Organizing for Improvement in an Urban School District: Shifting From a Culture of Compliance to a Culture of Collective Responsibility

Abstract

There is high demand for understanding the ways in which a central office can best support school improvement and student growth. This Capstone examines how a cross-functional senior leadership team collaborated to design a district-wide school improvement planning process with the goal of improving the quality of teaching and learning for all students. In particular, the analysis focuses on the functions of teaming and strategic improvement planning as drivers to help an organization achieve its goals.

During the 2014-2015 school year, New Haven Public Schools focused on deepening and extending School Change, its broad-based district reform strategy, with the launch of School Change 2.0. Re-designing the district’s school improvement planning process and accompanying school support structures was a key initiative as part of this strategy. This Capstone explores the district’s shift toward a culture of collective responsibility through cross-departmental teaming and addresses the following research question: How can an urban school district use school improvement planning to enhance cross-functional work within the central office, and the partnership between the central office and schools, to improve teaching and learning? It provides insight into how an urban school district and public bureaucracy may structure its internal systems and processes to create a culture that enables continuous improvement. The process requires shifting from a culture traditionally focused on business and compliance functions to a culture that orients itself toward supporting schools and efforts to improve teaching and learning. To do this, district leaders must find new ways of working together and working with schools. In particular, the central office must shift from "organizing to execute" to "organizing to learn."

This Capstone focuses on the possibilities and limitations of this process, and provides practical recommendations for making this transition in a context like New Haven Public Schools. In addition, it offers a reflection on key implications for three different levels of the system: my own leadership and work, the unique New Haven Public Schools site, and the broader education sector.