AISR Speaks Out: Commentary on Urban Education
From Turmoil to Trust: Becoming Partners in School Reform
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The widely publicized firing of the entire staff at Central Falls high school in Rhode Island was the aftermath of a perfect storm of national education reform mandates and local union-management discord. The actions taken in this smallest city in our smallest state stirred up national debate about how best to achieve much-needed upgrades for underperforming public schools.
The situation is, literally, close to home for the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. We have worked closely with Central Falls district, union, and community leaders as part of Governor Donald Carcieri’s Rhode Island Urban Education Task Force. We have seen firsthand that the situation is painful for all involved.
Recently, Central Falls Superintendent Frances Gallo asked the Annenberg Institute to help facilitate an ongoing, transparent discussion among those with a stake in the school — the district, the union, the students, and the community. We are committed to ensuring that a major restructuring will be successful and long-lasting.
Like Central Falls, communities around the country are grappling with how to bring stakeholders together for the benefit of their students. Based on our research and our work with schools, we know that trust-based partnerships can be effective in addressing the problems of failing schools — if some ground rules are observed.
First, all parties must agree to own the problem.In Central Falls, where partnerships between the district administration and the teachers broke down, rebuilding social trust will be job one — not an afterthought. All stakeholders, with their differing perspectives, need to participate in decisions about what will work to improve young people’s learning and development. This includes students, whose interests must be at the center of any reform. The students at Central Falls High School have shown support both for the fired staff and for Superintendent Gallo’s actions. One thing they made clear at a March 10 rally: They want to have a voice in what happens at their schools. And so they should.
Second, those charged with reform should be clear that restructuring requires investment. Changing personnel and/or governance will only bring substantive improvement if there are also changes in curriculum, instruction, and working conditions. Teachers need tools and supports that enable them to raise their students’ achievement levels, especially for English-language learners and recent immigrants. These tools include new classroom materials, new instructional methods, new technology, and professional development tailored to the needs of different teachers.
Third, reform measures should be evidence-based and sustainable. Urban districts like New York City, Nashville, and Chicago have shown that administrators, the teachers union, and community leaders can improve their schools when data — rather than assumptions and conflict — guides advocacy. Afterwards, sustaining the positive effects of reform will depend on district- and statewide policies. The four federal turnaround strategies for failing schools are mostly aimed at the school level. But most policies with a major impact on teaching and learning — such as curriculum, data access and availability, and school governance and staffing — are controlled by districts and states. If these larger-scale policies are not changed, even drastic restructuring of individual schools will have a limited reach.
Last, even major changes to the academic process in a traditional school setting will not be enough to help its students succeed. Young people, especially in historically under-served schools, need a high-quality, comprehensive network of learning and youth development opportunities and supports wherever and whenever they occur — at school, at home, and in the community. We call such networks — high-functioning districts linked to civic and community partners — “smart education systems.”
Central Falls’ education stakeholders have been asked to move forward with the complex work of thoughtful, inclusive engagement and debate in order to build an effective turnaround plan. The eyes of the nation are on Central Falls High School as it strives to realize its vision of a learning community that fully prepares young people to succeed in college and careers, and as citizens.
PREPARED BY
Warren Simmons
Executive Director, Annenberg Institute for School Reform
CONTACT
Ellen Foley
Associate Director, District Redesign and Leadership;
Assistant Clinical Professor, Master’s in Urban Education Policy Program, Brown University
Ellen_Foley@brown.edu 
Annenberg Institute Executive Director Warren Simmons reflects on federal turnaround strategies