Handbook on Restructuring and Substantial School Improvement

By:
Herbert J. Walberg, University of Illinois - Chicago

Published 2007

(Published in cooperation with The Center on Innovation & Improvement)

As suggested by the title, the purpose of this Handbook on Restructuring and Substantial School Improvement is to provide principles for restructuring and substantially improving schools. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, the Center on Innovation & Improvement (CII) engaged leading experts on restructuring and school improvement to prepare modules for this handbook to assist states, districts, and schools in establishing policies, procedures, and support to successfully restructure schools. The Handbook is organized into three sections.

The topic of the Handbook’s modules – restructuring with a focus on the district as the impetus for dramatic improvement – is relatively new in the nation’s education history. For this reason, the module authors were selected because they are highly experienced experts in their fields and can be counted on to judiciously weigh the less than definitive evidence and to state useful guiding principles.

CONTENTS
Preface, Herbert J. Walberg. Section 1: Overview of Restructuring. Overview of Restructuring, Bryan Hassel, Emily Hassel, and Lauren Morando Rhim. Section 2: Topical Modules. District-Wide Framework for Improvement, Kenneth K. Wong. The School Board and Central Office in District Improvement, Gordon Cawelti and Nancy Protheroe. Restructuring Options and Change Processes, Carole L. Perlman. Restructuring Through Learning-Focused Leadership, Joseph Murphy. Changing and Monitoring Instruction, Herbert J. Walberg. Systems for Improved Teaching and Learning, Sam Redding. Section 3: Indicators of Successful Restructuring. Indicators of Successful Restructuring, Sam Redding.

REVIEWS
"In summary, this handbook is relevant for schools embarking or in the midst of restructuring as it provides simple coherent principles in each of the three sections that can be adopted, modified or redesigned to use within individual school organizations. It provides a whole array of down-to-earth practical principles, additional resources and web links or tools that can be downloaded and used within a restructuring process. For researchers in the field of restructuring and improvement, the Handbook provides good schematic representations that can be used as researchers design, experiment, explore, or engage in active research within this field." Venesser M. Pate Monash University