Encourage Acceleration Chul~gc.will lead f-o inymmd achievement for all sflad~tfs. tlnderlying the culture of all schools that accelerate learnjng is hope and optimism that change can lead to improwement. Michael Fullan writes that school reform, is possible if we build on emotion and hope. Mope, hc explains, is y view of life, It is the capacity not to panic FR tight situations, to find ways and =sources to address difficdt problems'"(4.997: 221). People who are?hopeful or optimistic tend to see problems as ehallenges and are energized by the opportunity to find crclative solutions to problems. Fullan couples hope with emotion, recognizhg that crihange is m e ~ ~ o tional process-negatively emotional if there is no hope, positkely if there is. When the emotional side of change is recognized, productke roles are available to all actors, from the enthusiasts to the resisters" Resisters represent emotional energy that when achowledged and seriousiy cmsidered pmvides beneficial critical scrutiny of change propospositive and negative als. Fullan cmthues, "Fhding a way to reco~~cile emotion is the key to releasing energy for change" ((1997: 223). By using change to keep hope alive a d rc-rcognizing the emotions involved in change, schools can truly make change their kiend (Finnan 1996).

Posikiw changes are possible wken they are supported intr!rr?czllya~zdcxterually. As described above, school cultures are by nature conservative. Cultures protect and justify traditional behavior and attitudes, For this reason, it is very difficult for a school community to sustain systemic change that orighates solely from within the school, and it is easy to resist change that is imposed from outsidc, Schools that embrace change as a po"itivo force successfully combine influences from the outside into that exjsts w i t h the school. At; Tyack and Cuban wi.t.el the cult'"Rather than stasting from scratch h minventing schools, it makes most sense to us to graft thoughthl =forms onto wbat is healthy in tbe present. system" ((1995;133). Successfut school reform initiatives such as the Accelerated Schools Project, the Coalition of Essential Schools, and the 5chool Development Project provide a philosophy of school improwement and a structure for enacting this philosophy, but this philosophy and structure is permeable enough that each school can shape it to its existing cdture..

Peusut-tal eizange is chnllengi~gand in~i~pumfint~. Schools that accelerate the leamhg of all sbdents encourage all community members to see change as an hvigorating crihalfenge. Rather than avoiding chmge and clinghg to the familiar, peoplc in schools that accelerate learnhg welcome oppor-

tunitics to learn, grow, and cbange, A schoolwide climate of trust is essential in fostering Lhis attikde. People are wiILing to take risks and experintall with new ways of thinking and doing if they can trust their colleagues to support their efforts (Knapp, Shields, and PaLtilIa 1995; Fulilan and Fliargreaves 19%; Evans 1996). Collegial suppmt entails an open exchange of ideas, questions, and concems; a collegial ewiso ages constructive critique as well as support and assistance pullan and Hargreaves 1996). In addition, people who w i h g l y participate in changing a school's culture find a Fulfilliz.tg balance between their work m d the rest of their life. Those who devcrte all of their time and energy to school are apt to burn out and become eik.her cynical or apathetic. With a hea1Pt.t~balmcc between work and outside jnterests, they retaixl their energy and enthusiasm (Fullan and Hargreaves 1996; Fullan 1997). In a truly colegial enwironment, school community members move in and out of leaderhip roles in response to changing dcrnands outside of work and to allow for renewal, reflection, and rededication (Evans 1996).

Moving Sthool Cullure Toward Acceleration The preceding describes sets of assumptions that shape a school" aabili.tfi and wiflinpess tc:,accelerate learning for all students. In s o w schook, the assumpt.ions have a powerful hhdering eti;?et, negating any individ-. ual effort teachers, principds, or parents initiate to make accelerated learning available to all c h i t b n , Conversely, in other schools, different. assumptions support and facilitate e%ortsto chmge educational practice, attitudes, and beliefs. What do schools do to create a culture that supports such change? Chapter 8 p v i d e s a more detailed description of hlrhat il-tdividuals can do to change school cultures, but the following are some collective actions a school c m take. First, the school community members can make explieit their commitmetnt to accelaati.ng the learning of all ci.rildrcn. By doing so, they take seriously the process of settkg a vision and standards that will challenge all children, h addition, they c m establish a governance structure and decisionmaking process that facilitates open communication, reflection, risk taking, and inquiry, As described above, sorne schools have done this independently Many others have found that involvemelnt in =form projects such as the Accelwated khclols Projectf Cmlitim of Essential Schools, and the School Development Prcrject provide both philosophical support for their commitment to raising the bar for all students and a process for makhg this happen. Second, schools that accelerate learning must carefully tend to the changes they initiate. 'To rr-?turntc:,the anaLtgy introduced in Gapter 5, tc:,

successfully change school culture, the change must be cultured or cultivated. This involves ensuring a rich growth mdium. Change will never ""takeroot'" ssehools without a shared commitant- to the change and pmper supports for it (e.g., professional development, t h e , flexibilily). Careful tmding cJf the chmge invo1ves years of sugpor2. and nurtufir~g. Change initiatives can begin in a rich growth medium, but without ongoing coaching, mentoring, and other support, they are likely to die. Finally, tending chmge can also invol\.e strategic '"pruning."' %hods that acce1era.t.e the learning of all students cor~stantlyevaluate the e1:rC:ectiveness of the actiosls they initiate. Zf these actions lose their effectiveness, the school community understands that it is time for some pruning. 81though this process is not easy, a school culture cornntitted to accelerating the learning of ali students can make it happen.

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WestviL.~Elenlendnry School%theme.for the ten~ris cooperafiots,All clussrcrorrt.s ifztegrate ifzstmctio)~ around this theme. Sara'sfourth grade dnssmom has bee^ reading lames and the Giant Peach, am! tlzcy w . ~tot illustrate to the school how m e s and his ca~~~putriofs had to c w p e r a f ~ safely o travel a c m s the ocean. The clnssroo~~i has bee11 tmnsfomed into a ginn t peach, Tlllc mom is tentrcd in ma~.zge~ a ~ hrge d insects art?attached 50 the rualfs. Cmtrps of stz~dcrztsare bl~silyat wt?rk on several pvu?;ects,Some students are preparkg n newspaper with articles on the iqortalsce of coopemfiolir zorittm porra the perspedive of ea& @the tmvelm. Offlerstl~liimfshcrve choscl.r tofinrs orz how nature cirqemted with Iames. They are plt?f.ti~z,l: the cirztrse of the peach across the ocealz, taking ilzto nccoulst the ilrflzience Ofruipld C L I P T C ~ Z ~hailsfortrls, S, and min. Ar?ot!zer grctup of st u h t s was impressed with the klpfztlness of pmplc. "iohe~zthe peach. arrivccf,and they are s f n d y i q other examples of how Arrrericnlzs ftave coirpemted to find homes fir other r4ugre5, Sarn is p r f L$ a gmzry wouk-i~zgwith the mzcsic feacher Co zorifr.and peqonrr a l ~opem describing c o o p e ~ ation duri~zgthe pm& journey. Paxnfs come and p; seueval muthem are plnnning a pmch party complete with p~?achnectar, peach pit., am! peach ice c m m , The party coilzcides wifl.r a health tsnii: an lzlctrition a d the importrz~sce$ a bdanced dkt. A hum afilctim sttldmt micesfi'lls the mor~t..All ~flldents,fj%lrtt. those ru!lo love to read to t h s e z17Czo struggle zc~ifizreadi~zg,are engaged it.z the pmjeets and crzthsisiasficnlly rt?adi~zgthe nouel, The kucher moves fmm group to group asking

s f zldmfs to e v b b z their projec fs, challe~sgit~g them f o m k lii.~list o other thirzgt; they have learned, and to do their persorznl best. From time to time she cmszllts the state c o n f e ~sinndarcls t gz-1idi~zgthe fourth grnde ctarriczrlzim to be s~srt.sfndefzts a~focalsedon importm~ttmsfmland are lear~inglzeftded skills., Stzrdents are assessed c~ntintlotlslyorz readi~zgcomp~henskn,clarity of wriii~g,and persuasive speaking. Knnu.?ledegained related to nzafh, sciencef alzd social sfndjl"s

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is tied i~ztoother lessons and assessme~zts.Sara's feaclzer and the mtlsic teaekr collnbamte daily on the peach opem. Other trcnclters visit the room looking for idegs ancl oferil.28 sgiggestiol~s;after school S a d s teachrr jclir~sa peer s~ippwb. team to research additional resuurcesfor their focris on eauperntton,

'The argument for making deeper changes in the school culture is supported by research on the limited success of many school restructura efforts. This researclh (Tyack and Cuban 3995; Elmore, Rtersm, and MCCarthey 1W9; Sarason 1996) s ~ ~ p p o rtwo t s conclusions. 'The first, dealt with in the prccedin.g cbapter, is that ~sfmctzdringdoes not extend deeply enou$ into the school culture; deeper cultural change must occur. The second, the hcus OE this chapter and the logical extemsjom of the first conclusion, is that cultural change cannot exist only at the school level but must occur at the classroom level. As the above exalnple illustrales, Westview Elementary kfiool supporb accelerated learning, but it is in classrooms such as Sara" where "the rubber meets the road.'' The bulk of student learning in any schcrcrl takes place ill a clmsroorn. W e & e r ~ f e r r e dto as powerfd learnin; (Hopfel~berget al. 1993; KeIIer and Huebner 1997), authentic achievement (Newmann, ScarSa, and Wehlage 39%; :Newm et al. 1996)teaching for mderstanding (Cohen, blcLaughlin, and TaIbert 1993; Darling-Mmmonct 1997), teaching for meanhg ( h a p p et al. 1995), or culbrdly rtrlevant teaching (Ladson-BiLlFngs 1994), it is the nabre of the irmterac'tion bemeen teachers, students, m d academic content that creates a classroom culture. Classroom cultures share the three characteristics that were already prtrsented as defir~ingcharacteristics of school cultum. First, there are asp e t s of every classroom culture that are sirnultaneollsiy universal and unique. Just as you can walk into almost any school and recognize that it is a school, classroams share common features that are mdeniably those of classroom. For example, classrooms are typically &out the same size and are shaped so that the teacher can bays see all of the students, They have desks or tables and chairs. Shdents always ouhumber adults, typicdy by a ratio of betwell 15-35 students to 1 teaher. As is the case with schools, each classroom is ranique, ~Rectirtgthe teaching style and interaction patterns negotiated between the teacher and the students. Second, classroom cultures, like school cultures, are both stable and ever cbmg4ng. Patterns of interaction between the teacher m d students are predictable; a basic scope m d sepence in teaching varies little from year to year, Within this buhhle oE stllbility, fiocvever, classroom cultures change-as the student population changes, as teachers learn new content and instructional and management strategies, and as curriculum, poliries, and mandates from the state and district change. Finally cllassroom cultures exist as worlds unto themselves, but they also exist within the wider culture of the schcrol and society. The class-

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room becomes its own world as soon as the door closes, Behind this clmed door mal;ic or disaster can happen. But influences from outside the classroom walls do invade this closed world. The school culhre is a pdmary influence, Depending on t:he compatibility betwem the classroom and school culture., one teacher may feel under siege by the school culturt., while another may feel s~pportedand nurtured. For example, :Richa.rd%tteachers feel unsupported in their middle school because they are worki~~g with low-achilJvh~gstdents in a w v many teachers do not u~nderstmdor support. They h o w that whet1 their grant money is gone they will pr&a:bty be unable to continue this program. Anna's teacher chooses to isolate herself from the other teachers since she bbeliees her colleagues have no use for the End of teaching she does with her gifted students. In contrast, Sara" teacher ferzXs supported and nurtured by her colieagues. Many of the ideas for her unit on Jal?zesnrzd the Ciatzf Peach came from her colleagues"fn addition, inhcnccs h m the wider society (e.g., influences from, the studentskand teacher's horns m d c m m m i ties; the social and political climate in the community, state, and nation; and media influemccs, etc.) enter the classroom door every day Classroom. and school cdtures differ in the degree to which they are closed or bounded. The school is a rczlatively open unit in Mthich many p e m e and influetnces, both inside and outside crl the school, mingle to create a school culhrse. The classroom, is a relatkely closed unit. Laqely the teacher determines the boundaries of the classroom culture, with some influence f'mm students and other adults ( e g , teachkg assjstmts, resource teachers, student teachers, and parents). The classroom can be c o n s i d e d a negotiated space in h i c h the teacher sets the tone and, with fijs/her shl,den.t.s, creates a commul-rily. C)bviously Chc sChool culture and socrietal norms, values, and assumptions have a profound infiuence on classroom culture, but the teacher and, to a more lhited extent, the students m d other adults create a classroom cztltture. Because the classroom can be a relatively closed entity, t:he teacher's ability to determine the culture of his or her classroom is greater than the princiypat's ability to crcate the school culture. A teacher"^ c l a s m m culture remavls relatively stable as generatiuns of students and as a succession of principals and superintendents move through the classroom, school, and district. Teachers are quick to point out that each of their classes is different, that each group of students negotiates a culture that differs from others, This is mde~~iable, but the influence of students on the classroom culture does not negate the control teachers exert in their domain-the classroom* The teacher % ininnuence is evident in the tmgible and visible aspects of the classroom. Fm exmfle, ChC texher detemj17es how to elnbellish the room, deciding if the classroom is a showcase for student work, a kaleidoscope of colors and texhres, or a minimalist room with a few co

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cially published posters on the wall. The teacher also determines the affective climate in the classroom. C m the classmom be described as caring; do students feel respected; is control of behavior a primary concern? Althoutgh more open for negotiation than the above, t h teacher also has tremendous intluence cm the assumptions that shape the classroom culture in which he or she works. In Chapter 6 we examined five assumptions that undcrlie school culture. These assumptions act to encourage or discourage efforts at the school level to accelerate the Iearning of atl students. Assumptions have a similas effect at the classroom level, Assumptions held by the teacher and the sbdents determine the success ar failure of efforts to accelerate the learnhg of all students in a classroom, The followhg discussion parallels that presented in Chapter 6. Mie identify categories of assumptions that shape classroom culture and describe specific assumptions that encourage and discourage efforts to accelerate Learning within the classroom,

Basic Assumplions Shaping Classroom Cullurt As a negotiated environment, the teacher, students, and selected other adults shape a classroom cullture.1 The teacher has complete control of the tmgible, visit7le aspects of the classroom culture m d near complete control of Ihe affective climate. Negotiaticms between the teacher and students occur over the assumptions that underlie the classroom culture. ?%tofollowing are critical components of classmom culture:

* Assumptions shapixlg expectations for student learsling and appropriate behavior Assza;mptionsshaphg cmmunication and discourse * Assumptions shaphg expectations of appropriate adult behavior * Assumptions shaping conceptions of appropriate educational practices ptions and how they serve to discourage or encourage efforts to accelerate the learning of all shrrdelts are summarized in Table 7.1,.

Assumptions Shaping Expettations for Student learning and Appropriate B~havior Assumptions That Discottvnge Acceleration Studct-rts cn~zlzotkarn ci'znllengit~~g mferinf nlzd lack sey-cirnh.ol. Patrkia Hilliard, a teacher in a predominantly African American school, notes: '"mu want to see intelligence walikhg around. on two legs? 'Just go into a kindergarten class. They c w e tcr school with fresh faces, full of wader.

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TABLE 7.1 Cultural Assumptions: Classroom Level

Ilis-scourageAcceleratio~a

Encourage Acccrleratio~z

Assumptions Shaping Expectations for Student Leartling and Appropriate Rehavior * Students canllot 1earl-rchallenging * All students have strengths that can material and lack self-control, be built upon, * Students who are different are * A positive learning environment is deficient or a problern. negotiated between the teacher and * Students asslime that tl~eyhave students, "won" when they negotiate for fcss* Teacfzers develop a deep ul-rderchallenging curriculum, standing of h e i r students, * Students are expected t o be passive recipients of lcnowledge. Assumptions Related to Appropriate Coinmunication and Discourse * The teacher directs all discourse. * Discourse is communally developed. * I3iversity of comrxzunication modes is * 1,anguage is used to demonstrate discouraged, understanding and thought processes, * Diversity of communication is built upon as a strength. tt Assumptions Related to Appropriate A d ~ ~Behavior * The teacher expects t o work alone, * The classrootn invites invotvernent of * Control of the ctxssraom rests sotcly other ed~cators,yare~lts,and with either the teacher or the coinmunity mernbers, * The teachcr facilitates creation of a students. positive learning environment. * The teacher controls what is learned * The teacher ensures tbat the and how it is tearned. classroom is known as a center of * The classroom reflects littje ongoing expertise, adutt learning. * The teacher is a ""lcarntng leader" in the ciiassroorn, transmitting passion for ongoing fcarntng, Assumptions Related to Appropriate Educational Practises * Memorization of facts and drill are * All students engage in active the focus of teaching, exploration of relevant material. * Emphasis is placed on order; * Ail students have the ~lpporturzityto students work atone in their seats. develop basic skills and higher-order * Emplzasis is ptaccd on acquisttian of ttlinking skills, basic skills. * Students tearn to work productively with each other,

But by t h i d grade you can see how bady school,has beaten them down. Uou can really see it in the boys. 1 sometimes ask myself just what is it we're doing to these childrenf"(%iadsm-Billings39%: 89).

What are we doillg indeed? iassun-tptions that students cannot: learn chalfenging material and lack selt-control are manifested in many ways

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in classrooms. fn some cases, students of color can do nothing to cmvince teachers that they are htelligent. Gbria Ladson-Billings =flecks on her own school experience and writes: I had graduated from a junior high school that I hated with straight Rs. I had had a repc~rtcard of straight A's and I was miserabte. I had not earned those K s because 1 was smart. I had not earned them because I wanted to be an outstanding student, X had earned them because my teachers did not think 1 could earn them and I I-tad vowed right then and there to live up to my own standards of excellence (1994: 101).

Too k w shldents have Ladson-Billings's self-ccmfidcnce and persevermce. They assttlne that their teachers are right, that they are not as capable as other students (Oakes 1985; Oakes, Wells, fones, and Datniow 1997; J e m i ~ ~ 1998). g s When many of these shtdents fail, teaehers feel justified in thcir assumptions that ""tose kjds can't leilm" (Shields 1995). Some teachers raise the bar hi&er and higber until students fail (as illustrated Zly Ladson-Billings's example); others set the bar for low-income and/m minority students so low that they arc required to make little effort. They may du this out of a misplaced compassion, laziness, or f r m a belief that these students are unable to meet h i g h standards. matever the reason for not challenging &uden,ts,there are?gatekeepers later in life who hold high standads (e.g., college admissions off"ices,personnel dircrctors), and students who have never failed b e f m will be in a positicm to fail (Delpit 1988; Z,adsm-Billhgs 1994). Coupled with low expectations fnr academic abiliv, many teachers assume that some children (typically those unlike tl-temselves) lack se1Icontrot and must be controlled with a rigid system of rewards and punishments, Despite considerable =search on the negative effects of extrinsic mwards and punishments on student: motivatrion and self-discipline (Deci 1926; Lepper and Greene 1978; Z,epper 1981; Kohn 1993, cited in Darling-Hammond 1997: 1381, many teachers escalate what becomes a power stmggle between themselves m d a few students. They become autikzurz'tavi~nrather than authoritalive (Florio-Ruane 1%89).As Haberman writes, this escalation is the result of fadty assumptions Labout what motivates students: Children begin school intrinsically motivated to learn as much as possible, because they sense in their bones that learning is sync~nymctuswith living and @owing. It is onXy after children begin school and are farced to respond to teachers whose major c3bjective is class discipline, and whose strongest emotion is fear that they might lose control of the class, that children are taught to do things far extrinsic rewards: stars, stickers, longer recess, certificates for pizza, etc. (1935: 17)'

SIzldmts who are d @ e m t are deficient or a problenz. Mmy teachers assume that all students learn in the same way They do not k1ow what to do

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with those who learn differently other than to label them and try to remove them from their classrooms. "fhey explain students' poor performance by citing problem in the home and the comunity. These teachers rarely reflect on the influence of their own assursrgtions or their practice on student learning. As they continue to sort students, it bethat "the children we teach best are those who need us comes evide~~i: least" "abermm 1995: 81) and that those who will truly benefit from being taught are seen as a problem (Ladscm-Biltings 1994). Students latnded as problems are often digerent in social class and/or ethniciw from their teacher. Sin.ce George Sphdler's classic: skdy of Roger Harker in the 1950s (Spindler and Spindler 1482),2 research has consistently shown that teachers favor st-udent.~ like thmselves, however mconscious this behavior is (Cornbleth and Morth 1980; Hale 1994; Ladsong vvhfk teachers often claim to not ""se colorf'; Blllings 19%). Well-me saykg this, they are reassurhg themselves that they are nat prejudiced, However, given that children of color are usually culbrally different from their white teachers, such a statement rules out m y effort to mderstmd and build upon students' ccrulhre (Ladson-Billbgs 1994; Shields 195).

