Process Yields Performance: Building Systems to Develop and Sustain Innovative Academic Programs

Abstract

Ten years ago, The Harbour School (THS) opened its doors in Hong Kong. Billed as an “inclusive, progressive school” with an international population and American curriculum, it sought to demonstrate not only that an inclusive model was the way to create a more meaningful, generative academic experience for students, but also that its model would allow it to continuously evolve as an organization – withstanding changes in technology, university settings, and job markets. Having evolved from a group of seven students in a proverbial one-room school house to a three hundred student PK-12 program spread across three campuses, the school’s senior management team, led by Head of School Dr. Jadis Blurton, sought to bring together the innovations that had emerged organically with the school’s growth into the kind of cohesive program that was both expandable and replicable for others attempting to address the changing world of schooling. The strategic project outlined in this document examines the ways in which ingrained notions about what makes an authentic schooling experience and the history of schooling experiences have made radical change to the structure of said experiences challenging. It hones in on particular instances of curriculum development and team management which demonstrate how even in environments where individuals are given both the mandate and the resources to innovate, the pull toward the traditional and familiar is often too strong to resist. The project highlights attempts to build structures and processes at the ground level which support and sustain momentum shifts around curricular practice. It addresses both the tangible, logistical challenges that stymie change efforts as well as the personal challenges that arise from the narratives individuals tell themselves and others that perpetuate the status quo. It examines the ways in which leaders must align administrative strategy with efforts of staff on the front lines of teaching and learning to bring coherence to both schools and systems.