Managing and Guiding School Reform: Leadership in Success for All Schools

Abstract

This article addresses issues of leadership in school reform with respect to the roles of the principal and the reform facilitator, a teacher who works full-time to support reform activities. The Success for All reform model is used as a case in point because it, like many other reforms, views leadership as critical to reform success. Using qualitative data gathered in six Success for All schools, this article focuses on how principal leadership shaped and was shaped by the reform and on the successes and challenges faced by Success for All facilitators in occupying a position of teacher leadership. This article discusses the roles and relationships, tensions and ambiguities, and power dynamics that evolved among principals, facilitators, and teachers in the implementation of the reform. The findings of this study illuminate the challenges in reconnecting teaching and administration and reveal the importance of changing structures and cultures in this move.