Leading and learning in transformation: exploring the relationship between team development and school reform plan implementation in Rhode Island

Abstract

This capstone tells the story of an external organization, The NYC Leadership Academy, (“NYCLA”) supporting the state of Rhode Island’s approach to system-level transformation through a Professional Development (“PD”) strategy. The Rhode Island Department of Education, through its Office of Transformation, has taken bold steps to develop a transformation strategy that intends to balance accountability and support in service of school and system improvement. In engaging NYCLA in this work, the Rhode Island Department of Education (“RIDE”) signals considerable faith in its educators to lead and take part in the transformation of their own schools. This capstone also includes the evolution of the professional development strategy between June 2013 and March 2014, and the project’s results to date. It also includes three major bodies of work that have informed and shaped the strategic project, including the role of team learning and development in organizational change; the role of external organizations in the school turnaround space; and an exploration of system turnaround strategy evaluation. Finally, this capstone provides an analysis of the strategic project’s results in order to propose implications and further questions for system-level turnaround strategy development in relation to my leadership, for NYCLA as the Residency site, and for the sector at large.