Sizldmts assume f hat f hey hnzic "won"zuitelz t h ~ y~ze~qotintefbr less-challengkg cnrriczrlzlnr. As slated above,the teacher and the students negotiate the classroom culture, The teacher has considerable control over the classroom, hut s t u d e ~assumptions ~t have a powerful influence as well. This is especia,l%ytrue for rniddle school and high school students who are accustomed to exerting mjnixnal effort in ranchallenging classrooms. Once chatlenged, these students often resist and negotiate for the comfort of law expectations (McQmillan 1998). Waslley, Hampel, and Clark, in a study of five Codition of Essential Schools high schoolis, found that Students in the five schuols had little quarrel with the caring extended to them; it was the high expectations that they oftm ipored, resisted, or misunderstoc~d.Many students began high school with the notion that learning means sitting still, working alcjne, memorizing, and recalling fads. That is a ger~asiveview of education, which millions of freshmen hold even if they have done sc~megroup tvork or finished a few comprehemive projects before entering high school. They think: teaching is telting, learning is listening, knowledge is in the textbook, the desks are in neat rows, (199'7:80)

One of the difficulties teachers have in nego"ciatin8high expectations for students is that stude~~ts act collective1y rather. than individually on. their sense of what learning should be. McQuillan writ.es: And when they resisted their teachers, they oftcm did so in a collective fashion, building on one another 'S ideas, taking turns challenghg their teachers, and prcjviding moral support far each other. In so doing, students enacted their informal pawer sa as to implicate themselves in their own educational

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f a i l u r e i n terms of the grades they received, the skills they never Bevelopect, and hc~wtheir actions reinforced faculty perceptions of student indifference (Willis 1977; McDermott 1987; Chandler 1992)." 0998: 24)

I-low are students able to achieve failure when many of them e x p s f ;a desire to do well in school (Fine 1991; Solomon 1992) m d teachers work hard on their behalf? The teacher has the responsibility to create a positive balmce between students%dividual desires t s learn a d the collective meaning making and behaviar that exists in the classroom. In the case of many students who have little experience with high expectations md little confidence in their own ability; the meaning ithey make collectively discourages efforts to xcelerate learning. This is oftexr done through a collective aaj~ementto use nm-Standard. English (e.g., strcet language, dialect) in the classroom (Fordham 1499).

S ~ Z ~ ~are E Iedyecfen! Z ~ S to he passive recipients of knozilledge. Student involvement in acquiring knowledge is also negotiated between the teacher and the students. Stdents become passive wRen teaehers assume that they cannot learn challenging material and lack self-control, and students assume that they have succeecjed when they slide *rough class with little effort. This insidious negotiation leads to classroom behavior that emcourages conformity and compliance and discauragm deliberation, critical thinking, and active enpgement in ideas (Goodlad 1984; Oakes 1985; Darling-Hammond 1997). Observatians in high schaal classes indicate that student comments and questions that coulld stimulate discussion are ignored mcrm often in schools serving low-income sbdents than in more schools serving more afnuemt studex~ts(Metz 1998). A classroom culture of student passhity provides few opportunities for discoufse, thought, reflectim, and learning. h addition, students have little opportunity to practice democracy. Darling-Hammond maintains that the classroom should provide students an opportunity to practice democracy, or the free exchange a d blending cJf ideas and h~okvledge(1997: 84). She draws upon John Dewey (19161, who writes, '"There must be a large variety of shared undertakings and experiences, Otherwise the influences which educate some into masters educate 0thers into slaves. And the experience of each party loses in meaning, when the free interchange of varying modes of life experiences is arrested" (in Darling-Hammond 19977: 84). When students passively receive knowledge, their own experiences, ideas, and interests are ignored.

Assumptions That Encourage Accelerntio~ AII sfttdmts have st~rzgthstltat cmz hp &lilt zlporz. Teachers that accelerate the learnjng of: all students assume that all studcnts come to school with

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stre3ngt:bs (Levin 1986,1987,1988,1998; Hopfenbe% et al. 1993; Finnan et al. 1996).They create clatisroorn cultures based cm this assumption. These teachers are unhterested in labelhg and sorting crihildren. 'They assu~ne that children will learn material at different speeds and.in different ways and that it is tbeir job to f h ~ d appopriate strategies for each child (Haberman 1995; Spear-Swerling and Skrnberg 1996). fiather than assuming that same students can Zeam and others cannot, these teachers seek excellence in themselves and in stude~~ts. 336s c m either be done alone, like an orchestra clonductor or in callaboratian with others, like a coach (IdadsonBilXings 1994). Regardless of how teachers accompfi" this, they do not dlaw societal notions of success and failure to undercut what their students clan do (McDermott 1974,19537). Teachers who accelerate: the learning of all students do not accept the notion that we benefit from W As McDermatt writes: Fifty years ago, it was not pc~ssibleto be Learning disabled, although now it defines the school experience for one of every seven children in the United States: Japan and Denmark, on the other hand, have highly successful school systems with no learning disabilities. Similarly' whole countries get by tzrithout too much attention to school failure. In January 1942, there was no school failure problem in the United States (Berg 29669). Some people knew more than others, and some had gone to school more than others, but everyone was needed. The game had changed. Failure was not an v t i o n . f 1997: 122-1 23)

Teachers that accelerate the learnillg of all students care enough for their students to expect mare front shadellts than students expect horn themselves (Wasley, Hampel, and Clark 1997 7%). This is accomplished by consistently assuring students of their potential and worth and by persisti.ng even when students are ready to give up. A poslfiu~7learning 1;;"1~u%Y(7nment is ~wgoliutedbr?twc;.e~z eke ti.ur:tzrra~zdsttideats. Highly effective teachers use their authority to negotiate a positive learning environment. Neither permissive nor authoritarim, teachers that accelerate learning set limits and consequmces fiat make possible whole class discussion, disagreement, m d the exchange of ideas (Darlhg-Hammand 1997). This envim ent alows students to develop the ability to see the world as others might, thus develophg "unsenl-imental compassion and . . . intellectual skepticisln and empathy" (Meier 1995: 63). When a class negotiates a positive learning environment, all students feel needed, wanted, and known (Ladscm-Billings 1994; Haberman 1995). Discipline is not an issue separate from teaching since the cllass as a group sets the norms for appmpriak behavior, and everyone knows that they cannot do their best when disrupted (Haberman 1995; Marks, Dome, and 9cada 1996). These classrooms clan fundian with very few

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rules because the teachers build strong personal relationships with children around learning tasks. 'Ttachers get to know each chifd before a n and "they de~~onstrate a connectedproblem arises ( H a b e r ~ ~ a1995), ness with alX of their students and encourage that same cmectedness between the students" "adson-Billings 1994: 25).

Teachers deuelup a deep mderstnndtrzg of fr'zcir stzldelzfs, A deep understanding of students involves two kinds of knowledge. T l ~ efirst is knocvledge of development, culture and community and learning (e.g., learning styles, multiple intelIigences),Teachers who successfully accelerate learning know "'how child= and dolescents think and behave, what they are trying to accomplish, what they find hteresthg, what they already know#and what concepts they might have trouble with in particular dornair~sat particular ages" (Darling-Harnmcmd 1997: 295). They also need to know how c u l t u ~social , class, language, cornmzlnity, gender, and other factors innuence learning and development (Dclpit 198% 1995; Floris-Ruane 1989; Sleeter 1993; Ladson-Billings 1994; Greenfield 19994; Darling-Hammond 1997; Jennings 1998; Qgbu and Simorrs 1998; Payne 1998). Effective teachers also take into account the wide range of aptitude in multiple intelligences (Gardner 1983; 1999) and the varied learning styles that exist in every class. The second kind of knowledge is personal knowledgcr of the student. Students' sense cJf worth is connected to the degree to which they are knocvn. As one student lamented, "'I had to introduce myself to my math teacher at back-to-school night" (McLaughlin 1994: 9). Phelan, Daividson and Cao, in a study of high school factors that foster positive lea periences, found the fdlowing: Most important, students say that they like classmc~mswhere they feel they know the teacher and the other students. While students appreciate a weltorganized and orderly environment, they d o not like one in which the teacher is detached and treats the classroom as a whole rather than as a mc~mfitlof individuals, (1992: 696)

When teachers are able to comb& both kinds of knwledge, students are mom apt to try to meet teachers' high ercpectatims and are less interested in negotiating tower ones.. Such bocvledge of shxdents also helps teachers internalize key principles behixld scbuoi reform initiatives, suck as the Coalitim of Essmtial khools' principle of unanxious expectation (1 won't threaten you, but X expect a lot from you) (Sizer 1982a; Wasley; Hampel, and Clark 1997) and the Accelerated Schools Pxoject" principle of '%uilding on strengthsf"(flophnberg et al. 1993). Respecting cultural and slxjal class differences while mainhining high expectat-ionsfor all students is a difficult challenge for all teachers. Those who are most effective are very knowledgeable of the cultures in their

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classroom and are able to ""tailor instruction to overcome potentially constraining background factors and make it clear that their [students'] culturc is valued" @(Sh.iclds 1995: 39). They also understand that class, race or ethnicity, and gender combine to shape students>mctions to leamhg (Cousins 1999). Teachers gain this knowledge through i students' communitks (Delpit 1,988; I:.,adson-Bilfings1,994), by listening carefully to students, m d through gairting the trust and respect of families (Jemings 1998). Teachers who choose not ta immerse themselves in the commzlnity must: learn to differentiate between learning deficits (an indjvidual student" uuni.que learnhg problems) and. cultural and. class differences (collective difierences that do not constitute d e fcits) (Jenniings 1998: 32). Acguirhg a deep knowledge of students requires a rcrmceptualization of e v i t y for many teachers. As Ladson-Riltings writes: The notion of equity as sameness only makes sense when all students are-exactly the same. But even within the nuclear family children born from the same parents are not exactly the same. Different children have different needs, and addressing those different needs is the best way to deal wit11 them equitably The same is true in the dassroom. If teachers pretend not to see students"raciat and ethnic differences, they really do not see the students at all and are Limited in their ability to meet their educational needs. (1994: 33)

Assumplio~~s Relaltd lo Approprialt Communicalion and Discours? Assunlpt iom That Discourage Accelevaf iot? The tmcher Lrfbrejls all dZ'Sc~ul~e.The way in which the teacher organizes communication within the classroom. greatl:y determines the learning that occurs (Florio-Ruane 1989: 168). In most classrooms, the teacher dominates all communication, leading to stude~ltpassil~ity,limited UIIderstanding of cantent, and dismissal of student ideas (Florio-Rume 1989, 1994; MLaughlill and Talbert 1993). Studies of many classrooms document a common pattern in which the teacher cor~trolsbath what is talked about and who does the talking. ?jipical: instructional discourse involves a three-part turn in which the teacher initiates a vestion (with an anwer known to the teacher); students bid, for the opportunity to respond, and the teacher evaluates the accuracy of the responses (Mehan 1979; Cazden 1988; Flcrrio-Ruane 1994). Teachers discourage deviations from this pat-tern and rarely seek student resporlses that go beyond factual recall. Students quick@ learn that fiere is usualfy only one right answer-the teacher's-and that their task is to parrot back an answer the

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teacher already told them. If a student provides the "right" "answer, the teacher assumes that he or she understands the material. Teacher-darnhated discot~rsecreates order and predictrzbility but often results in disengagement and resistance on the part of students (FfosioRuane 3994). SturJentsf experiences and perspectives are not valued whe~nonly one perspedive-the teacher's-is at the care of the communication. John Dewey writes, "Not only is social life identical with communication, but all communicatim (and hence all genuine social life) is educative. Tcr be a recipicrnt of a communication is to have an enlarged and changed experience. One shares in wwh another has thought and felt and in so far, meagerly or amply hhas his own attitude modified (Dewey 1916: 6, in Darling-Hammond 1997: 143). Teacher learning, as well as student learning, suffers when aXI discourse is shaped by the teacher. Everyone in the classmcrm develops a belief that questim have d y one right answer and that the goal of learning is factual recall, not conceptual understanding. Teachers art. often unpmpared to chmge the etiscourse pattcrns in their classmoms and are not rewarded when they do, Even when teachcrs recognize that this discourse pattern is ineffecthe with many students, they continue because "managing these new student roles [active involvemelnt in making meaning] presents a dawnling challelrge for mny teaehers and contradicts principles of practice conveyed in teacher education programs and assessed in teacher evahaticm schemesf"McLaut;hlin and Talbert 1993:3). Teacher educators may talk about practiccls such as cooperatke leaming that encourage collective discourse, but they and other higher education facdty rarely d e l such practices. In, addition, teaher evahation tools are usually designed for teacher-domjnated elassroorn experiences. Teachers report that evaluators will leave the r o m when shdents are engaged in cooperative groups or projects, saying that they will return when the teacher is '*reallyteachhg."

Dimrsify ~fcorn?~rzanictrfic!n modes is Iliscozrr~ged, Many teaelners do not realize that considerable miscommunicatian exists in their classrooms. Most teachers recognize that children wi%h limit4 English fluency require spedal alZentio11, but they &ten do not rcflcog~nizethat Engfish language commun.ication patterns differ cross-culturally When a child does not rclspond to questions as expected, teachers assrame there is something wrong with the child. Teachers label these children as ""Language deprived" or ""slow learners." Shirley Rrice Heath, in a study of questioning at home and at school, found that white teachers asked questicms designed to elicit factual r e c d (e.g., ""Wh,atcolor is the ball?") that were unfamiliar to their Affican American students. Afrkan Americm students were accustomed to questions that asked for comparisons and analogies

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(e.g., "What does this ball look like?"') (Heath 1982, 1983). Other researchers relate similar disconti~~uities between home and school that negatively affect the learning of many stud&s whose culture differs from that of their teacher, Teachers have been able to modify their language pattc""o accommodate the speech patterns stdents bring to school (Delpit 1988; Erickson and Mohatt 1982; Heath 1983),but some of them go too far when students are not expected to learn Standard Engiish (Delpit 1988, 1995). Teachers who allow students to rely solely on non-Standasd hglish do these students no favor because they need to know Standard English to succeed. They also do not realize that studmts often use non-Standard English as a means of exesting power over trhejr teaehers (Fordhan?1,999). l["ea&ers severely limit students9uturcl opportunities when they do not use comfortabk home lmguage patterns as a vehicle to teach studmts Standard Etnglish. Unfortunately, k w teachers understand the structures of non-Standard Engl.ish, and they do not have th trainjng to build from these stmctures to cornpetay in S t a n d 4 Ex~glish(Debit 1988,1995).

Assumptions T h t Encourage Acceleration Disi:or.trsc is co?~rrrt.ttnlzll:?,y developed. Teachers who accelerate leartning know that leaning is communication and that it cannot be domislated by the teacher. These teachers recognize that language is the vehicle used to negotiate the classroom culture and that students' voices must be continuously heard in this negotiation. The teaching and learning connection in these classrooms looks very different from traditional classrooms, dramtically Changhg the teachefs role Pbrio-Ruane 1989; Newmanni' Secada, and Mlirhlage 1995; Jemings 1938). The teacher becomes less d a pwformer, a sage, or the ""font of all howledge" and more of a facilitator, negotiator, or conductor (Ladson-Billings 1994).Although discourse is communalb developed, teachers retain a strong voice. Their authority, gained through acquisition of more extensive knowledge, not Ihrough authoritarian contml, is demonstrated in their ability to make students think deeplyf seek supporting evidence for ideas and beliefs, and challenge conwntiond wisdom (Florio-Ruane 1989; Mc1,aughlin and Talbert 1993; Newl~ann,Secada, and Wehlage 1995; Darling-Hammnnd 1997). Open discussion of ideas in the classroom =quires special skills since sludents influence the direction ol the discourse, For exannple, in an examination of two exemplary teachers of low-income urban students, Nancy Jennings &scribes a situation in h i c h a teacher, in seeking to m& a story relevant. to her classroom of low-income cvhite and African h r i r a n second graders, asked the children to give examples of when someone or something they loved died. A child related her story in

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racially prejudiced terms, a version of the story that she Obviously learned at hame. As the faces of white and African American children looked to the teacher to make this situation comfortable, the teacher looked at Jemings and said, "No one ever tells you how to deal with t h t in those workshopsf"(1998: 27). This teacher is highly skilled, but even she lacked the resources to think quickly ernough on her feet to turn a negative experience into a powerful one for her students. Teachers vvbo encourage collaborative discourse are skilled listeners as well as communicators, 'They have skill in listenhg to the ideas and camments made by students, Additionally they andyze them not just for content but as an assessment oE the student's understanditlg. For example, in the study cited above, Jenning~observed a fifth grade teacher who, in teaching a lesson on pr&abiliv, was surprised that students respcmded as if they did not understand the concept. By questioning t-he childrcn and listening deeply to their wsponses, she fotrnd that the problem lay in the questions she asked, not in th studentsknderstanding, J e m i ~ ~concluded: gs So o g e ~ n up g classrooms to student voice can be key to helping teachers to change practice and teach effectively in sclrc30ls of povedy, but teachers will need to learn to be careful listeners and observers in their classrooms. Student voice can serTe as a catalyrit-for change onXy i f It is heard and taken seriously by teachers. (1998: 31)

Lazgzlage is used to demonstrate zknderstnndifzg and thuzlght processes, The use of collaborative discourse in the classroom enables teachers to assess studelnt understanding and to develoip studernts' t h i n h g processes"As the precedjng example illustrates, students need to have a chance to explain their understal~dingof concepts alld their thought processes in rclaehing conclusio~ns~ Most pencil and paper tests and the typical question/answer sequence used in most classrooms arc ]limitedhtheir capacity to assess shdent howledge because they often test only at the level of factual recall. To =turn to fennings's example, the fifth grade students did nut do well on a written assessmnt of their understanding of probaZliIity. The teacher could have assumed that tbr test was a good assessmelnt tool and retaughl. the material. fnsted, she allowed students an vportunity to explain their thinking and discovered. that they held a sophisticated understanding of the cclncept. &cause of this questionkg, the teacher rclalized that. the questjon she had asked to assess the students%nowledge was unclear and did not allow students a valid opportunity to demnstrate their howledge. Teachers committed to promoting understanding and develiopislg students-hinklng and.analytic skills understand the link between language and t h i n h g (firling-Ha ond 1997). How many teachers have said,

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'"I never truly understood [a s q e c t ] until :I taught it"'? What they are Eally saying is that through t-he process of verbaiizing their u n d e r s t a n w of a topic and making the topic undcrstandhle to others, they devetoped and refhed their own thinklng processes. What is the role of the teacher when childrcln are encouraged to demonstrate their understancfing and thinking processes throufih discourse? It is obviously not that of a ""sge on the stage," The relationshk between teacher talk and sbdent talk shifts radically. The focus for teachers is not so m c h how to communicate materid clearly @though clear communication rennains Fnrportant) but how to listen deeply and ml;tically to student responses. Deborah Meier states that ""teaching is mostly listening and learning is mostly telling'"1995: xi), The teacher's challenge is to build the knowledge and expertise of a diverse group of students so that they can all benefit horn the input of each other and buid toward lear~~ing goals set by the teacher. Diversify of commutzicutim modes is brkilt zipon as n strergfh. Teachers who successfully accelerate student learning erncourage language diversity but ensure that students-earning is nut limited by their fluency, They find the balance between rc.specti.i~g and building on studmts' home langttage and providing all students an opportunity to develop oral and written fluency in the language of hstruction (e.g., Standard Engl.ish in the Ullited States) and in the spt~cificlanguage of the discipike (I"harp and Gallimore?1,988;Delpit. 1,988,1995; Blake and Van Siekle 1997). Effective teachers recognize two important difierenees between English spoken by middle-class famiiies and that sprJken in working-class families. The first, mentioned earlier, is the use of questicms. Middleclass parents comrmunicate with their young children through a series of "Wl~atis that?" vestictns designed to help the child learn vocabulary and labels. This form of questioning is not used in all cultures and across social class lines, and it is fornip to many children when they encounter it in school (Florio-Ruane 1989; Heath 1982,19831).These childrc?n may be more familiar with rcllatiod questions, such as ""What is that like?" The second difference d a t e s to the use of directives and vestions. Whereas middle-class parents teU their chjl,dl:en to do something through the use of a question (e.g., "Johnny, would you please feed the dog?"'), wcrrking-class p w n t s are more likely to use a directive (e.g., ""J feed Chat dog,"). When working-class childrern encounter questions masking a directive, they often respond incorrectly (Delpit 1988). The effective teacher ktows his or her chjldren well emu@ to know when to alter speech patterns and is willing to hvork with the students so that they will understand how questions and directives are used in mainstream society. They also t a k the time to build on students%ome language as a

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base for fluency in the standard language (Erickson and Moh.att 1982; Delpit 3988,1995). Stereotyping is a cha:lle~~ge for teatshers striving to be sensitive to language and cultural: differences, Effective teachers know that they cannot assume that all children within one ethnic or racial group come from homes with the sarne language and cultural patterns. Even i f this were true, many teachers work with students from a wide variety of culturat, class, and language backgrounds. They cannot adequately adapt to multiple home environments. Rather, they karn about their students, and they learn to make their own cultural beliefs, assumptions, and values eqlicit. George and Louise Spindler (3994) suggest reflective strategies or "'cultural therapy" to encourage teael-cers, counselors, and pr-incipals to better understand themselves as cullture bearers so that they will better understand their students as culturt?bearers, whereas Liston and Zeichner (1996) offer case studies to stimulate such reflectian.

