Challenges and Obstacles in Leading Change: A Case Study in Implementing the Portfolio Strategy in the New Haven Public Schools

Abstract

The portfolio strategy, as championed by the Center on Reinventing Education, University of Washington, is a school improvement model that seeks to enhance student outcomes in a school district through the creation of a diverse range of highly effective schools that are accessible by parental choice. At the very heart of this flexible model are the concepts of school autonomy and performance-based accountability. Nationally, the results of the portfolio strategy are mixed and vary according to which elements of the portfolio strategy are embraced by a given district. This capstone focuses on the portfolio strategy as adopted by the New Haven Public Schools (NHPS). After a mayoral transition and changes in superintendents, some elements of the portfolio strategy have stalled while others remained relatively unknown. This is the result of competing priorities, a lack of consensus in the authorizing environment, and challenges in organizational capacity. As a doctoral resident and mayoral aide, I assessed the status of New Haven’s portfolio strategy and worked with the district leadership in the early stages of defining school autonomy and accountability in the context of the NHPS. This process ultimately led to a Board of Education decision to empanel a previously dormant Joint Reform Committee and to undertake a pilot project concentrating on school autonomy and accountability. This capstone explores the concepts of espoused and enacted theories of action and the impact of these competing theories on the NHPS, mayor-superintendent relationships, and the external and internal factors that impact strategy development and execution. In order to do this, I relied heavily on guidance from the literature on the portfolio strategy, mayors in education, managerial trust, change management dynamics, and the balance of autonomy and accountability in public education management.