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Session Title: Do Schools Know Best? A Foundation Explores the Question
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Panel Session 818 to be held in the Agate Room Section C on Saturday, Nov 8, 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM
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Sponsored by the Non-profit and Foundations Evaluation TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Albert Bennett,
Roosevelt University,
abennett@roosevelt.edu
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| Abstract:
The Lloyd A Fry Foundation High School Initiative began in the fall of 2001. There were two primary goals of the Initiative. The first goal was to increase student achievement. The second goal was to create sustainable improvements in the teaching and learning environment through distributed leadership and collaborative decision making. The Initiative was funded for five years and each school was able to receive up to $1.25 million over the life of the project. In addition to this support, each of the six schools received $50,000 for planning and $25,000 for retreats. Two assumptions guided the Initiative. The first assumption was that schools know their problems (and solutions) best, so give them the resources they need and get out of the way. The second assumption was that schools will make better decisions if more individuals are involved in problem identification and decision-making. If principals become more inclusive, they will be able to share leadership responsibilities, thereby making what is quickly becoming an unmanageable job more manageable. And finally, that the decisions of these leadership teams would be significantly different (i.e., better) than previous decisions made in the old authoritarian pattern.
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Did the High Schools do the Right Thing? A Presentation on the Findings And Implications of the Lloyd A Fry High School Initiative
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| James Lewis,
Chicago Community Trust,
jlewis@cct.org
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| Albert Bennett,
Roosevelt University,
abennett@roosevelt.edu
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| Rodney Harris,
University of Illinois Chicago,
rharri5@uic.edu
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| Timothy Wateridge,
Roosevelt University,
timothy.wateridege@mymail.roosevelt.edu
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This paper will present the findings of the evaluation of the Fry Foundation High School Initiative. Specifically, the evaluation will answer five questions: 1. How well did leadership teams operate within schools? 2. Did schools identify their most pressing needs and design programs likely to lead to school improvement? 3. What types of programs appeared to improve teaching and/or classroom climate? 4. What conditions supported or impeded program success? and, 5. What were some of the barriers and constraints to school improvement?
Preliminary analyses of the data suggest the following. Schools were required to engage in significant amounts of planning, but did generally did not have the capacity to do this. Many of the programs developed by the schools had little buy-in from teachers and therefore failed quickly and were discontinued. The commitment of the foundation to five years of funding provided the schools with needed time to make changes in programs that were not succeeding.
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Do Schools Know Best? The Executive Director Speaks
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| Unmi Song,
The Lloyd A Fry Foundation,
usong@fryfoundation.org
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Unmi Song is the executive director of the Lloyd A Fry Foundation and thus brings a unique perspective to the question posed. Ms. Song made extensive use of the formative evaluations provided to make significant changes in the program design and delivery. Ms. Song will also be able to speak on the impact on the foundation of staff being heavily involved in the on-going program to make changes at the local level.
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Do Schools Know Best? The School Principal Speaks
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| Anthony Spivey,
Chicago Public Schools,
anthony.m.spivey@cps.k12.il.us
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Anthony Spivey, as one of the six high school principals who participated in the High School Initiative. Mr Spivey was involved in the Initiative for the entire life of the project. Mr. Spivey consistently used evaluation data to revise his curriculum and program offerings. Mr. Spivey represents an important group of stakeholders that we rarely have the opportunity to hear - local school people.
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Do Schools Know Best? A Member of the Foundation Board Speaks
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| Howard McCue,
The Lloyd A Fry Foundation,
hmccue@fryfoundation.org
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Howard (Scott) McCue is a long-time board member of the Lloyd A Fry Foundation. Mr. McCue was instrumental in the design and philosophy of the Fry Foundation High School Initiative. His involvement, as a board member, in this effort is quite unusual. He was also the driving force behind the need to identify an evaluation team early in the life of the project.
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