Assumptions Rdated lo Appropriate Adull Behavior Assunlpt iom That Discourage Accelevaf iot? The feuher exyecfs t~ r o d alone. Teaching is described as a lonely profession (Lortie 39B; :Kidder 1989). The structure of schod buifdings, the alXocatio~~ of time within the day, the assig~~mel~t of studelzts to teachers, and even the design of typical professional development actkitics allow for little opportunity for teachers to work cdlaboratively, Within the classroom, teachers typically have little more than fleethg isrvolvelnent with other adults. Not only does school structurt. discourage professimal interactim, teacher asswptions about: their work and the vduc of interaction wiCh colleagues and administrators c0ntr;rbutes to professional, isolation. En many schools, tbe only time that another aduft spends any significant time in a teacher's dassroom is cvhcn the teacher is being observed for evaluation purposes. As McLaughlin and Talbert (1993) write, "lack of support from one's colleagues or from adlninistrators places fundamenl.al resl.rjctinns on practice, will,, t?nd spkit. 7itaching for understanding departs from the kinds of teaching and learning activities admfnistrators are accustomed to evaluating and overseeing" ((p. 5 ) . Isolated teachers" classroom rarely ehange because they are not apt to seek out innovative strategies, especially when they are evaluated, on their prdiciency in tradition4 teaching methods. On the rare occurrences when teachers are released from their classro~msto observe each other, their Ifeedback is usually limited because they are unaccus-

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tomed and u n p ~ p a r e dto give and receive cmstructive criticism. M m y teachers prefer to work alone rather than risk looking bad in front of colleagues and administrators.

Control @ tlze ctiassmom ~ s f solely s ruith either the tencher or fhc. sfudents. Co~~siderable time m d e~zergyis consumed when teachers and students battle over who will control the classroom. Rather than assuming that student engagement flows from invlrlvement in learning (Haberman 1995), many teachers develop elaborate systems to cmtrol students. Hale graphically describes such a system: 1 have had an oppc~rtunityto obsexlre in schools in several large American In such schools, the teachers should cities what I call ifiearcemtialzcrduwth~,. receive certification for "lining up and walking d w n the halts," "beclause a great deal of time is being spent on perfeding thase activities. Thew are elaborate rituals and record-keeping arc3und. who lines u p first and last and the facial exprssic~rtsand body language that are appropriate, It seems me that as much energy is used for that ritual as is used for imtmction, (1994:205)

When control of behavim is separated from engagement in learning and wben ""getting the teacher" ddefiition of the sihaticm accepted by the students" i s the primary goal, a battle of wills between students and the teacher ensues (Waller 1932, h FZorio-Ruane 1%9: 166). Usually both parties in thr battle lose. In a study of the relationship between teaching for meaning and classroom management, Heather McCollum (1995) fhds that less effective ctassrooms exist at two extremes, They are either "orderly to the pcrfnt of bejing slightly oppressive, with li;t;Zlespontmeity evident" 14) or disorderly with m "apparently capricious system of cues for punishment" (p. B).Throughout the day, the teacher and students, either the whcrle class or a gmup of "Iudentq llnse focus on instruction m d ,?re pulled into the battle of wills, Studies of lower-track classmoms document considerable g the sbdents time spent m ncrninstructional interactions, i ~ ~ d i c a t hthat m d the teacher have agreed to accept low expectations (Oakes 1985;Page 1987; Delpit 1988; McQrtillan 198; Metz 1998). The tmcher controls w h t is learned and how it is learned. The mmtra for any inexperienced teacher is to be well prepared for each class. This is a wlrrthy god, but ""well prepared" "cr often translates into inflexibility, rigiditypand lack of creativity. Inexperienced teaehers often spend "nottrs delineating discrete behavioral objectives and detailing lesson plans. However, as Floric,-Ruane (1989) p o h t w u t , ""bMning teachers often write debiled lesson plans which they w e as scripts, inventories, or procedural guides, These initial flans, however, bear iittle resermblance to

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the intelllectual work of curriculum and instmcti~naldesign randertaken

Zly experienced teachers" (p. 365). Unfortunatelq., experienced teachers who fear loss of conlrol or who have limited content and pedagogical knowledge can also be rigid in their planning and execution of lessons, allowing little flexibility and adaptability to meet students' needs (Darling-Hammarrd 1997)"These teachers often "freeze" when students do not respond to lessons in predicted w~ and cannot build m students-ideas and experience (Peterson and Clark 1W8). The tendency to c m t d through rigid planning is better than 170 plann w , but both extr.emes typially indicate a lack of content artd pedagogical howledge. Although many excellent teachers choose to work with low-achieving students and in low-income schools, some teachers who work with slower students and in low-income schools are weaker in subject matter and pedagogical howledge than other teaehers (C)akcs 1 9 s ; McLaughljn and Talbert 19993; Darling-Hammond 1997; Metz 1998). Fear of revealing this lack of knowledge makes it much more difficult for these teachers to be responsive to student input. Teachers with limited subject matter knowledge find comfort infollowhg the textbook and discourage questions and discussion that stray from the t a t . As McLaughlin and Talbert (1993) wrik, "teaclners with only superficial knocvledge of their subject matkr will have little flexibility in their pedagogical chojces and preferences and thus be effectively constrained to teach "just the facrsffor to leave learnhg up to the students" (p. 2). Teachers who m e a set curriculum and prescrjbed materials rarely vary their routine and instructional strategks. This leads to a san-teness in the class that puts even motivated students in a stupor. Teachers complain that they have to "entertain" students, that they c gete with television, MW, the Internet, and vidco games. In fact, most students merely seek some stimulation and emgage~sent.Wasley Hampel, and Clark (1997), in a study of students and school reform, found that students do not find school routines to be a problem, but they do (jrow tired of the overwhelmi~~g sameness of school, ""Tw sameness of some routines made the kids feel dull, and, as if enveloped by a kind of numbing narcotic, they expend@dless energy, attellded less ciosely, slipped toward minimal effort. iKids did, not like this feeljng. They preferred to feel stimulated, awakened., challenged, as if their tin?.@ was well invested'" (p. 40). The classmom reflects liffleuagoipzg adult Icnrui~g, tn classrooms that discourage acceieratiofi, the teacher does not expect to gn:lw professionally. C)ne wason many teachers "shut down" as learners is that their experience with professional development has been poor (Darlhg-Hammond 1997). 'Tbo often teachers sit throlagh one-shot presentations on how to

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use prepackaged. materials and then are left to put the materials into practice without any on-site guidance (Elmore, Peterson, and McCarthey 1996). Given that they begin prolessjonal developmmt with little interclst in the materials, they have limited motivation to make the materials work. In additim, teachrrs often have little choice in shaghg the direction of their professional growth. The district or the principal decides what is best for teachers, whether they need the knowledge or not, Many teacher assessment tools also discourage ongoing professional learning, As Mclaughlin and Talbert (1993) point out, teachers may know that they need professional development to stay current and to g r w but may be mluctant to identrfy areas that could be percejved as weahesses. Findly, many teachers become comfortable in their teaching styles and do not look for ways ta add complexity to tbeir job (Ewans 1996; Elmore, Peterson, and Mecarthey 1996). Given that they are usually the only adult critic of their teaching, teachers can retreat into the connhrt that they are good teachers (as defined by themselves). Principals wbo are intent on maintainkg a smoothly run schoal accept this assessment for fear of disrupting the school" routine. The closed nature and isolation of the classroom culture encourages many teachers to shut out influences that might complicate their ifnage nf themselves as competent professionalis,

Assumptions That Encourage Accelerntio~ Tfu: classrnom invites i~volverrzel-rf of other edunators, pre~zts,a ~ cummutzify d nlcmbers. Classrooms in kvhich st;udent learning is accelerated are less bounded and closed thm those described above. The classroom door is usually open, and other adults arc. encouraged to participate. The teacher and sludmts are still the primary forces innegotiating rhe classroom culture, but influences from outside the classroom are welcomed and incorporated. Teachers assume that anyone interested in being involved in their classrooms have the students' best interests at heart. These teachers keep an open mind to ideas, opinions, and suggestions from colleagues and parents. In classrooms that: accelerate learning, teachers a s s m e that famnilies care about their children, m d they know that family involvement takes many often unanticripated forms-forms that art? shaped by language, culhure, class, and commm~ii-y/workplaceobstacles (Cook and Fine 1995; Mehan et al. 1996). Study after study of Latino and African American partrnts show that these parents hold the same high expectatione; for their stttdents as whik and Asian parents (Diu, Moll, m d &ban 11986; Delgado-Gaitan and Trueba 3991; Fine 1991; Delgado-Gaitan 1992; Daubner and Epstein 3993; Chavkin 3993; Swadener and Lubeek 1995; iarnold

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1995; Mehan et al. 1996). As collaborators, teachers learn to work with these differences, and they stop seeing some bcrhaviors, such as the lack of a m d a n c e at even.t.s or meethgs, as a sitfll of not caring. Teachers welcome the opportunity to collaborate with scf7001-based and university- or district-based colfeagues, understanding the value of multipie perspectives, Interaction with these educators provides the teacher an opportunity to verbalize thoughts and ideas and to see alternatiwe approacheoo engaging children (Elmore, Peterson, and McCarthey 1996). Teachers engaged in colfaborative teaching comment on its effectiveness in changing practice and assumptions, hut also on its difficulty (&l% and Rulldfluist 1993; Heaton and Lampert 1993). For examon their experielzce: ple, a teacherluniversity professor team carnme~~t It is scary and unnei-ving to try to change your teaching, your curriculum, your assssment, your role and responsibilities, your students' assumptions and habits of mind (as well as their parents", It must be equally frightening for students to define and identify their own problems in mathematics, or history, or biology. It is frightening to try to do that in front of other p e o p l e as teachers working caflaboratively or as students talking openly- (Wilson, Miller, and Yerkes 2 993: 122)

In addition, efketive teachers take the positive aspects of their classroom culture and make &m part of the school culture. They know that they must help other teachers cultivate acceleration in thrir classrooms; ol-%lerwisestudent gains made in their cfasses will not be mt?intained. Caila:hmation, mentorirtg, building on the strengths of others, and other interactive pmcesses became a part of the school culture as well as the classmom culture; it becolnes part of the air they breathe (Elmore, Peterson, and McCarthey 1996; Reese and Ahlas 1999). The teacher facilitates creafiolz I!/: u posifive Iearni~zg@tvinlrznzelzf. Teachers that accelerate learnirlg understand that tbey negotiate a classroom culture with their students. By realizing that learning is socially comtmcted (Ericlkson 1984; Fi'lorio-Ruane 19891, teackrs are able to engage students in the creation of a positive learning environment. When teachers understand that tkey control the ~egofilztiolzof the classroom cdtwe, rather than controlljng behavior and discottrse, they are freed to focus on student learnjng. These teachers understand that they form a partnership with each sbdent that is dedicated to ensurk~gthat the student learns the material, that they protect each s t d e n t from extraneous influences, that they make learni-s\gengaging and relevant to all students (Haberman 1995). A positive learning environment grows when teachers delnonstrate care, rcspect, and high expectations for students and help students develop these same dispositions (Marks, Dome, a d Sccada 1996; Phelan,

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Davidson, and h 1948; Wasley, Hampel, and Clark 1997). Studcnts interviewed in all of thrse studies echo the words =parted by Marks, Dome, m d Scada: In suppartive classrc~smsstudents repc~rtedthat interactions with teachers and peers were respectful and purposeful and that their teachers conveyed expectatic~nsthat all students would try hard and master challenging tzrork, The most positive classroom social environments were those where teachers helped students learn but students also assisted each other and where students felt encouraged to try hard, participate, and take intellectual risks. f 1996: 21 0 )

A positive learning environment results from cztlttztrally relevant teaching (Ladson-BiUings 1994; Hale 1994; Ilelpit 1995). The following plea from an African AmcJrican educator could be repeated in reference to many other studel~ts.The point is that teachers must h o w thek students and must encourage studcnts to know each other: If it is plausible that there is an African American preaching style, then i t is equally plausible that there could be an African American teaching style, which would connect with the culture of African American children, inspire them, motivate them, and capture their imagination. This statement in no way implies that only an African American could utilize such a style. Just as scjuthern white evangelists have approximated the African American preaching style and use it in their ministries, and as white rhythm-and-blues musicians and white artists like the New Kids on the Block have utilized African American musical styles, so European American teachers can utilize African American culture when it is in the interest of their students to do so. (Hale 1994: 204)

T!ze Ieachl~rCITSLLI"I?SthaC the C ~ W S _ S P ' ( ) Ois~ ~ P ~ O T ( ! US I T a center of expertise. Classrooms in which learning is accelerated are known in the schod as centers of expertise. They are h o w n for their deep, focused learning, the teacl-cer for his or her content expertise, and the sludents b r their budding content expertise. Visitors to the school arc always directed to these ctassrooms, and students ho~these i rooms as hubs of howledge. The teacher plays a pivotal role in creating this center of expertise, These teachers understand that hawledge of students, content, m d pedagogy am intertwined and deep. They are hwledgeable and passionate t (Ladson-Billings 1,994; Haberman 1,995; Elmore, about their s t t b j ~ area Petersan, and McCarthey 1996; DarIZng-Hammond 1997; VVasley, Hamgel, and Clark 1Y97). They enjoy creating their own curriculum, taking mandated cm,rricu,lu,mm d varyhg it to meet trhejr students' needs, and ovative ways of teaching the particular content. Linda Dard (1997) writes that effective teachers

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understand subject matter thoroughly enough to organize it m that students can create usehl cognitive maps of the terrain they are studying. Teachers need more than fmmulaic or procedural understanding of the core ideas in a diwipline and how these help to structure knowledge. . . . Teachers atso need to be able to use subject matter howledge flexibly to address ideas as they come up in the courtic; of learning. They need to understand how inquiry in a field is conducted and what reasning entails. . . .And they need to see ways that ideas connwt across fields and to everyday life, so that they can select and use meaningful examples, problems, and applicati~m.(p, 294)

These teachers also have an extensive ""bag of tricks" "at will stimulate a diverse group of students. 'T"hese strategies are not merely /'fun and The corncute"; their purpose is to challenge, not entertain, all stude~~ts. bination of deep content knowledge and effective teaching strategies combines into '"pedagogical content h o d e d g e . " Lee Shulman (1987) defjnes this as rclpreseslting the blending of cmtent and pedagogy into an understanding of how particuor issues are organized, represented, and adapted to the lar topics, grbterns* diverse inter-estsand abilities of learners and presented for instrudion. Pedapgical content knowledge is the category most likely to distingubh the understanding of the content vecialist from. that of the pedagogue."(g. 8)

Most teachers who accelerate learning crcate a center of expertise in the classroom not only to showcase their own howledge and passicms but those of their students as well. Mmy of these teachers cmsider themselves ""constructivist" "teachers &win 1986; Darling-Hammond 1997). They buftd an studmts"rior h o d e d g e and i n t e ~ s t sso that sbdents can internalize new howledge and demonstrate expertise. 'This requires considerable knowledge of students (especially their prior knowledge and interests), content, and pedagogy. In cmstructiwist classrooms, teacl-cers have such a thorcrugh h w l e d g e of the sub~ectmatter t-hat they can anticipate where students will take a subject or m issue and use this interest to meet the lesson, unit, ar course objectives. The teacher understmds where studentsf ideas originate m d the diredion these ideas may take the dass. This knowledge gives the teacher the capacity to anticipate productive and nonproducthe lines of inquiry, Finally, cl,assrooms become centers of expertise because thc teachers have deep knowledge abolit children and youth (e.g., child development, learnhg issues, cultural and economic influences) and ofthe hdividual students in their care, and they can mesh this howledge with externally manltated standards, goals, and expectations. These teachers understand that plmning begins with knowledge of and about students and builds tokvard goals set by Che teacher, the school, the district, and the state, Teachers with a thorough knowledge of studmts, bath individually and collectively, h o w what they must do to help students

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meet standards m d master challenging curriculum (Darling-Hammond 1997). The teacher is the *'leanzz'~zg leadeu"' in the C ~ ~ S S ~ transmltti~g F T ~ , passion for t2~zgoi~~ learning. Mafntenance of a center of expertise requirejs ongoing 1earnin.g on the part of all mernbers of the crlassroom culhare, includj.ng the teacher. n o s e teachers with a passion for their work, their subject, and their shdents constantly seek opportunities to ercpand and deepen their knowledge and expertise. T3is deep knowledge and passion is continuously developed and r c h e d through reading, professional development, i~~teraction with olthers, and reflection. Teachers enliven their classrooms with their excitement of discovery, nekv howledge, and new skills. Teachers9passion for learning is iniectious; students in such classrooms catch this paw"ion and entJRusiasm, ~ a l i z i n gthat the su2ljtlc.t area is interesting and engaging. Because these teahers believe that d students can learn, they focus on improving their own abiliw to motivate students rather than identifyi~~g weaknesses in their students (Ladso21-Billings 1994; Habermm 1995; Darlkg-Hammond 1997). 7i, optimize the classroom's development as a center of expertise, teachers actively engage h professional ct,mmunities at their school and beyond (McCart-hcy and Peterson 1993; I:.,ewis, Kruse, and Marks 1996; St. John, Meza, Allen-Haynes, Davidson 1996; Darlhg-Hammond 1997). At the school level, teachers use peer support, teams (Reese and Ahlas 1999), study groups, cadres (Hapfenberg et al. 1993; St- John, Meza, Men-Haynes, Davidsm 19961, and action =search t e a m (Calhoun 1994) to grow both indiviciually and collectively*Beycmd the school, teachers expand their expertise bp pursujng accrcdi,tation from the National Board for Proiessiond Teaching Standards (National Commission on Teaching and Americds Fukre 1996; Darling-:Wammond 19971, engaging in professional develoipment classes, graduate programs, or by taking an active role in professional, organizatims. If they teach in a professional development school, they become active participants in such parherships (Cnodlad 1990; nifcCarthey and Petersm 1993). Foremnst, teachers wbo create centess of expertise realize that their learning must be deep and reflective. TOcreate a center of expertise or to teaeh for understanding involves more than teaching differt3nt:ly; it involves developing a different relationship with knowledgeable peopk in the field, being wil.ling to have practice scrutinized, m d being willing to scrukize others. Successful teachers &ange not mly their view of how to teach but also their '"view of how knowledge Labout teaching is dcvelc~ped,understood, and communicated to others" Flmore, Peterson, and McCarthey 1996: 243). In addition, they are able to ""translate the 'big ideaskf amhitiolls teaching into familiar practices" (Elmore, Peterson, and McCarfiey 1996: 230). Rachers are more apt to hold these views m d

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classrooms arc more apt to become centers of expertise when they exist within a supportke school culture.

Assumptions TIzat Discourage Accelrra tion

Of leaching. Many teaehers rely on seatwork and drill because they assume these are the most appropriate strategies for mmy sbdents. Students, althoul;h they dread the monlltony of these classrooms (Wasley, I-fampel, and Clark 1997; Phelan, Davidson, and Yu 19981, come to expect, and by the tirne they reach blgh school even negotiate for, this low-level cognitive work (McQuillan 1998).As described by Janice Male (1.994),this routine, even as early as elementary school, becomes deadenhxg:

Mrrrariza tion of facts and drill nrrr the focus

The cht ldren do dittoed sheets, workbook sheets, and chalkboard work. Then the teacher goes over the dlttaed sheets, the workbook sheets, and the chalkboard work. In the morning, the teacher writes on the chalkboard the pages in the textboclk the children shaltld read and the qrresticlns at the end of the chapter that they should complete-.In essence, the children teach themselves. (p. 205)

Memorization of facts, drill, and seatwork lead to little discussion and exploralim of ideas, Students have no opportunity to grapple with the meaning of the material they are learning; they are merely expected to memrize facts, formulas, and proccdws-to learn the ""bsics." R/lnst of the work students accomplish is disconnected fmm their own experience and from the skills and knowledge the teacher expects them to gain (Metz 1928; Qakes 1985; Hale 1994; Ladson-Billings 1994; Darlhg-Hammond 199'7"). m y arc. so many clatisrooms characterized by a hrawy ~ l i a n c m e seatand text-book questions? Two explawork, dittoes, lecture, memorizatio~~, nations have already been offered in preceding secltions. The first relates to expectations for students. M e n everyone in the classroom (the teacher m d students) holds low expectations for lbearniing, u~~demanding instructional strategis are tolerated (Ladson-Billings 1994; Shields 1995; Darlhg-Hammond "1997). With a focus on what students lack, teachers assume they can eliminate weahesses one discrete skill at a t h e . The second.expIanation relates to expectations for teachers, specifically to expectations for ongoing learni~~g and sLlhject matter expertise. Research, pllints to the connection betwee11 lack of teaeher expertise and reliance on tasks with limited challenge (Knapg 1995; Elmore, Peterson, and McCar&ey 1996; Darling-Ilamxnond 3997). Teachrrs lacking a deep

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knowledge of the subject and a willingness to take risks, often avoid teaching strategies that might unveil the limits of their knowledge. Those who have ventured k t o more engagkg teaching &ten pull back to the safely of traditimd practices when they realize the "Wicket of intellectual and practical questionsf"hat arise when they open up the classroom e, and McCarthey 1996: 234). discourse ( E l ~ ~ o rPeterson,

Errzyltasis is placed otz ordcf;. stzrdc~zts work alone in fhrtr seats, Hand in hand wif-;han emphasis on memorization, seatwork, and drill is a belief that strict order must be maintained at all times, In many classro~ms,students are rarely allowed to leave their seats, and the penalty for unauthorized movement is the elimhatian of recess (Hale 7,994), rnore repetitive seatwork, or isolation for the rest of the class. .A vicious cycle begins in these classrooms because the mcrm the teacher attempts to control the class, the morc3 djsrupthe or withdrawn students beonne, In her study of the relationship between classroom management and teachjng for meming, Heathrr McCollum (1995) found an interesting correlatim: Thus, in classrooms in which there was a great deal of satwork that was unconnected (in the studentshinds) to anything important or interesting, teachers had a rnore difficult time establbhing order. This is ironic, because some of these teachers emphasized seah-ork precisely because they wanted to control the class. in contrast classrooms with an interesting and varied diet of academic wcjrk were more likely to display a higher degree of order. CP. 31)

The situation is even worse in middle and high schools because teachers fear the students m d adminjstrators value orcler over learning (CusiCk 1983; Oalces 1985; Page 1987; McQuillan 1998). Mab~tenmceof order and severely restricted student movement reflect an emphasis on management. of hehavzclr rather than managesnent of learni~g,mese teachers build a classroom culture around two assumptions that prove to be problematic in many classrooms (McQuillan 1998). 'The first is that students, as hdic~iduals,u~~derstand what is htheir best interest and.are motivated by rewards and punishments, This ignores peer influence, the collective creation of meaning in the classroom (Page 1,987; McQuillan 1,998), and the dynamic of stu&nt subgroup expectations for ""appropriate classroom behavior" F e e 1994, 1996; PheXan, Davidson, and Yu 1998). 'l'he second problematic assumption is that rewards and punishents are applied consistently (McQuillan 1998). Students quicklqi realize that social status, gender, ethnicib; and perceived. acadernic ability influence teachershse of rewards and punishments (Spindler and Spindl?r 1,982; McQuillan 7,998). Early adalesce~~ts, with tl-teir heitghtcned sense of ~usticcand fairness, rebel when they see hconsistencies in mwards and punishments. Students withdraw or actively

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oppose such systems seeing that they are arbitrary and that their peer group finds little value in the rewards and punishments. Many of these classrooms are h a s h ern~riranmentsthat promote individuaXism and competition (Ureeben 1967; Florio-Ruane 1989) over colla2lora.tion and cclmmm goals. ?'hey ignore the interdependence stressed in many families and e o m m i t i e s (Greenfield 1,994). For example, research among Native American, Hispanic, African Amrican, and Asian communities points to an emphasis m the eteveloprnent of a sense of self l (e.g., typically the fmily) ralher than as an inas a part Of a s ~ i agroup dividual. Such interdependence promotes cooperation rather than competition (Phillips 1983; Lndsm-Billings 1994; Greenfield 1994) and is at odds with classrooms in which students are expected to work alone and to compete against their classmates for grades and attention.

Elnphais is placed cm acyui,i;ifio~of basic skills. Classroom cu1turc.s that discourage acceleration adhem to the "conventional wisdom [that] focuses on what chitdren lack (e.g., print awart?ness, grasp of Stanciard English syntax, a supportive h o r n environmernt) and seeks to remedy these deficiencies by teaching discrete skills (e.g., decoding skills, Ilanguage mechanics, arithmetic comp~tation)'~ ( f i a p p 199Sa: 6). A teachrr interviecved by Spilfane m d Jen,njngs (7997) illustrates this cmvartional wisdom: So we did a Xct more critical thinking type activities [at an elite private schoulj because they already knew the basics, I didn't have to ga back and backtrack to try to get them to where they needed to be. Whereas here [in a law-income urban public school] 1 feel like I" constantly trying to play catch up. . . . 1 repeat rnysetf a lot more here. 1 d o a lot more vt>cabuXarybecause their vocabulary is more limited. I have ta do, you knowf same more basic things as opposed tu what X was doing before [critical thinking]. (pp. 20-24)

Despite resemh that challenges the sequential view of learning (e.g., that basic skills must be mastered prior to the introduction of higherorder skills) (NcLaughlin and Talbert 1993), classroom instruction f r m kindergarten through twelth grade is dominated by an emphasis on acqraisieion of basic skills. Not d y is thcre extensive research sho'cving that students disengage when classroom mut.ines become monotonous (Darling-Hammond 1997; Wasley, Hampel, and CIark 19971, but cognitive psychologists have found that ""'basic' and 'higher-order' instructional tasks each have their own infnerent demands. Mastery of me type of task does not necessarity lead to proficiency on the other type of task'" (McLaughlin and Talbert 1993: 1%). This belief in the sequential nature of Ilezlrlling is complicated at the high school level by the script of the "'Red Schooi"' ((Metz 1998). To be a

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Real School, alf high schools oifer the same classes despite vast differences in student preparation and without special training for teachers to sirnultancousjy teach basic and higher-ordcr skills. Nlary Haywood Metz concludes that "the curriculuxn was a symbolic statement of their epality and their w r t h " (p. 5); a curricuium that mirrors thrtse ofkred hmore affluent communities makes the school a Real School, the teachers Real Teachers, and the students, Rcal Stdents, The effect of enacting Real School on the clmsroom is a wide divergence in what is t a w t under the s m e cou,rse title, not a Challenging opportu~nityfor low-income students. For example, students enrolled, in advanced English classes might be learning elementary-level grammar ski11s while being exgeckd to write papers on Dante's lnfer~zo;students in mndatory physics classes spend time reviewing basic arithmetic skills and map never touch on half of the physics course objectives. In both cases, the students' transcripts will indicate successful completion of"a course Chat shoulld be cha1lengI"g.

Assumptions That Encourage Accelerntio~ All sfade~ztseEgage in active e q l m t i o t z of releva~f~naferial. Many classrooms are active places in which howledge is constructed or produced rather than reproduced (Newmmn, Secada, Mlehlage 1995). The kind of teaching and leamh~gdemonstrated in these classrcroms has been variously described as powerl'ul learning (Hopfenberg et al. 1993; KeUw and Huebner 1997), authentic instruction or authentic achievement (Newmann, Secada, and Wehtage 4995; N e m a n n et al. 49961, teaching for meani~ng(Knapp et ale 1995), and teaching for understanding (Cohen, McLaughlin, and Talbert 1993; Darling-Hammond 1997). These approaches represent constructivist beliefs that the teachjllg and learning process is one of transaction, not transmission, that learning is constructed, nut acquired by the learner. These cllassrooms resemble those usually reserved only for students identified as gifited or talented (Tomlbsan. 1996). Classroms nestled in school cuttures that encourage this kind of teaching and learning have the advantage cJf a well-defh~edand shared unhrstancfing of how to encourage accelera.t.ion in all studernts. Fos example, teachers in schools engaged in the Accelerated Schools Project bring the concept of "powerful learning" alive in their classrooms (Mopfenberg et al. 1993; Keller and Httebner 1997). They e n s u e that learnjng is authentic, interactive, student-centered, inclusive, and continuous and that lessons and units build on the interaction between content, pedagogy; and the learning context (Keller and Htaebner 1997). :In schools engaged in the CoaXition of Essential Schools, teachers are encouraged to create classrooms in which civil discourse prevl-tils, stu-

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dent lcarnjng is targeted and in-depth (e.g., the adage "kss is more" prevails), and students take responsibility for their learning while teachers guide raCher than deliver knowledge acquisition (Sizer 19"32b; VVasley, Hampel, and Clark 1997). As the followhg quote horn a high school boy iilustrates, students appreciate this kind of classroom environment: I like hands-on stuff. Especially in my new English class. It%different from all of my other classes where T can expect the same thing every day Whenever we go into English, anything can break out. One day w e are reading something. "The next day we are acting something. The next day we have samething to research, . . . It's a challenge. The teacher always has us doing something different. (Waslcsy, Hampel, and Clark 2 997: 42)

This kind of learning is culturatly and devetopmentafly relevant as welf as academically rigorous. All studellts arc provi,ded an opportunity to learn relevant subject matter and appropriate and siwifcant skills and dispositions; the cmtent tbry learn is accurate, and they acquire h o w l edge through disciplined inquiry that has vdue and meaning beyond school (Newmann, Secada, and Wehlage 1935: 3-4).Studcnts also learn in an environment that is culturally relevant, in which the teacher's notion of bokvledge is created through deep understanding of students' backgromds. In such classrooms, howledge is continuously re-created, recycled, and shared by teachers and students alike. They [teachers] view the content of the curriculum critically and are passionate about it. Rather than expecting students to demonstrate prior knowledge and skills, they help students devebp that knawtedge by building bridges and scaffc>ldingfor learning. (Ladson-Billings 1994: 25)

AIl slzidrtlzfs ftave the oppol.ttct~ilyfo dew@ b ~ s i cskills und heher-order thinking skills, As described above, instruction in many classrooms is based on a belief in a sequential learning process, k g ing with basic skitfs and buijdhg toward more advanced, higher-order skills ( G a p p 1995a; SpilIane and J e m h g s 1997; Jlemings 15398).Classrooms in which acceleration occurs are ertcepticms. In these classrooms, teachers expect a l libdents to engage in higher-order thin:king tasks whjle they are learning and refinixlg basic skills (Ibmlinson 1996). These teachers recognize that their students may m t possess expected basic skills, but they see this as to develop one of the p r h a r y reasons why stude~ltsneed opportu~~ities higher-ord.er skills. A fifth grade teacher explains why she emphasizes challenging, crrnceptuatly oriented instruction: Che of the things I: do in this class that I think is vital is to ask them what they did and why they did it. I try to prize everyone's thoughts because too many times-and not just in school-they%e not been allowed to express

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anyfiing but the right answer which they don't often think they know so they shut down. They quit. They have n o confidence in their own abilities to think. And that is the big deal far me. 1 want them to learn that they can use their brains and work things out for thernsei.\res,That doesn't hvppen in many places in their lives sa it has to happen here. Uemings 1998: 16)

Many of these teachas work with children czrlturdly difkerent fsom themselves, and whi.le they value studentsYideas, prior knowledge, and culturaf heritage, they also expect students to gain skills needed to function effectively in minstream society. Lisa Delpit (1988) argues that students of colm learn best when their voice and language arc valued. However, they also need to be taught the codes needed to participate fully in the mainstream of American life, not by being forced to attend to hallc~w~ inane, de-cmtextuafized sub-skills, but rather withiin the context of meaningful communicative endeavors; that they be allowed the resources of the teacher" sexpert knowledge, vvhife being helped to acknowledge their own ""exgertnc3ss'has well." (p. 296)

Students Eear.~fo work productively with each other, The kind aE learning in envimment described above repires active engagement of stude~~ts their own learnhg. Sb be actkely engaged, they are often working or engaged in discourse together. In these classrooms, everyone values trust and dccclncy (e.g., fairness, gmerosity, and tolerance) and holds high expectations of each other (Sizer 199%; Msley, Hampel, and CXark 1097). Teachers skilfed at developing positive interactions among students often frame assignments in terms of a shared challenge rather than as knowledge to acquire (Marks, Doane, and Secada 1996). In working toward a shared challenge, studmts arc. encouraged by their peers to take responsibility for learning and to rclcof~njzeand build on each others' stre3ngt:bs. Competition between students is r~ducedsince they are working toward common goals. Colfaburati\re work brings together students with different experiences, ideas, and. expertise. As students work lefgether they are encouraged to verbaiize their knotrYledl;e. As described above, verbalizing ideas and knowledge serves two purposes. First, it helps st-dents internalize and refine their thought processes. Second, it exposes other students to ideas and knowledge they athewise might not have considertrd. These enconnters stretch students' '""zonesof p x i m a l devdopment" or their current level of competence (Palincsar and Brown 1984). Stucients take coilaborative leamhg seriously when they know that they are working toward increasing their bowledge of a subject or solving a relevant problem. They find group work contrived when the goals and the direction of the learning are closely controiled by the teacher

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(Ladson-BilIings 1994).Teachers who use student group work effectively provide shdents with the skills to work in groups, the expectation that their work is valuable, and the freed- to take the ssignfnent in directions they choose,

M O V ~Flassroorn ~ Q Cullure Toward Acteleration Because of the isolation of most classroonts, changing their cz~lttureis typically more difficult than changixrg school cdture. h this chapter we describe how classroclms are bounded, existing as separate entities trYitbin a school culture. C)nc of the most important skps h chnnging clizssroom culture is to irtitiate actkitia or establish systems to reduce isolation, to open classroom doors. Teachers who accelerate teaming engage in cmstant communication with each other, They visit each other's moms, discuss student learnirtg, research effectbe practices, and jointly plan units m d lessons. This kind of exchange ofte~zhappens informally between like-minded teachers; to encourage it on a broader scale requires more formal vehiation among teachers can be encoumged through estabport teams to provide an opportunity to observe, reffc.ct on, and. analyze each others-teaching (Showers and Joyce 1996). Peer support teams work best when regdar opporbnities tcr observe teaching and reflect on. the observations are built into the school calelzdar.3 Zsolation is also reduced when teachers are invoked in ongohg research and discussion of curriculum and instmction. Many schools encourage this through actio~zresearch projects, study groups, or through involvement in terns, committees, or cadres devoted to a systematic exmination of student leanling, curriculum, and instmcticm, In additio~z,classroom cztlttures are more likely to encourage accelerated learning when everyone in the school is commit.ted to a shared vision and all members of the school co unity are held ~sponsiblefor maEting the vision a reality h the dassroom. This hvolves cmsiderable reflectio~zon assumptions and practices m the part of all teachers and other hstmctimal staff. This point is discussed in mrc.depth in Chapter 8. Rachers who nurture classrooms that accderate learning are active lifelong learners, They are eager to learn, and their learnkg goes beyond adding more techniques to their ""hag of tricks." They seek professional development opportunities that provide m r e %th of knowledge about content and about student learning (Stein, Srsrith, and Silver 1999). They are not afmid to admit that they do not know somethi~~g, and they model a love of learning for their students. Another point strr?sc;ed in this chapter is that classroom culture is negotiated between the teacher and students. Because students are partici-

CaEtivatteg Acceleratir~;.~ Witbin Classroom CaEtzares

137

pants in shaping the classroom culture, they are part of the process of ckangi-r~g it to accelerate learning. The teacher and students negotiate a classroom cztltture through communication m d discourse and, in so doing, define expectations for students, t:he teacher, other adults, and for appropriate educationd practices. Teachers who etfectivcly guide this negotiation are analogous to cmductors or coaches (Ladson-Billlngs 1994). They assume responsibility and act with authority, but the players (e.g., musicians, athletes, studmts) arc t-he performers. 'They are?dtimal-ely responsible for the outcomes. The orchestra conductor holds the baton; the coach calls the plays and sets the strategy; the teacher deternines how students will meet learning goals, but in all cases, Ihe players make the music, ran the ball, or learn the material,. Ultimately students are responsjble members of a learning community. The classroom is not a cmcert hall or a playing field, and the dynamics negotiated within the classroom, are mose varied and cornplex than those of a cmcert or game, but in each case, one person acts with authority for the sake of the group. In the classroom, the teacher has the authority to ensure that students take responsibility for their learning. This is best done by giving them a voice in the classroom, encouraging active dialogue and open commw~icdion,and providing learning experiences that are relevmt, In the preceding chapter we concluded that efforts to acce1erat.c learning withh school cdtures can be sustained trhrottgh careful cultivation.. This involves holding high expectations for what will grow providing a "rich growth medium,'?ending to the change once it has begun, and pruning away activities that are no longer effective. Creating a classroom culture that accelerates learning also involves a cultivation process; everyone must be committed to acceleration for it to take root. To keep this commitment growhg, it must be tended and receive periodic pruning. The cultivation process in classrooms is different from that in a school because it is a more persml, indiwidual process. shoo1 culture and the eIIergy and momentum of the group change is a group e~~deavor, dictates the dimetion change takes. Classroom culture change benefits from a supportive schlrol culture, but it ultimately rests with the individual teacher's eom~mitmentto making ehanges in his or her ocvn =sumptions and behavior and with the studentskcornmitmentto rnakSslg learning a high priority*

4, The emphasis of the discussion vvil be an the negotiation between the teacher and students, Although teaching assistants, resource teachers, and parents can have a prcjfc~undeffect on classroom culture, most classrc>omsare the do-

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+er fot~ryears as al.r accelerated sclzool, Westvkw Efernet~taqSchool decided fo reexami~eits visicns sfateme~ff. The scittooi! had made n m ~ ychanges in nrrriC16lu1~1 and instruction, but fnernhersof the school ccrmr~irrni f y h e w they could stilI improve the school. TJ2mt~gllfhe proctrss of ~ v i s i n gtjzc vision, the whole schllnP cttnzrtt.znrity realize~ifhwf ilzcreasirzg everycmeS uzuawness $purstllzal respmkibilty form& sfadenf f e a m i q runs a key to reachizg W1;"st~7kw's Zrision. T k y decided to host a cornlrztrnifyf o r to discuss rcsporzsibilitiesfor lennzi~.rg at the school. Inailalilnrs to the forum W E sez~tto rrueqolze in the colrznrzruity, inclzrdifzgpolificilans, the rre?us media, businesses, and h c h e r ndzlcators at the bcul state college. The ~rleeti~~q was ruell attazdn'; the rrtnyilv, school hoard merrzbcrs, schod irfedzccnfiofifaculfy, fwwsyapr and tcIcvisiol.a reportea-S,fhe district sup~?rz'nE.endmf, presidtrl-zf of f6ze button factcry, middle and fzigh s&ml teachers, parents (both E ~zglish-speaking anti S w i s h - s peaki~zg),all Westviczt, tcrache~,the pr incipnl, sfndenfs, bus drmce, a~zdcafeferin workers attended, U?c;ybmizstortrled zonys for all nlembers of the comursify to fake ~spfnonsibilifyf~r sfzrdenl l e ~ r l z iA~ ~ . subeommifteefarmed to draf% a Putrelnmatmn of Xesponsibdi& and all pc~diei-. pants agreed fo mntilzue to ~rzeettkrfnougltoz~f tke year fo reiz$orce their commitnlent fa student learning. Tizefitllorc!ing arir examples of imnzediufc actiolzs gmtlps agreed to take:

* MiddXc and high school teachers agreed to involve their students in wmking with inetiuidual elementary students in the afterschool progrm, * The news reporters agreed to consider whether a story was Ii.keXy to encourage efforts to accelerate learning before covering it,

* Teachers agrced to remin active learners and to encourage commlanication, re&ction, and discussion with calleagues. Students agreed to do their personal best and to encottrage p e a s to do the same. * I'he superintendent and school hoard chair agreed to accept W&researched proposals for ekange and to a t t e q t to IInB resources to support them,

In the precedbg chapters we ide~~tify sets of assumptior~sthat have the potential to brizlg about chmge in schvoi and classroom culture to accclerate the learning of all students." This discussion highiights how assulnptions held by diverse people form the collective culture h schools and classrooms, Change in, the collective culbre does not occur witfiout change occurring in the individuals who come together to make the collective cmlture, -This chapter, as ilfustrated by the example of Westview Elementary School, mnves from the coll.ective assumptions that make up school and classroom cultures to the actions individuals c m take to make the school experience recvarding and chauenging for all students. Tt.le chapter then returns to collective actions that will encourage and sustah the actions of individuals. The End of chmge proposed below hvolves both crihange h assumptions and change in bbehavior. One might ask which should come first. As in many ""chicken and egg'" situations, this depertds. In some cases, changed hehavior follws changed assumptions; in oahers, changes in assumptions result from changes in behavior. Which comes first is dependent on multiple factors, such as the interpersonal dynamics, context, leadership, and administrative mandates in a particular setthg. h m y case, it does not take massive school reform to begin to cdtivate change, :It can begin as simply as an individuai doing something differently or several people engaging in meaningful dialogue. Change also begins when effectjve teachers talk about the assurnptions from which their classroom or school behaviors stem*

Assumplio~~s, Beliefs, dnd Atlions As discussed in Chapter 5, assumptions form a set of beliefs that shape what we value and what we do. Deeply seated and seldom examined, assumptions are our conjectures, theories, and speculations regasdirrg all facets of life. They shape our values, which, in turn, shape our actions, For example, based on the assumption that ""you only live once," a person foms a set of values that suggests hokv to behave in this orle lifetime. *This chapter was written by Diane C. C~tdahyand Christine Finnan.

The values are put into operation by the manner in which the person

lives. People have gotten themselves into considen?ble trouble acting on the asst~mption,"it won't happen. to me,'These assumptions, values, and actions can change, as exempllfed, by the assumptions held about women and educatim, As late as 1859, most people assumed that higbrr education was harmful to w m e d s reproduction systems, so higher edw cation for women was not vatued. This belief was expressed in statements, such as "women don't need more schooling," and in actions, such as barring women frnm many universities. Although assumptio~~s m y be slow to change, this example illwstrates that even dceply held assumptions can chmge. So it is with assumptions regarding students and lear~ning.The assumptions beld by both tl-rose inside and those outside schools lead to actions, decisions, and policies, all of which come together to frame and influence school and classroom cdtwrc. These actions, h e n purposefully directed toward improving schools m d classrooms, arc seen by e v e q m e as a set of respmsibiities. Some assumptions lead to unintended and unfortunate consequences for students; others support accelerat.ing learning of all students. In the following discussion, the assumptions that can facilitate accelerated Icarning are translated into tangible, observable actions and everntually into a set of responsibilities taken hy people os groups of people. Changhg schoot and classrom culture to accelerate the learnilng of all stlldelrts does not occw by changixng tlzi~gs.AlLL-\n~tgh new buildingsl technological support, and safe school buses are imporknt, they are not cultural changes; they do not represent changes in peopll.'~assrtmpticms. Extemdj.ng the school year or day,detracking, blocking classes, and other modifications in structure indicate change, but t h s e changes are significant only if they are a reflection of, or lead to, assumptions that encczmrage acceterated learning for t?ll students. Change beghs hvithin individ,u,als-since assumptions are held. by and acted upm by individuals. True change occufs when a teacher acts on fie assumption that every child, even the one who comes from the pooscst home, comes to class with stre3ngt:bs. This cbange becomes a part of the culture when the teacher assumes that these actions are his or her respcmsibility.

Responsibililies of Individuals Within Schools and Classrooms Chapters 6 and 7 identie groups of people internal to a school and within a classroom who are the keys to changing school and classroom culture. At the school level they include principals, teachers, stude~nts, and staff. Parents and district office administrators, although nut in the schod building all of the time, can also be considered key players within

schools. Their collective assumptions about studmts, adults, appropriate educational practice, the vdue of change, and cornmunicatittn within the classmom creak and maintajn the positive school and classroom cult-ures described ahove. At the classmm level, all of the above people have an influence, but the key actors in changing classroom culture are the teacher and students. Below are some of the actions each of these sets of individuals inside schools can take to accelerate the learning of all students. The responsibifities assumed hy these individuals arc. summarized in Table 8*1and are gencra.t.ed in respollse to Ihe statement: If I am truly committed to acting in the hest interest of all students and wish to accelerate their learning, then it is my job, my respmsibility, to do the f d o w ing.

Actions of SSchool-Level Admilzistrators Tlmt Support Accelerated Lenrni~zg Mihen viewed collectively administrators M;ho are emitted to the acceleration of learning act very differenay than traditional hierarchiea), authoritarian administrators (Deal and Peterson 1998; Christensen 1996; Evans 1996). 'These administrators build cm the strengths of everyone it.% the school, promoting a unity that fosters a sense of '"we,'' not "I" and '"them."' Their focus is shifted from dcsignhg controls to developing capacity in their staff (Darling-Harnmond 19971, their students, and themselves, They 0pera.t.e the school on democrati.~principks. Leaders who sustairr school reform of this type solicit the input of many people. Parunity mmbers, teachers, staff, and studmts arc. encouraged to make their opinions klawn. Administrators who accelerate learning promote learnhg a m g all members of the school community; they are active learners and expect the same of everyone else. In addition, they djstribute both authority and responsi.bi(ity t-hroug%loutt-he c m u l - r i t y (United States &partmen t of Education 1996). Administrators take their role as keeper of the dream very seriously (Deal and Peterson 1998).'They encourage cetebrations, actively promote the school, and hold everyone to the high standards set in the schooli"svision. At fie same time, tbey create and maintain many avenues for reaching the vision, which build on the diverse skills, personaljties, m d experiences of their stag and community. They keep a wide-angled lens focused on the whole vision as they deal with individual staff, skdent, and cornunity concerns (2inikd States Depart~aentol Educa.t.ion 1996). The actmhistrator senies as the buffer, a sort of "traffic cop" who protects teachers and shdents from distractions and interruptions. The intercom remains silellt except in emergency situations, and administrative business is handled before or after school. Tnstructional time is guarded for ail studmts so fiat learning does not become fragmented. The admin-

TABIaE 8.1 Responsibilittcs of Individuals Inside Scl-~ools Responsibilities of School-Level Admit-lisrrarors Actively encourage, expect, provide for, and reward high standards of achievelnent by all students. Establish an environment of care and trust in the school. 0 Assemble a high-quality staff who share commitment to accelerating the lears-ling of all students. 0 Facilitate open and frequent csmmunication among and between all members of the school community. 0 Foster partnerships with parents and between parents and teachers, * Sulvort teachers' decisions about appropriate educational practice, Share decisionmaking, authority, and leadership, * Provide for continual development of expertise of myself and all other staff membcrs. 0 Actively participate in the education prokssion through modeling high professional srandards, mentoring, and disseminating hest practice knowledge, 0 Advocate for a high-quality education for all students. Responsibilities of Teachers and School-Based I%rofessionals Promote a climate of care and trust in the etassroom and school. 0 Create a learning environment for students in which they are all actively engaged with cliailenging material. 0 Maintain and continuously develop content and pedagogical expertise and share this passion for lifelong learning with students. View and plan for each student as an individual. (i.e., take into account a student's devetoplnental level, learning style, strengths, interests, prior knowledge, cufture, community, '~reams"). 0 Lead csurageously, in children" best interests, based on knowledge and expertise. 0 Give students an active voice and listen to them, * Allow and encourage students to take an active role in the negotiation of Learning. * Be an active participant in the education profession through modeting high professional standards, mentoring, and disseminating best practice knc>wledge, Work with colleagues, administrators, parents, and students to build and maintain a schuot culture that promotes accelerated learnit~gfor all students. Responsibilities of Students Care about myself and my peers. * Take learning seriously fur myself and others, Actively engage in classroom activity, 0 Hc~td visions of the future in whicb my peers and I are productive, contri budng membcrs of society, 0 Work productively, both independently and with others, * Live by the rules negotiated by everyone in the school. 0 Reciprocate the trust and care offered to me by adults,

TABLE 8. l

{cazzti~zicliuell')

Responsibifities of Parents a Hold high expectadons for my own children and all children. * Coinmunicate opcnty with my children. a Advocate for my own children and all children. * Support the work of teachers. a Share expertise and time with school. * Have children present and ready for scl~ooleach day, * Reciprocate the care and trust. tfiat teachers and administrators offer me, Responsi bitities of Staff &fernhers * &lode1respectf~ltbehavior and modes of comnzunication, a f'romoce a ctirnace of care and trust in the school. * Hold high expectations for the behavior and achievement of at1 students. * Support teachers as edtscatianai leaders, * Participate in decisionmaking of the school. Responsibilities of District Office Administrators a Wc?rk as partners with teachers, administrators, and other school-based professionals to support their efforts t o accelerate the learning of at1 students. * Provide specialized supporr for special needs students. * Recr>gnizethat people closest to the students make the best decisions for their students, * Serve as a buffer betweet1 schr>olsand directives from outside of the schor>f, * Ensure that sciloois are adequately funded and staffed with Izidl-quality professic->nals.

istrator takes cclntrd of the schedule and seeks ways to malie ""time""an ally o.f Icarni17gf not the enemy (kmeta and Darvvin 1,998). As a h i n i s trators buffer classrooms from interruption, they also scrutinize the teachkg and learning that occurs in each classroom tcr he sure that isolated examples of poor teaching, little Icarni17gf and low expectations do not exist in the school, Mediocri-tfi-in any classroom is not accepted. Administrators who cultivate acceleration take deliberate action to build competmcy and efficacy in thcir staff. -They do not send down edicts for change; these are detemined in dialogue with their staff,They are willing to question new programs and policies of their supervisors and boards in lignl. of the competancy and opinions oE thcir instructional staff and what is hest for all students. They are adept negotiators of policy knwing when to push supervisors and board members and when to wait for a more auspicious time to question decisions. Students learn best in an envim ent of high. expectations and praise and celebration of individual accomplishments (Stocklinski and MillerColbert 1991).Admhistrators make sure this happens by keeping the educational achievement of students squamly in the center of all considerations. They hold their teaching staff accountable for every student's

achievement, They huld their support staff and.volunteers responsible for contribute positively to the learni~~g of all stradmts. They ens= that: the school sell& a mssage of high expectations for every shadent, and they work with parents to realize dreams and, in some cases, to broaden dreams for their children.

Actions of Teachers and School-Based Profrssionals Tlvll Support Accelerated Learning Just as the actions of the principal or assistant principd model the assumptions and values for which the school stands (Deal and Peterson 1998) so too do the acticzns of the cllassroom teacher and other professionals (e.g., guidance counselors, psychologists, media specialists, behavior intervemtioni.sts, therapists, etc.)- RI1 decisions and actims, whet-her they am examisled or unexamined, purposeful or habjt.ual, convey subtly and not so subtly the assumptions of the teacher. A1thoug-h the adntinistrators set the tonc for schoolwide reform, there ot be any significant innovation in education tfiat does not have at its cmter the assumpltions of teachers anli other school-based professinnals. lndced it is an iiilusio~~ to thlnk otherwise (Postman and Weingrarwer 1979)" Day in and day out, teachrshcti~nsconvey to students th puvose of school m d the shdmts' mle in it. The craft of teaching is essentially the aetualization of a teacher's asmmptims and vdue syskm and the trmmission of this to students (Ayers 1994; Swadener and Kessler 1991).The same is true for schocrl-based professicmals. Guidance colanselon; work from their assumptions about sbdents and fmilies as they guide stdents to make good decisions, They are quick to encourage students to push for more, while they prcrvicie s u p a r t when studmts skuggk. Psychologists and therapists bring to their work t?ssumptions about studez~tweaknesses and.appropriate interventions. mey learn to look for strenglhs of students even when their training typically prepares them to idmtif'y weaknesses. Teachers who accelerate the learning of alf students reject the assumption that poverv pxlecludes academic success (Ascher 1993; Payne 1998) and accept students as they are. Most hnportantly, they take ~spcmsibility to ellsure that: all students learn (Haberman 1995; Darling-Harnmarrd 1"397), To ensure that all students learn, teachers turn first to an exmisration of their own teaching and the curriculum before looking at factors outside of the classroom, They do not readjust their sense of responsibility for student learning in a downward m er m d lower goals due to a chfld's background (Me& 1993). 'They rehse to btame the shdents and their paren.t.s for low achievement. (Habermn 1,995; Cook and Fine 1,995)' although they make students and parents awarc of their own responsibfiities for learning,

Because these teachers assurne that students will actively engage in learning if given the vporh;lnity, they create enviro ents conducive to learnhg. 'Their classmoms are jnvitlmg learning enviromem.t.sthat build. on studmtsXiversiCy and strengths. They buil.d close, car-ing, trusting relationships with stuelents and their families. They listen to their sh;ldents and create an ewironmnt that emourages dialogue, dchate, reflection, and active listening. These teachers are not easy; they do not coddle students. They provide continuous assessment of student progress and understand what students h w at the betSjnning of each unit and ellcourage constant growth toward meeting standards. Teachers who accelerate leamhg base their instmctional decisions on ~01117d,prawn pedagogical howledge, a pedagou Chat connbines l.heoreticd knowledge, applied research, and "best practice" hknoedge (Shulman 3987). Their teaching is suent-centered, structured, and rigorous. It stresses higher-ordcr t12inKng skills m d is eckctic. Ficnally, it is integrally related to the maljt..y of students' lives, experiences, and.cultures, and it is cmducted in an atmosphere of mukal respect and enthusiasm (Ladson-Billings and Henry 7,990; Rrookl-\art asld Rusnak 7,993; Ladson-Billings 1994; Paewmann, Secada., and Wehlage 1995). These teachers f h ~ dthe appopriate and necessary ways of making the school ""fit"the chiicl instead of making the child "fit" the school (Cudahy 7,996). ?exhers and other school-basczd prokssionals are acthe in their profession. They wlrrk with colleagues 117 their schoof for schoolwide improvement and with colleagues inprofessiond organizations to improve their profession. They serve as advocates for students in their school and community. They recognize that they too, must be lifelcmg learners. They transnnit their passion for lemjng to &uden,tsand experiment constmtly with new ideas. When afEorded the opportunj.Cy to study or participate in a workshop on a new mthodology, they ernbrace the opporbnity. They uncterstand that high-aefnieving students are taught by high-achieving teachers (DarIhg-Harnmond P99";7.

Actions of Students That Support Accelerated Learning Studentri" actions related to learning are developed in the classroom, home and community. Creathg an ellvironment in which studellts take responsibility for their actions falls primarily on teachers, school: staff' and parents. Students do have responsibilities related to accelerathg learnhg, but a d ~ ~ lhave t s the responsibility to guide them and set an environment in which they are encouraged to take respunsibility Students very quickly learn what behavior is expected of them. By the age of eight most eki,ldren have already internalized the purpose of school, i\rs most schools am currently structured, elementary-aged students list the following as expectations: to learn, stick to tasks, do their work, raise their hands, volunteer answers, remember facts for tests, listen, stay out of

trouble, go to school even when it is boring, and put up with school so that they cm be with friends (6lewes 19%). In schools that accelerate the learning of all students, stlldents learn that they are expected to be actively engqed in their learning, take responsibility for learning, and resist the temptation to negotiate with teachers for less-challenghg assignments (Sizer 1992b; Wsley, Hampel, and Clask 1997; Schlechty 1997; Mc@ilf an 1998). In addition, students actively engage in productive classroom discolarse. They complete assignments m d participate hcvhole class and m a l l group work. They are willjng to express ideas and to Esten openly to the ideas expressed by their peers and teachers. In this contexg, they allow a democratic exchange of ideas to flourish (Florio-Rune 1989; Phelan, Davidsnn, and Ym: 1998; McQlliltan 1998). Coupled with these expectations far students is an expectation that they will be taught in cIassrcroms that provide opportullities for active exploration of content and id,eas, engage them in rdevant and interesting assjgnmmts, and provide an atmosphere conducive to an open exchange of ideas. lis be active participmts in accelerating their own lbearnhg and that of their peers, students learn about power and who has it, praise and who gets it, and auf;hority and how and when to challenge it (Apge 3979). W&er than resisting school and classroom cdturc, they work collaboratively with adults to msurc that everyone in the school is challenged and that adults exert authority based on knowledge rather than on a hiddell curriculum Uordm, Methna, m d Webb 1996). Studelzts take these actions in an environment in which their opinims are valued and everyone is strivil-zgfor tl-re same leanling goals. In adclition, shadents take responsib2it.y for interacting cvith thcir peers in a supportive, carir\g manner melan, Davidson, and Yu 1998). They seek to understand culture and class differaces a d ~ s i sthe t temptation to assttlne that their values, beliefs, and behaviors are right or more valid than those of other students. They view school as an opportunity to not only l e a the official curriculum taught in class but to learn about other sludents, especially those different fmm themsdves, Within schools c o m i t t e d to accelerating the learning of all students, students also serve as change agents. Their enthusiasm for learning makes teachers quick to accept new programs, methodologies, or procedures, especidly when teachers iind they increase the learning of their students (Guskey 1986). fn this way student success can lead to chmges hassumptio~zsand beliefs in teachers.

Actions of Pments That Support Accelerated Learning The relationship between parental involvement and academic success of students is well documented ( m i t e , Taylor, and Moss 1992; Henderson 1988). liso often teachers and prirrcipals assume that parents must be h-

volved in the school for students to be successful.' AlthougX-1students of partrnts heavily committed to school are likely to succeed, Nieto"s (19%) stzrdies show that home activities m d intmgibles such as consistent cornmunicatim, high expectations, pride, understding, and enthusiasm for their children's school experiences contribute to their childrc.nrs success in school. h this way parents demonstrate their comunitme~~t to accelerating the learnixrg of their own children, It is through involvement at the schod that parents move from supporting the learning of their own children to s~rpportingthe learning of all students. Most parents initially become in.volived in the school or ctassroom to support their mchildrm. Upon reafizjng that their m childrcn thrhe in an environment in which all students are challenged, they move from bejng advocates for their own children to b e c o m e advocates for all students. Ir-1 a schncll environmcmt that encourages success for all students, pa1:em.t.sdo not need to look out for their own children at the expense of other children. In this context, parents become powerful advocates for school change. Parents have dgnjficant in:lrtence on educational policies and practices. mrough connections in the community, informal grapevine discussions, financial contributions, and ~ ~ r e atot swithhold support of elected officials, parents can promote the success of change iniliatives or e a d y derail them (Wells and Sema 1996; Monzal1997).

Act ions of Staff That Support Accelerated Learning Often werlooked, brat vitalTy important to developing and then articulating a school culture, are the actions of staff, This inclu,des oftice hvorkers, teacher aides, cafeteria workers, security staffI the custodial department, and bus drivers..Teaching assistants have a pmfound effect m the culture of the classmoms in whicfn they work. They join the teacher m d students in negotiating a classroom culture. The ways pamnts and children are gweted at the front: office of the school send messages. Am I welcome? Am I a nuismce? Do 1have any role herefls this a kind m d carhg place? Alf these questions are answered in how stafi memhers ixrteract with students, partrnts, and teachers. Members of the cornanunity in which a school is located often fill staff positions. Often parents are recruited to fill staff positions, forrnaliziq their relationship with the school. Because of their role as staff and community members, staff rnembcrs serve as conduits of infctrmaf.ion and support between cornmwity, parents, and the school. In schools that accelerate learni~~g for all students, staff members; exhibit behavior sirnilar to that described for teachers t?nd parents- A10ng with other members oi the school community, t h y explore their assumptions about students and the work of teachers, administrators, and staff.

Through this process they become essmtiat, contributors to the culture of scliool.

Actions of District Ofice Administrators TIzat S upport Acceleua ted Learning District office administrators serve as both internal and external influences on efforts to accelerate the learning cJf atZ students. Within the school, they serve as partners with teachers and adntinist.rators, assjsting with profesiaonal developmnt, curriculum development, and instructional innovations. They work wifh special needs students to be sure these student.^ receive needed services. Distriet ahinistrators recognize that people at the school level make the best decisions for their students and provide them support to carry out these decisions (Driver 1995). Outside of the school, district adxninistrators perform other semiees to support schools. They serve as a buffer between schools and district, state, and federai directives, shieidirrg schools from some oE these directives mci providing support to implement othcrs. They maintain relationships with pmfessional ortyanizations, textbook publishers, technology pmviders, teachersf unims, colleges and universities, and other sources of support for sehods. They stay eurrcnt 811 curricular and pedagogical innovations, sharing this expertise frtiely with teachers, administrators, and othrr school-based professionals. The supcrktendcnt and other district administrators ensure that funds am used fairly and take care that schools serving low-ixrcome students receive funeiing that at least equals that of other schools. 'I'hese administrators make difficul"cecisions with students' best hterests in mhd. Far example, they ma)i remove inadequate teachers or principals, or they may eliminate prol;rams that are no longer serving s t u b t s even when these dtejsions may be unpopular i,n the short:term.

Responsibilities of individuals Outside of Sfhools The preceding chapters describe the assrtmptions held by people within schools that form shooii and classroom eulhares. Xxnnportant as teachers, adlninistrators (building and district office), students, staff members, and parents arc. in changiw schools and classrooms, thry camot do the job alone. People inside schooiis are Che critical cdthators of culture change, but their effinrts may be in vain if they clash with assumptit>ns held by idividuals outside of the school. Classrcrcrms and schools can be ralher closed, but they do not exist in isolation fmm external influences, Opinions expressed by members of the local cclmmunjties surrounding or feeding schcrcrls, decisions made by policynlakers and

FIGURE 8.1 External Influences on School and Citassroorn Cultures

politicians, the manner in which the news media chooses to coves stories about schools all influence the culture created in schools a d to a lesser degree in classrsams. The individuals and groups that inauenre schaol~from the mtside fall into many categories, and their influence varies depending on whether they reside in locd cornmmities or Chc wider society. figure 8.1 describes the key groups of people in local communities, the state or rcgion, and the nation that influe~~ce efforts to accelerak lea Chapter 5 presents a set of assumptims held by members of local communities and the wider society that in8uence school communitieshd indhidual teacherskfforts to accelerate learning. The following discuscan do sion provides exaxnples of what individ,u,alsoutside ol the ~~17~301 to suppart schools and classroom teachers, Table 8.2 summarizes the respcmsibilities that people outside of schools must a s s m e to promote accelerated learning for ati students

TABI,F, 8.2 Responsibilities of Individuals Outside of Schools Responsibilities of the General Public and hlernbcrs of T,ocal Communities * Spend time in schools to better understand their dynamics, * Listen to diverse voices in the comrxzunity. * Advocate for ail chitdren, not just those most like me, * Vote with care and icnowfedge. Responsibilities of htelnbers of the h4ecfia * Provide accurate and complete information. * Avoid sensati~naLismand ir~cuson what wilt hest serve all students. * Advocate for at1 students. * Serve as a resource and partner to schools. Responsibilities of XJoliticians * h o l d using scl~oolsand educational issues to better own position. * Be careful to work froin accurate data, * Idistento all csnstituents, * Do not compromise if sruderzts might suffer. Responsibilities of XJolicyrnakers * U~zderstandthat policy impleinentation is a teachinglearning process. * Engage in dialogue with teachers, administratr~rs,and parents. * Avoid political pressure and make policy based on the hest interests of students. * Understand the need to mesh policy with scl~ool"existing culture, * Determine the policies that are best made at the local, state, and national levels. * Be aware of the human and monetary cclsts of implementing policies. Responsibilities of Teacl~erand Administrator Educators * Provide programs that develop teachers' and administrators' skills and dispositions to work effectively with ail students, * Remain or becclme actively engaged in K-12 schools to bridge the gap bctween tlieory and practice. * Support partnerships with K-12 schools to build on the expertise of teachers, * Stay current with research, policies, and practice. * Provide exposure to different schools, classrooms, and diverse students. Responsibilities of Social Service Providers * Reach our to pubtic schools and be creative in designing easy access to services, * Avoid "turf* batdes with other service agencies. * Make good use oi lirnited resources, Responsibilities of Employers and Business Owners * Truly understand the skitis needed by workers and work with schools to be sure students acy uire them. * Becotne partners with schools and provide mentors and tutors for students and opportunities for teachers to work with enlpioyers. * Recognize that scbaols, students, and teachers are different from businesses, products, and employees,

Actions of the Geaeval Public and Members of Local Com~nutlitiesThat Slrppovt Accelerated Learni~g ?"he general put->licr and merrtbers of local communities speak often, loudly, and influmtidy about their perceptions of schools. mher than expressing their ophims ahuut schuals, t h r e are a number of ways c m munity memhers can encourage s c h d s to accrlerate the Learning of all skndents. First, they can support schools by spending time in them (Mathews 1996). As people gain a deeper and brt>ad.er understandhg of the challenges and excitement that exist in schools, their assrtmptions about schools and students change. Religious and community groups can take the lead in o s m i z h g mentoring programs, tutoring opportunities, fundraisirrg events, and volunker programs. The understandk~gof school cultures gained through such jnvo1vemen.t cannot be achieved at a distance. Additionally, memhers of the general public need to listen to the voices of all members of tbrir communiv to understand the necessity of providing a chnllenging edztcati.on to all students in the commmity and nation, not just thQr own children or the children in their neighborl-tood.To better understand the dynamics of most schools, people benefit from working with and listening to &verse people to understand multiple perspectives on issues. This involves keeping an open mind, active)y listening to diverse views, and challengjng opinions and actions that may not serve the best interests of all students.. At a minimum, the generat pubfic and members of the local communities need to be actively engaged in the electoral process and to vote with care and knowledge of issues and candidates' pfatforms regarding educati.on, They can identi-fy their own assumptjons regarding school and question tbr assumptions of others. Change in the culture of schooling can begin in the baJlot box.

Actions of Members of the Media That Support Acceleratd Learning Schools have increasingly become the fncus of media atlention. Newscasters and reporters flock to schools h e n tragedies occur and when cmtroversies arise. mese stories are repeated again and agaiin. To act responsibly, mmembers of the media need to be careful to publish or broadcast accurate information that provides a complek pichre of educational practices and issues. Clwerage must avoid, sensationalism and bias. 'The headihes broadcast hour after hour are what stick in people" mminds, not the in-depth analysis that may ccrme at U:00 PM. Too often, even the ""stor)ithat followsf2ssuperficiall and ~nsationalized. The media is absent from schools most of the t h e . X t rarei); covers the day-to-day triumphs and challenges that occur within schools. Its defini-

tion of "a good story" i s isbased more on anticipatjng vicwerskr readers" interests than on covering issues of importance to students. Because of its reach into every home in the community and nation, the media has a responsibility to be an advocate for children-all children-and c m choose to become a vital partner as a teaching =source.

Actions of Politicians TIzat Support Accelerated Learzing In recent years, education has become a ""ht" plitical issue (Education. Cammission of the States 1997). Candidates, whether running for school board, mayor, governor, or senator, build on citizens' concerns about schools to prnlnote themselves and to di,stinguish Chennselves kom Cfieir opponents. To act responsibly, politicians, both as candidates and as elected officials, must be careful not to use schools and educational issues for their own advantage. They need to check facts before making public statements to ensure accuracy. Schools should not get caught in the cross fire of opposing politic& .forces. Politicians need to build relationshjps of trust and honesty and listen to the voices of all of tbcir constituents, While dojng so, they have the responsibility to keep the needs of all chifdren in mind, not just a few whose parents are most vocal or hlllue~~tial.

Actions of Policymakers That Support Accelerated Learning Policymakers and those who influence and design plans to carry out pdicy at the local, state, a d national levels have a prcrfound effect on At the local level this inefforts to accelerale learning frtr all stude~~ts. cludes school board members, district office administrators, and local union officials; at the state level, members of the legislature, state school board, hoard of regents, state departments of education, state and regional professional organizations, and unions are very hfluential. At the national level, members of Congress, staff of the U.S. Department of Education, staff of natimal professional organizations, and unions have a profound infhenee on school communitieshand teacherskfforts to accelerate the learning of all students. It is true that teachers and principals are the ultimate policy implementers and shape the policies take in schools and eiassrooms (Knapp 1997; Berman and McLaughlin 1977), but policymakers remain very influential. To m m effectively make policy, they need to learn fsom past failuscs to ensure that polcies are constructive, value the interests of all students, are funded, and are properly implemented. Policymakers are often subject to political pressures to further the agendas of key constituents, lobbyists, and special interest groups. AIthough it is tempthg to acco odate all of these gmups, poiicrymakers

have to make difficult decisions that reflect a shared god and always put the best intewsts of studmt learning at tbe frcmt. Policymakers need to understand l.he process of policy implementation. They cannut make a policy, write up an implementation plan, disseminate the plan to schools, and expect principals and teachers to implemelnt it as written..Policy implementation needs to be viekved as a part of the teaching and learning process (Knapp 1997; Jennings and. Spillane 199q. It should begin with building a conversation between policymakers and school community members about the reason for the policy, prior assumptions and experience with s-imilar policies, and the ultirnate goals of the policy. n r o u g h ongoing dialogue, the likelihood of reachiw a collective, reaiistic goal is heightened, and sludents benefit, 'This djaloguc beg4ns as policies are designed johtly with teachers, administrators, and parents and continues through the implementation and evaluation process. It recopizes the collective cult-are shared by schools and the individual:cdture that makes each school ranique, P o l i c ~ a k e r sshoulci work from an understmeiing of local cmditrims and h o w wl-ie~npdicies are best set at the local, state, or national level. Gven the diversiq of local conditions across the count9 it is difficult to develop national policies that are msponsive to local needs. Some federal poliries and mandaks have played an important role inproviding access to school and programs for all studcnts (e.g., B r o m v. Bmrd I?fEducnfion, P.L. 94-142, Title 1x1. Others have placed undue burden on schods and djstrjcrs hvhen the policies become tan prescriptive in how they are to be carried out. Policymakers must trust the individud schools or districts to implement policy mmdates within their school or district culture. Fin.aUy, policpakers must be aware of the costs, both fhmciai and human of policies and mandates. They need to provide the fhancial and human resources needed to fmplemmt policies and be sure these h d s reach schods &at have historically been zlnderfilnded (Darling-Ha Levin 1992).U n h d e d mmdates and underfunded policies place an overwhelming burden on the limited resources of most schools and lead to great fmstratio~nm d resenment. Such mmdates and policies require that schools and districts redirect millions of dolllass 'from their educational plan to "'otl-rerf"ideas. This leads to kcomplete hplementation of new prog r m s or even abmd ent of existing sound, successfwl programs due to the diversion oi h d s to hplement the new policy (Hartmm 1.932).

Actions of Teuchev and Administrator Educators That

Support Accelerated Learning Schools, cokges, and. departments of education, state credmtialing boards, and national professional organizations arc. rt;sponsibfe for the

preparation and professional development of teachers, principals, and other instruction& staff (e.g., media specialists, guidance counselors, schod psycl.mlogists). Faculty members in teacher preparation dew"'mmts and irr the arts and sciences have the responsibiliv to provide pmgrams for preservice and in-service teachers that will give them the academic content and pecfagogical skills to teach effectively*In addition, they must recogniz their responsibility to help build the dispositions needed to effectively teach all students. Teacher m d admhistriztor educators must remaiin (or become) actively involved in K-12 schools. As individuals, they must spend considerable time in schools working with students, teachers, and admhistrators in order to stay current on issues and to broaden their experiel~cewith schools and students, This leads to a narrowing of the gap between theory and practice and provides for a coherent teacher and adlninistrator educational experience (Holmes Group 19995; National Commission on l["ea&ing and America" Future 1996). Institutions of higher education acknowledge that they done do not train the next generation oE teachers and administrators; this is done in schools and by the practitioners through intensive, well-plansted, wellsupervised fleld experiences. The expertise of effectiwe teachers and principals in the field is recognized and valued. Formd and informal pnrherships that sham mutual goals exist between K-12 schools and colleges and miversities (see Teitk 1999 for a review of the literabre m professional developmmt schools). S o m teaher edwators teaeh classes in local schools. O-t-hersteam teach with local teachers (Goodlad 1984; Ball and Rundquist 1993; Wilson, Miller, and Yerkes 1993). 'This exchange of ideas between schools m d higher educatio~~ provides opportu~~ities for teachers, professors, admixlistratms, and students to learn. Effective teacher/admh~istratoreducators stay current in curricular, pecfagogical, and school organization issues. mrough involvement in research and. developmnt, they stay abreast of methodologies that have proven to accelerate the learning of all students. Not only do they teach from a philosophical position l-hat ellcourages the acceleration of alS stu,dents, but they ensure that their students h o w academic content and can dcrmonstrate knowledge of practices that accelerate learning and . order to do this, teacher educat.ors their mderlying a s ~ m p t i o n s In know their content and model best practice, meaning that their classrooms accelerate the learning of the college or unjversity students. In other words, they practice what they preach. Fhally, teacher educators ensure that students receive considerable exp o s to~ different schools, classrooms, and students. 'lb this end, sbdents become skillful observers of sehonl and classroom c u b r e and develop an understand.ing of the roIe of teachers, administrators, staff, students, and. parents in shaping these culbres. They also grow to see diversity as a

strength and l a m the skills needed to work productively with culkraIly differa~tsktdents. Differmce is valued; diversity is celebrated.

Actions of Social Service Providers That Support Accelerated Learning 5wia.L servire providers, such as pdice, social workers, health provikrs, and public housing administrators have an influence on students and sehods. In most comunities, swid service providers and schools work together only when a crisis occurs, In highly effective c m prcr\riders m d schools work jointly to prcrvide services to schools m d sktdents. Across the cotmtry, "fulall-service schools" provide health care, adult education, and help with public assistance m d legal counsel so fiat the total child's needs are met (Coma 1988; Dryfoss 1991.). In these co ager~eieshave overcolBe "turf" "issues, realizbg that the lhited resources to serve the needs of people are best used in ccmrert, not in opposition.

Actions of Employers and Business Owners That Support Accelerated Learning Emphyers and business owners &tell drive discussiorls about the skills students need. when they leave school. It is the ~sponsibilityof elnployers to truly understand the skills prospective workers must brirrg to the job m d those that are best taught on the job (Rumberger, Darrh, L2evin,m d Fiman 1994; Secretaryk Commission onAchieving Necessary Skills 1991). They need to become parhers with schools so that sbdents have opporbnities to shadow wrkers, employee have the chmce to mentor shtdents, and,princlgds, kachers, employers, and business kaders have the chance to work together to better link the world of work with schools (Black 1998). In addition to workhg closely with schools, employers and business leaders need to realize that schools do not If-unction the same as businesses. Shtdents are not pmducts. 'They are individuals who have lives outside of school that inherlee their performance in school. They cannot be rejected because they do not meet ""industry standards," The same holds for teachers. Business leaders need to realize that people are attracted to teaching for reasons that differ greatly front wh& atkacts peoplc to other jobs, Most effective teachers enter teaching with "missionary zealf' a d are not motivated by the same t;hreats and incentives as workers hother jobs and professions.

So How Do We Do This? Let's return to t-he three students we introduced in the beg book. As described in earlier chapters, Ama, Richard, m d Sara were well

served in very different dassmoms. Could. they be as well served in the same classroom? Ues, if tbry were in Sara's class. Were ail of the sbdents well served in the three schools"?ft" many studel~tsin Anna's and Rchard." schools were not challenged. For all studcmts-whethr gifted, low-achieving or ave xperience accelerated learning, a synergy between individual tive action must exist at the school and withisl classrooms, This kirrd of synergy exists at Sara" school but is absent at and &chard% schools. The describes individual actions that facilitate accelerated learning. Individual actions are critical; it is the individual acticzns of strong teachers a d caring parents that give h a and Richard good school experiences*It is the indjvidzxd action of m n y people in Sara"s school that has led to increased student achievement. However, individual actions are not enough, All of the individuals descri:bed in this chapter could decide to act on their commitment to accelerate all students' learning and h d tl-temselves at cross-purposes with each other. For all students to experience accelerated learning, individual actions must meld into collective actions both in the school and in the classrooms. Westview Elementary School is an exampEc of such a synergy between individual and collective actions, It illustrates that collective action of illdividuals committed to a shared goal is a powerful force for positive change, I-low do we create situations in vvhich sh;ldents of very different atclifity are all provided accelerated learnkg experiences? It is most likely to begin at the school level through a shared c itwnent to accelerate leasning for all sbdmts. As described at the be g of Chapter 6, Westview Elementary Schod used the Accelerated Schools Project to guide their change process, For Westview this national refom project provided a philosophy (providing all students with what we want for our own childrm) and a process compa.t.-iblewi& the cdlure that already existed at Westview Using the Accelerated Schools model, the s c h d commmity created. a s h m d vision that descriZles outcomes everyone can work towad. They then esta:blished a governance struct~trcm d began using;o~zgoingdecisionmaking process to ensurG that decisiczns are research based and shared. For Westview Elementary School, this prwess has provided a voice to all lncntbers of thc school community a process to guide cmtinuous change, and a &red commitment to improvhg acbievernent oi all studmts. Zn other words, it facititates continuous school culture change. Other schools use digerent vehicles (whether homegrown or adopted), but they share several key demerits. First, they focus on machislg cmsensus m a vision or goals. AXthough any vision or set of gmls must be compatible with those set at the state or district level, it is important for a school community to cofiectively d r e m about what school can be like for all students. No school will change its cdture by adopting someone else's s~ision.

Second, the school needs a governance structure or well-defined comels that allow all members a voice in decisionmaking. As the precediz~gchapters stress, culture is developed and passed on through discussion and dialogue. Mthout a voice, people are not true p1ayc.r~.Giving voice to all members of the school commur.lity fnvcrlves listenhg to dissenters as well as supporters of ideas and callhIg on everyone to explah why they support or oppose change efforts. Third, the school needs to aclopt a systematic, r e s e a ~ h -or fnquirybased decisionmaking process. The school colnmunity mwt be trained to thoroughly understand the nature and cause of problems and to seek solutions that best fit the problem and the school cdturc.. Few teachers, parents, administrators, or students are comfortable with research- or inquiq"based decisionnnakkg at first, but as they develop competency in it, they recognize that this is one of the most powerful ways oE guiding actions and changing assumptions. Fin,Xlyflefforts m s t be t a ~ e t e dto change classroom cultures as well as the schlrol culture. Little change in student learning occurs when change efforts focus only at the stool level. Changing classroom cdture involves holdislg a vision of what an effective classroom is like but does not insist that all classrooms in the school be the same. Chapter 7 describes the t?ssum,ptionsunderlying classrooms that accelerate learning and suggests some actions that wiZ encourage efforts to accelerate learnjng, Change efforts at the classroom levet have to begin with the teacher; where each teacher's journey begins is an indj,vidual matter. For one teacher it may begin through intmpection, thruugh an examination of deeply held assumption" beliefs, and values. For another teacher, it may begh through hvolvewurez~tin a graduate course or workshop, where a spark may be kndlcd te, approach the leaching and learning process differently. For another teacher, change may begin through interaction with cotleagues, possibly through involvement in peer s ~ p p o rteams, t team. teaching, or working with a mentor teacher. Finally, a teacher may change through i n v o k e a n t in preparation of new teachers c ~ rthrough collaboration with teacher educators. The strength of building a spergy of change among irtdividuals, classrooms, and the school is that no one has to make the journey alone. An individzlal teachcr may feel he or she is 6ghti.ng an uphiil bat-tle if students refuse to take respmsibilitJi for their learnbng or if the ahinistraticrn a d other colleagues belittle their efforts. Principals may feel that they are leading a solo charge if classrooms rernain the s m e despite efforts to cbange the school culture. Changing schvols and classrooms to accehate the learning of all students is a collective alld indiwictfwal process that requires nurturhg and cztlttivation. Actions that are cultivated differ signi.ficantly from. those that happen rartdomly c ~ rout of habit. Cultivation has a purpose, a goal. When we

cultivate, we look to our goal and do everything in our power to reach it. :111 this case, we arc. cwltivath~gschools and classrooms that challenge and engage all students. Cultivation also goes beneath the surface; when we cultivate plmts we dig deepXp in the soil. to be sure that the plants have every chance to grow. Men we cuttivate change in schoots and classrooms we also dig deeply; in this case we go beyond surface change to an exmjnation of deeply held assumptions, beliefs, and values, Deep cultivation results in a chmge in behavior that will be sustained. As described above, this edtiwtion process is both a group effort (~nanypeopIc both inside and outside of the school are invoked.) m d an individual responsi2lility. Althougb each grouQ of individuals described abovc assums a djfferent set of responsjbiljties i,n mking acceleration of all students possible, al%individuals share a common responsibiMy for sustaining tbe following actions:

* being involved in productive, respectful dialogue that includes * * *

*

voicing opinions and listening to the voices of others. being hvolved i,n or passionate about learning. being trustworthy and willing to trust others. taking steps to make it possihlct for all studmts to learn. This includes the responsilbility strxde~~ts take for their own learnhg. dmonstratIng case for everyone involved in educating all students* working collaboratively for shared goals, allowing everyone to build on their own expertise. demonstrating patience and perseverance.

This book illustrates that it is possible to create s c h d s and classrooms that accelerate the learning of ail students. We have pmvided exan-tples of schools in which all students are challenged m d where expectations for everyone arc high. Examples are also available of classrooms in which teachers provide demanding a d engaging Icaming environments and expect alS students to takr, advantage of these opportullities. Curmtly these examples am lilnited to isolated cases of schools or classrooms; they are not widespread and do not describe school systems. The next challenge is to build on what we have learned from the schools m d classrooms that accelerate the learning of all students and to expect the same from all schools and all classrooms. It is not enough for a all schoois and few schools and classrooms to challenge ail stude~~ts; classrooms must do so. How do we make such a radical transformation in classmoms, schools, and schol systems? The fdowing attitudes will facilitate the process,. First, the commitment to accelerate learning for all students must exist at tbr school level and be supported by external policies and actims. h

district or state c

ot mandate culture change. Change c m be filcilitated

Zly policies that work with ertisting school m d classroom cultures. For indjvidttals to embrace changef they must feel that they havc a voice in the change, can shape the direction of the change, and see the benefit of tbe change for shtetents, For example, the current ellfort to hdd all sbdents to a commnn set of high stmdards is one of the few mandated change policies that has the potential to encourage school culture change. In many states, the stanliards are sufficimtly cmceptual to atlow considerable flexibility in determining wh& and how &ud,en,tsare ta23ght" C)mce teachers become familiar with the standards, they see their value inguiding teaching m d learnhg. In contrast, accollntahility legislation, which ~t and teachcr m d administrator jobs to scores on ties s t u d e ~pronnotion standardized tests, is unlikely to significantly change school or classroonn cultures because people at the school kvei are being told to chmge rather choosing to change. People at the school level do not see than volu~~tarily the benefit of accountability to students, and accountability legislation gemrally ipor"-,"he existence oE school culture. Second, each school needs to reach CQJIS~IISLES that all students must be challenged. We cannot assume that some students Pased on their family backgmund) will be "whners," while others will be "losers.'" This is both a moral imperative and a practical one, Amarrg the societal assumptions described earlier is one that providcs the moral imperatiw-we believe in e p l opportunity for all. Currently ail shtdents have access to education, but they do not have equal access to a high-quality education. Individuals within and outside of schools must agree that a poor or mediocre education is not okay for "those kids." The standards movement provides the first example in history of expecting all studmts to reach the same standards. Standards vary, and they certainly have their critics (Ohanfan 19991, but if implemented with care they can result in equal opportmity being a reality for most, if not all, stude~~ts. The pmctical imperative to challenge all students lies in the societal assumption that people need skills for productive work and active citizmship. No one would deny that the skills nceded to participate productively in today" economy and world. are more demandjng than those repired in the past. If we want all people to be able to wwk and to cmtribute to society, then we must recognize that they need the skills to make this happen, skills that go beyond, basic literacy and numeracy to include higher-order thinking, derjsionmaking, a d communication skills. Third, people med a vehicle for makhg purlposehi change possible. People need vehicles that hrlp them create a living vision to guide school and classroom change, sl.andards for what students will h o w and be able to do, and goals to work toward so that the vision and standards can be met. Purposeful change rarely happens without a systematic process

in place. The process must encourage open dialogue, research into more effective ways of teaching, and exposure to new a d different strategies and ideas. Change processes have to happen at the school level, with local, state, and national tnput. Fourtb, pufposeful change takes time. It goes without saying that ambitions goals cannot be reached quickly. The kind of deep change requircd to change assumptions, values, actions, and responsibilities takes time. Too often we become impatient for change to happen quickly 'This leads to superficial change and frustratio~~. We need to keep i,n mind that although assumptions are hard, to change, once they have changed, they are unlikely to revert. Fit-h, peope must realize that the change process is complex and that simple sojutions do not exist, AIthougb purposeful change requires a shared vision and a co itment by everyone in the school to work toward it, the route to this vision is rarely linear or clear. M m y people must be invohed in cultivating change, and they each have their own sets of assumption"hat shape their actions. Changing assclnlptions occurs one person at a timef and sometimes in a "two steps .forwaJ.d, one step backward'hanner. When we become frustrated with people because they appea to resist change, we must remember that assun-tpti~nsand values are at the core of who we are as people. When peopk arc reluctant to change, it is poss&le that they rezllizc that by changing assumptions, they will chmge their identity. Finally, the cultivation process must be undertaken with a sense of hope and opthism no matter how negathe a school or classroom culture may be. As Michael E'uilan (1997) points out, the /'lost causes" aar often the ones wnrth fighting for. W.itholJt. approacl-ting each school, each classroom, and each individual as a starting place for change, as a potential source of nourishment for students, we settle for a society that is less t h it can be, Every spring, cdtivat.ors across the country face their farms and gardens with hope and optimism; they look upon the soil and dream of what will grow. Every fall educators must face their schools and classrooms wilh t-he s m e & e m of what will gmw.

1. The term ""prent" is isused to include all adults assuming a parental foie for a child. This includes guardians, foster parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles, or adult siblings.

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Academic achieveme~~t, 52,5344 Academic adequacy, 49 Aecderated lean~h~g, 47-61 comprehmsive schc?iolreform initiatives for, 55-58 definitic~~is of, 1-2, 8, 21-12,51 examples of, 47,6041 for gfted students, 20-21 impetus ftzr, 49-50 ix~itiativesi~nplerne~~ting, 10-11 moving classroom culture toward, 136-1 37 overview 47-48 research framework supportingt 50-55 schoc~tprclgrams for, 59 social and historical factors in, 12-13 specific curricuta axid classroom strategies for, 60 using @ft.edand tale~~ted materials m d approaches, 5&6G vaPiatic>~~s in s b d e ~ ~and, t s 8-9 Accelerated learning. See also Ct~ltivating accelerated learning; Disctlruraging accelerated learning; Remediatio~~ Accelerated Schools Project (ASP), 10, 55-57,92,99 peer suppc>rtteams ftzr, 138(112) pc~werft~l learning, 52,53,133-134 Schc~c~l Develc3pment Program, 57; 93 Accountability for learning standards, 2, 43 Administratc?irs actit3ns supgc>rtix~g change 144,149 ctittivating accelerakd learning, 142, 143,144-145 facilitating leamil~gcommmities, 33 maintaining control, 89-90

respo~~sibifities outside school for accelerated learning, 150,151, 1541564 Adult roles, 79,138-94 for administrators Facilitating learning ccjmmur~ities,93 adminislrat.ors maintair~ingsocial control, 89-90 caPing for students, 87-88 a~suPingctassrr>c3mis center of exper6se, 127-1 29 for family members of accelerated learning students, 93-93 overvie\.v,88-89 for parmts and teachers pxticipating in ctassrr>c?mculture, 125 pare11ts' respox~sibili ty for low schc~c~l perfamar2ce, 90-91 teacher as solitary worker, 122-123 teachers as controlfers of material femed, 123-124 teachers as learning leadms, 129-130 teachers as cj~igoinglearners, 124125 for teachers encoura@ngacceleraticJn for afl, 32-92 teachers rtegotia king positive learning mvirc?inrnmts,11S116,126-127 Adult roles. See alw Assumptitms about chiXdre1-t Advariced placement (AP) courses, 24, 28 Advmced skills teaching, 52,5655 Advmcernmt Via Individual Detemi~~atioi? (AVJL)), 59-60,983 Affective characteristics, 21 Atlington, R. L., 36,4041 AP (advanced placement) courses, 24, 28

Index ASf2. Sec Accelerated Schools Projject Assessment for low-achieving students, 39 Assumpti~>i~s, chan@ngbeliefs, actiai~s, and, l4@141 Assumpli~lx~s about rhitdrel~,79,140-84 building on students"trengt.hs, 82-83 hi& academic prfc~rrna~ce expectatios~sf o r &l, 82 learnb~gpa>gessesfrom sirnpte tc? adva12ced mater-iafs,R0 low-income studex3ts lack self-control, 81-82, low-income students need remediatis>n,81 studmts expected to learn, not cox~fc~rnn behavic>r,14%84 Assumptiox~sin fluex~cingschocll ctilture, 6&--72,78-104 on acceptable educatio~tpractices, 94-1 00 ftzr adult rt?les, 88-91 adultskssumph'clx3s abcmt childrex~, 140-84 citizenship artd need for basic skills, 68,69 cuf lure a ~ d67-CifS , diversity m d unity are mutually exclusive, 72 equal c3pportunity extends t t ~all, 69, 70-71 overview, 68,78-79 s&or?l history 77-78 shared charaderistics m d abilities of grolups, 69-70 simple ansr-versapply to complex probltizms, 71-72 stude11t.s' assumptio~tsabout themselves m d future, 8 H 8 success as l i ~ ~ t commodity, ed 71 value o f cha12ge,7'9,101-104 Athletiics, 84-85 "'Atrisk" "ude~~ts assumptio~~ of remediatios~for; 81 labding of, 3% 37 Average slude~~ta accelerated teaming for, 9 example c7ft7--tP Ayers, William, 89 Basic skills citizmship a ~ d68,651 ,

developing both high-order &inking skills aitcl, l ,%-l35 fczeusing on acwisition of, 132-133 nnemcIrization and drills on, 130b131 B ~ x ~ ~ C. c II?, w ,27 Binet, Alfred, 15 Black, R. N., 23 Blaming others for tack of change 102 parents for low-incc>mes k d e ~ ~ t s ' perfomar2ce, 90-91 Bobbitt, Frax3kXin, 13, 14 Baurdieu, Pierre, 81 CAP (Craytcjn Accelerated Program), 41-42 Caring in schoo~lculture, 8588 strlrcturrzs for, 100 Ceitter for Gifted Education, 10-11 Ce~~tersexpmtise, 1217-129 Ce~~traf Park East Secemday %hoot, 58 Chax-tge, 2-3,101-104,139-161 actic~nsc7f staff &at support 144, 148--149 administrators' actio~~s supporgng, 144,149 of assumptions, beIiefs, and acticji~s, 1e141 blaming others For lack of, 102 creating transfomatio~71in clasrooms and sclnoaf s, 159-1 61 cuttiva ting cultural, 72-74 in culture, 66 individuals' respc~x3sibili ty fox; 141-142,157 b~itiatingeducatio~~ai, 2-3 internal m d external support for, 103 as invigora~ngchallmge, 103-1M leading to improved achievemex~tfor studmts, 103 overview of assumptions about, 79 parents' respostfiibiEiy far, 144, 147-148 reaching cc>i~se~~sual visic3n and, 157 resistance to, 101 role char3ges in changng schools, 67 role for school-level adxnhistrators in, 142,243,1M-145 role c~findividuals IIU tside schor>Imd, 149-156

stude~~ts"esponsibilityfor, 143, 14&147 systemic, 101-1 02 Chelemer, C., 35 Childrnz utzd Families "At Promise" (Swaderler and Lubeck), 93 Cikize~~ship, basic skills artd, 6 8 , H Clark, D. C., 96 Clark, R. W., 113,124 Classrmm culture, 107-138 apprc~priateadult behavior for, 111, 122-1 30 assumptions &out st~lde~xt beha'c'iw and learning, 11@-117 basic assumptic~nsshapillg, l110 changing, 6&65,158 charactt~r-ist;ics of, 1QtP--109 co~mmunicationsand discourse assumed appropriate f o ~111, , 117-122 creating transfomation in, 159-161 educatic;lnal practices assumed apprcIpriate, 11l, 130-136 extenial influences cm, 150 moving toward acceleration, 136-137 respo~~sibility of h~dividtralsfor change, 141-142 schor>Icultrtre vs., 109 teacher's role in definingf 109-110 Classrwm ctilture. See also School culture Coalition of Essential Schools, 57-58,92, 98,116 Copitive abiliv m d perf(>ma~ce, as facto~rfox acceleration, 21 ColXabc~rativeteaching and learr~ing,44, 126,135136 Collective perspective, 1100 Combined service delivery m d curriculum models, 26-27,28 resider3tial high schoo~lsand internatio~nalhaccafaurea te programs, 27 talent search programs, 26-27 Corner, james, 57 ission on the Skills o>f the American VVorkforce, 50 Communicatior~sand discourse, 117-1 22 building on diversity of communicatic~nmodes as streng*, 121-122 commui~aldevelc3pmmt of, 119-120

discaura$ing of diverse communicatioj~tmodes, 118-119 language as vehicle to assess tmderstanding m d t h i n k ~ ~ g , 120-.321 teachers as directors of all discourse, 117-118 Commmity collabc3ralivelearnb~ginvotving, 125126 creating extended Farnil y for studex3ts, 84 Compacting curricultm, 2&26,28 Comprehensive school reforrn initiatives, 55-58 Acceferakd %hoc>IsProject (ASP), 53, 5!5-57 Cc>aliGonc71 Essential Schools, 57-58, 92,38 C o r ~ t eacceleration, ~~t 24 C C rn?l ?~ administrators' role in nn&ntaining, 89-90 educa~cnalpractices emphasizing solitary work and, 131-232 as part of school culture, 81-82 94-96 sch0t3l shSlctttres creati~~g, teachers as contrc3llms of matepipal Ieanied, 123-124 Crayton Accelerated Program (CAP), 4142 Cremin, Lawre~~ce, 15 Cuban, L., 65,101-102 Cudahy, DiaIe C., 4,139-161 CulGvatjng accelerated leanling, 63-105 administrators' act;ic~lls,144,149 administrators' role in, 142, 143, 1&145 assumptio>~~s about cr>mmunicatic>i~s and discourse, 139-122 ch;tr~@ng classrwm ctilture and, 64-45 cuflivating culture chaitge, 72-74 overview, 63-64 respoi~sibilitiesc>f pparmts in, 144, 147-148 societal assumptic~x~s influerlcix~g schoc~land classrr~o~m cut ture, 6&72 staffskctions in, 144,148-149 studm ts9esprmsibilities for, 143, 146-147

Index teacherskd school-based professionals' role in, 143,145-146 u~~derstandis~g ccmcept c>f culture, 65-68 Cultr~ralXyrelievar-tt teaching, 127 Cultrtre avoiding stereotyping of e t h i c c>r racial grc>ups,222 chmghg c2assrc?c>m,6 M 5 cuttivati~~g ehmging, 72-74 defined, 65-45' samexless and ur~iquer~ess ~ 7 scht~ols, f 7&77 societal assurnptio~tsinfiues~cing school a ~ classrm>m, d S-72 Culture. See also Classrc>c?rnculhtre; khoc~lculture Curricula for accelerated learning, 60 combined service delivery artd curricufurn models, 26-27' 28 compacting, 24-26,28 differe21t;iating studat, 16-17 for law-achielring studex~ts,39-41 spczcific strategies for accelerated leanir~g,60 stude~~tskcollective resistance tc? chaBc;n@ng,113-314 telescc~ping,25,28 unvaried, 124 Darling-Hammottd, L., 98-99, 100, 114, 127-128 Damin, Charles, 15 D a t ~ ~ oA., w~ 102 Deal, TT. E,, 93 Decisionmaking adopting inq~~iry-based, 158 phcipals' role in, 90 Delpit, Lisa, 135 Democratic learr~ing,100 Development attes~tios~ to student, 100 co~~tir~uistg teacl~el;124-125 of remediaticzn, 13,16 Dewey J o h ~14-15,114,118 , Dagncss~clremediatjo12tools, 16 Dfferellt;iatc?dcurricula, 14 ""isadvantaged" students, 36,37 Discouraging accelerated learning assumptic~nsabout child re^^, %l-82

assurnptio~tsabout communicatiiorts and discourse, 117-119 education practices, 44-98 expectagoi~sfar adults, 719,88-43 expectatioxls for student learr~ingand behaviox; 110-1 14 s t u d e ~ ~assurnpgo~~s, ts 84-86 traluesabout change that, 151-102 District office administrators, 144, l49 Diversity appreciatio~~ for, 100 of cclmmunicatjon modes as strex~gth, 121-122 urtity vs., 72 viewed as problem, 112-313 Dcjane, K. B,, 127 Drc3p outs, remediatic311and, 38,45 Dworkin, A. G., IQ9 Early entry to school, 23-24/28 Eastern Eurt3pean immigra~ts,12,13 Educalicznaf practices, 13&136 for collabcxative studm t learr~ing~ 1 3 5 136 developkg basic and higher-order thinkir~gskills, 13&135 e i ~ ~ p h a s k czrder h ~ g a1d sotitary w e d , 131-132 ellcouraging exptoraliol2 of relevant material, 133-4 34 focusing on acquisifion of basic skills, 132-1 33 memc3rizalicms and drills, 1301-131 ovenriew of, 70 school structures allow challenging Ieamil~genviro12me11ts,9&99 school structures for order and "appropriate" "curricula, 94-96 sorting m d separating students m d subjects, 96-97 teaching as trar~smissiorlof k11owledge, 97-98 teaching for measling, 98-3 00 Educational reform comprehmsive initialives for acceferating learning ftzr aB, 5558 curriculiurn differen tiaeon, 16-17 educational influer~ceof progressive movernettt, 13, 14-15 ir~equitiesfor low-income m d mhorily studmts, 2

ini tiathg educational chaitge, 2-3 ix~telligenceas basis for education, 15-16 progressive educatiol2, intelligence, and ec;~uity,17-18 social efficie~~cy movemertt as, 13-14, 15 Elemataq and Secondary Education Act c>f 1965 (ESEA), 16 Empifcyability, accelerated Ieamirlg and,

50 Employers m d btrsiz~essowners roles ~ I I accelerated lea~ning,150,151,156 Encc3uraging acceleration adult rc>les,91-94 assumptions about childre~l,82-84 educaticznal pracGces, 98-1 00 expectatio~tsfor s t ~ r d elearning ~~t and behavior, 114-117 studmts' assumptions, 86-88 values about chmge that, 103-1 US Equity in educatio~~ equal opporh~x~ity as cultural assumption, @,70-71 establishing standards for teming md, 18 for lozw-income and minority students, 2 progessive educatio~t'sconcern for, 17-18 reaching cc?i~se~~sus for, 160 teachers and recagx~izhg,117 ESEA (Etemex~taryand Seccmdary Educa~cnAct of 1965), 16 Eugertics, 15 Evans, R,, 77,93 Expectatir3ns for accelerated teming, 51 for adults discouraging acceXeration, B,88-91 high academic clxpectatio~~s for all students, 82 of sludmts ta learn, not conform behavic>r,83-84 Failure of remediaticin programs, 35 Family blaming pare~ttsfor low-income students"pcfc>rmance, 90-91

roles for members of accelerated learning students, 93-93 schocil ec>nnectic?nsto, 1Of) Fetdhuse~~, J. E, 25 81 Filte' Filtx~axl,Chriskine, 4, 139-1 61 Flario-Ruax~e,S., 123-.-124 Fullm, Michael, 161 Galtc>~~, Sir Frmds, 15 Garrett, 17.' 91 Ge~~eral public, role of in accelerated learning, 150,151,152 Gifted m d klented materials m d appro>aches,58-60 Project Breakthrough, 59 khoclls For Talent Developmer~ t, 58-59 teachhg strategies, 52-53 Gifted students, 13-31 as candidates ftzr accderated teming, 20-21 combined service delivery and curriculum mtzdejs, 26-27 currictrltrm models of aeceleratio~t, 24-26 educational ftlture ftzr, 1 examples of, 7; 8/39 identifying and cultivating gifts and talents, 22-28 Planning Mod4 for Academic and "Talent Diversity, 29-30 reasc>nsfor aclcefera&g, 21-22 Schoolwide Enrichmat Mczdel, 28-29 service delivery model of acceleration, 23-24 Gifted students. See also A~reragcr students; Low-achieving studertts; Studenls Giui~zgUp 6x1 ScjzuoE (L&c>mpte and bork-in), 89 Grade skipping, 23-24,28 Habermm, M,, 112 Hate, Janice, 130 Hale, J. E,, 323 Mampel, R. L., 113,124 Marker, Roger, 113 Heath, Shirley Brice, 118 Heatdersu~~, A. T., 31 Mgher-Ordm ThirtEx~gSkills (HOTS), 42

186

Index

Hilliaird, Patrida, 110 working with diversity of Historical factors in accelerated fearnir~g, communicatiiort modes, 121-1 22 12-1 3 Lemed helplessness, 95 Hoop Dvalrzs, 85 Leming HOTS (Higher-OrderThinking Skills), 42 acctlrur~tabilityof studmts ax~d teachers for standards, 2,48 X B (Xnterrtatio~talBaccafaureate) assumptio~tsabout studertt behavior programs, 27'28 and, 120-117 IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities collabc3rative studmt, 135-136 Education Act), 36 demcxratic, 100 IEPs (Individual Educatio~tPlax~s),37 equity in educatir>nax~dstandards of, Imxnigra~ts f r m Eastern Europe, 12,13 18 Xztcarceratioz~education, 123 b~-deptrh,100 Xztdividual Education Plms (IEI3s), 37 b~tellige~r\ce and, 13, 15-16 Individuals' respc>nsibilityfor progresskg &cm simple to advanced aecderated learning, 1129-1 56 matePials, 80 Ir~dividualswith Disabilities Educatic?n rate of leanling and standards;oft Act (IDEA), 36 22 Xztequities in education, 2 slude~r\ts coopaatiing in, 86 Xztqtriry-based decisionmaking, 2 SS Learning. See also Accelerated teaming Lemiztg disabilities, systems without, Intelligmce 135 Icarning and, 13'15-16 role in progressive educatic?~~, 17-18 Ldc>mpte,M. l?., 89 Intelligence. See also IQ tests Levin, H. N., 36,55--56 Xztterrta~ortalBaccalaureate (TB) Liston, D. P,, 122 programs, 27,28 Lou~~sbury, J, H,, 96 Lc>w-achievhtgstudmts, 3 IQ tests, I5 as evidez7ce for grade skipping, 23-24, accelerated learning for, 9 28 choosing remedialic~llor acceleratiort s ~ r t i @gifted z ~ studerlts through, 20 few, 34-35 diagnosis artd treatment of academic Je~trtir~gs, Mancy, 129-120 ailmertts of, 15-1 6 jc>hstc3n,P*,15 educational ftlture for, 1 examples of, 7; 8/33 identifying, 36 Kidder, Tracy, 92 Kluckholnx~,C., 65 labels used for, 36-38 a ~ a p pM. , S., 35,95,99 model of acceleration for, 3%@ overview of issues for, 33-34 programs accelerating, 40-45 Labelinfj of ""at risk'>tudmts, 36,37 Lc>w-achievingstudmks. Sc.e also Gifted of ICYW-achieving studer~ts,36-38 students; Low-incc~mestude~~ts; minimizingf 48 Sktdents Lactsar\-Billings,C,, 132,127 Low-income slude~r\ts Language equated as ICW achievers, 36,37 assessing understa~dingand t h i n k ~ ~ g inequities in educatic313for, 2 with, 120-121 lack self-control assumed for, 81-82 building Frc~mnc?~~-Standa.Ed Ex-tgXish parerlts blamed fcw low perfomance, skiliXs, 119 90-9 1 cuttural diversity in, 138-123 remediation assumed needed byx881 teacher burnout artcl, 89 using Africa1Americart teaching style, 127 testing for gifted, 20

Low-income students. Sec ckfsoGifted students; Low-achieving stude~tts; Studmts Lubeck, S., 91,93 Manx~,Horace, 14 Marks, H, M,, 127 McColturn, fifeatlte~~ 123 McDermoXt, R, I?, 115 McLaughlin, M. W, 122,124,125 McNeil, L., 83 McQuilfa12, TZ. J., 67; 81,90,113 Mems, B,, 35 Media, role of, 150,151,152-153 MQer, Debc>r&, 58,121 Mental age, 15 Mexi toring, 126 Metz, M. H,, 89 W o r i t y slude11t.s give11expectatit311 to learn, 83-84 ix~evitiesftzr, 2 Mcz~vatiun For gifted studerits to accelerate learning, 21-22 htrinsic, 112 slude~~t" for underachievers, 38 Nation$ C o r n ~ s s i o xon~ Teaching m d America's Future, 49-50 Na tioxiaf Educational Lor~gitudinal Survey of 1988 (NELS 2988),95 hmthrial Excetlmcr (Boss), 30,49 Negotiating ftzr less-challengb~gc-ct~riculurn, 113-114 for pc~sitivelearning erivirc~nmen ts, 11%116,12&127,137-138(n1) NELS 1388 (National Educational Lc3ngitudinnt Survey of 1988),95 Newman~z,F. M,, 99 Nietc~'S,, 148 Non-Sta12dard English, 119 Qrigi~qf the Specks (Darwin), 15 arersinnptifying complex prc>biems, 71-72! Padilla, C., 95,99 Pare11t.s blaming for low-income studextts' perfoma~ce,90-91

participatit~gin classroom culture, 125-326 resgoi~sibilitiesfor change, 144, 147-148 Paul, Richard, 60 Perf c m ance blamhg parmts for low-itlcorne students" 99-91 low achievers and educatit~nal,46-47 teaching for meaning md, 100 Petersczr~,K. l?., 93 Philadelphia Schoczls Collaborative, 98 Plmning Model fsr" Academic artcl Talent Diversityr 29-30 Pc?licyrnakms,role of, 150, 151, 153-154 Pc?liticians, 15(1, 151, 153 Tfowerfullearning, 52,53,1133-13% P~ncipaI,traditio~~al role of, 89-90 Principal. See also Administrators Prc>ctor,1:B,, 23 Prc3grams accelwa~nglow-achieving students, 4045 Cray te~nAccelerated Propam (CAP), 4142 Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), 42 Project Success, 43 Reading Recovery, 4445 Ready for Srhoc~lPrc~gram,43-44 Ut;bi~"tolfaborativeAccelerated Program, 44 Prc3gressive education, 17-18 Prc3gressive mc>\reme~~t, edueatic>x~al of, 13,14-15 influe~~ce Prczject Breakthrough, 59 Project St~ccess,43 Ravitch, Diant3,15 Reading, low achieveme~~t and, 36 Reading Rai~zbow,43 Reading Recc~very,44-45 Ready for School Program, 43-44 Real Scl~ool,132-1 33 Reform. See Educationaf refom Remediatit~n accelerated leanling as alteniative tt~, 1 assurni~~g low-ix~comestudertts need, 81 develc?pme~~t of, 13, 16

Index

drop outs and, 38,45 failure of, 35 ftxus of, 34-35 learned hefptesness md, 95 Rer~zulli,J~~seph, 29 Research, supporti12gaccelerated leunir~g,5&55 Residential high scl-rools,27,28 Resistcmce to change, 101 Rice, Joseph Mayclr, 13 Ross, P. Q., 30,49 Sarasor~,S,, 65 Schgin, E,, 66 %hdastic Aptitude Test (SAT), 26 %hoc>E-basedprofessic>nals,143,145146 Srhoc~lcrrlture, 75-1 05 basic assumptions shapingf 68,78-79 caring in, 8588,100 classroom culture vs,, 103 creating transfomation h, 159-161 existe~~ce of, 6 7 4 8 extenlal influences ~1x1, 150 history of schoc~lax~d,77-78 moving toward acceleration, 106105 sameness a-rd unique~~ess of, 76-77 as social institution, 84-85 swietd assumptic~~~s k~fluet~cifllg, 68-72 stzldm tsYdiscox~x~ectior~ from school and sof'iety, 84 School culture. Sec cklso Classroom cuf ture; Srhchods %hoc>tDevefcvmmt Program, 5799 %hoc>Es cha~gingculture of classrc~c~m, chararterisGcs of classrwm ctittb~re, 208-1 09 cutlure of, 67-68 early mtry to, B-24,28 histc2r)l. of, 77-78 individuals' respc~r~sibility for chax~@ng'1141-1 42 partnerships with family, 100 progams for accelerated leming, 53 role changes in changing! 67 sorting and s q a r a t h g studmts and subjects, 96-97 state and district pdicies shaping' 3596 stmcturh~gfor chaiie~tginglearrting mvirc?mmts, 98-99

teaching for m~derstanding,98, 100 %hoc>ts.Sec also %hoc>tcultUre %hoc>lsfor Talent De\relc>pme~~t, 10' 58-59 "Sfhc~71sMIE" Have, The Shc~c~ls We Need, Tl-re" (Allington), 4041 Schoolwide Enrichmertt Modeltf,28-29 Sacada, W. G ., 127 Salf-pacing curriculum, 2526,223 Self-worth, teacher" ccox~tributionto student, 116 Service delivery model of acceleratio~t, 23-24 adva-rced p l a c m m t courses, 24,28 combined with curPiculum model, 26-27 early entry to school and grade skipping, 23-24,28 subject matter and conte~~t aeceferaeo~~, 24,28 Shields, M,, 95,99 ShtlXmar~,Lee 128 Sizer, Ted, 8485 Skills acquisition of successfuf social m d cultural, 8-7 assumptic311 learnb~gprclgresses from simpiie to advanced, 80 citizex~shipand basic, 68,653 teaching advmced, 52,5445 ""Slow t earners," "fh~ed, 37 "'Slow temers". See izlso Low-achieving studel-rts SMPY (Study of Na thernaticaXly Preec~ciousYouth), 26 Social class as basis of capabilities, 14 eug&cs and, l5 Social class. Sec also Lc>w-hecjme studerlts Social efficier~cymtlverner~t, 13-1 4, 15 Social factors in accelerated learning, 12-1 3 assumptio>~~s ix~fluendngschool and classrc3c>mculture, 68-72 sacrifice reqired of stzldents with accetera~cm,21 socialiaation aitd accelerated learningt 30 Social service providms, 150,151,156

srgng mir~imizir~g, 48 studmts m d subjects, 9G97 Szuth Carolina Commission on I-figher Education, 5 Spear-Swerling, Louise, 36'38 Spindim, George, 133,122,138 Spix~dler,Louis@,122 Spubik, 16-17 Staff suppr3rt for accelerated learning, 144,14&149 Star~dards,as impetus for accelerated learnh~g,49-50 Startclford-BinetIntelligence kale, 15 Stanleq.,Julim, 26 Stereotypes, 69-70,122 Steniberg, Roli-tert, 36,38 Strengths building on studertts" 82-83, 114-115 micatiort modes as, 121-122 idmtiQing students', 46 Students, 84-88 accountability for learning stmdafds, 2,443 acquisitit~nof social and crattural skills, 8G87 adultsr assumptioxis abcmt, 79,8044 attentio~nto develo~mer~t off 100 building on stre~~gths, 82-83,114-125 caring fr~~or, 87-88 collaborative learnkg amcjitg, 135-136 collective resistance to chaflei~ging curriculum, 113-114 differerices viewed as problem, 112-133 disco~xtectior~ from school m d society; 13.4 effect c3f assurnptiorts they can't learn, 110-112 effects of Eastern European hmigmnts 011 education, 12,13 effects of memorizations artcl drills on, 138-1 31 examples of gifted, average, m d lowachieving, 7-8 focus of remedia tion for, 34-35 ide~~tif;yhg strertgths of, 46 ineqtrities for low-irtcome m d rni~toPitystudents, 2

lack of caring for, 8586 learrting from each other, 86 rninopity 2,83-84 morivatirzn for aclceleraGo1.r in, 21-22 riegotiating pc~sitive learning exivironmen t with teachers, 135-116,126-127,137-138(111) as passive recipients of knowledge, 134 respoitsibiliities for change, 143, 161417 role in accelerated lear~ting~ 11 sharit~ghi@ academic expectations for all, 82 sorting and sqarating studmts, 9G97 teacher's understatdh3g of, 116-117' variat;ic,ns in accelerated learning fox", 8-9 varykg educational strategies for, 124 view of schcx9 as social ix~stitutiom, 8485 Studer~ts.SCealso Gifted studer~ts;Lowachieving students; Low-incc~me stude~~ts Study of MatltematicalXy Precocious Youth (SMPY), 26 Subject matter acceleration, 24,223 Success as limited commcdity, 71 Swadener, B. B., 93 Swanson, Juiie D,, 4,3346 Systemic cha~ge,101-102 Taba, Hilda, 60 Talberz;J. E,, 122,124,125 Talent search programs, 21,26-27, 28 Tassel-Bask, Joyce Van, 21,60 Taylor, Fredwick Whslow, 33 Teachers acctlrur~tabilityfor learning standads, 2,48 actions supporthg accelerated learning, 143,145146 assuming studmts cm't l e m chaflm@~~g material, 11C)-112 assuming students' differences as prc~blexn,112-11 3 building on studertts%trengths,82-83, 134-115 burnout ftzr, 89

Index

190 collaborating witb. other teachers, parents, m d commultityl12%126 co~~tinuing pmfessionnt developmat for, 126125 ccl2trolling what and how rna ter-ial leanled, 123-124 creating positive learrtir~g environme~~t, 126-127 developing ul~dmstandingof studei~ts,11&117 direct;ingall disccmrse in rlassroc~ms, 117-118 discouraging diverse communication modes, 21%119 em;l"hask-.inga r d a m d sc3litary work, 131-132 el-tsuringctassroc~mis rer~terof expertise, 127-1 29 as fearniltg leaders, 129-130 negotiating positive fearnb~g mviroment with students, n5-116? 12&127; 137-138(n1) noting and building o~nstudent differexlces, 61 respo11sibiEties outside school for accelerated feaming, 150,151, 154-1 L% role in d e h i n g classrcx>mculture, 109-110 in schc~c~ls that accelerate learning, 31-93 as solitary workers, 122-123 training in d i a p c ~ t i and c remediation tcmls, 16 as transmi tters of bowledge, 97-98 using lang~ageto assess mdersta~dirtgand tl~inking, 120-1 21 Teaching adva~cedskills, 52,%55

cuftumlly relevant, 127 low-achieving students, 36,39 strategies far gifted and talented, 52-53 as traxlsmissior~of kr~owEedge, 97-98 for mdersta~tcfhg,52,54 using African America1 teachiz~g style, 127 Telescoping ctirriculum, 25,28 Terman, Louis, 15 Testing for $ifited low-income students, 20 identiQir~glow achievers with, 36 IQ tests, 15,20,23-24,28 talent search programs axld, 26-27 Title Xichapter I prc)gram, 34 Tobin, W,,, 1U1 Ti.>mlinson,Carol Arult, 28-30,52-53 li-ansmissic>nof h~owfedge studmts as passive recqtors, 114 teachers as trar~smitters,97-98 TreCfi12ger. D. J., 27 Tyaek, D,, 65,102-102 UCAP (tirbm CollaborativeAcceferakd Prc~gram),44 Ux-tityvs. diversity '72 Urban Callabc~ra tive Accelerated Program (UCA12),44 Value of change, 101-104 VVasley, TZ. A., 113,124 Weak~~esses, Focusing OEI student, 91 Weelock, A,, 95