Accelerated Schools in Action: Lessons from the Field.

Accelerated Schools in Action: Lessons from the Field Eds C., Finnan, E. St. John, J. McCarthy, S. Slovace 1996 Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press Inc. ISBN 0-8039-6243-6 320 pp.

The purpose of this very practical text on the Accelerated Schools Project is to communicate to the educational community at large both the nature of the project, its scope, now in 700 schools in 37 states, and its accomplishments and lessons learned. The project is a comprehensive approach to restructuring schools in that it serves as an umbrella for many smaller reform efforts that fit well within its principles and values, notably the inclusion movement and reading recovery programs. The guiding force behind the project has been Dr. Henry Levin, a trained economist who became interested in educational issues and especially the plight of the disadvantaged in our schools. Conceptualized as a response to the problems of at-risk learners, Levin appropriates the terms acceleration and enrichment from the gifted literature to underscore the central thesis of his proposal, namely that all children should be taught and can learn at a challenging level, normally reserved for the gifted and talented in schools.

The individual chapters of the book have been written and compiled by Levin and other researchers associated with the project at various sites around the country. The book is divided into four parts. The first part serves as the anchor for what follows as it presents the history and development of the project, noting the central role of inquiry and reflection in its evolution. Central to the project model is a view of systemic reform posited on the idea that schools must become more democratic and equitable places to learn where the current hierarchal structure evolves into a series of collaborative problem-solving teams. Closely aligned with Senge's work(1991), the Accelerated Schools Project promotes developing a shared vision that can translate effectively into a unity of purpose, greater empowerment of teachers and students, and building on strengths of both staff and students to improve.

Part II of the book focuses on the importance of building capacity to accomplish the goals of the project. This section of the book explores the importance of the initial buy-in by educators in making change in schools stressing the importance of early commitment to the project as crucial to later success, viewing change as positive and being able to convince others of the importance of planned change, and the role of teacher research in the school restructuring movement as a way to build commitment to the process.

In Part III of the book, the editors turn to a topic not well explicated within the project itself, the role of the principal. Acknowledging the project's shortcomings in this area, the authors in this section reflect on the importance of the principal in school change, the need for a strong understanding of the project model and the change process, a commitment to both the model and the change process, and the need for separate staff development training for principals in both of these key areas. The authors posit that the leadership role perceived to be critical for principals of the future is that of a transformer and facilitator of change rather than the more traditional instructional leader or manager.

The final section of the book is perhaps its weakest, included more as afterthought than as a cohesive section that builds a set of themes. The major lessons to be learned from these chapters, organized around the idea of powerful learning through curriculum and instruction are that inclusion is a central tenet of the project, consistent with its values and beliefs and therefore should be considered a part of the Accelerated Schools Project, not separate from it. A second lesson derived is that teachers find it easy to internalize the principles of the project and translate them into instructional practice, especially in the area of setting high expectations for learning. The one research-based chapter included used teacher interviews as the primary tool to arrive at this conclusion.

The book taken as a whole is fairly successful in its intent to convey the project as a national effort to improve education through restructuring. Its chief assets lie in its description of the breadth of applications of the project to various settings and various constituencies within education, its forged connections to other movements bent on reform, and its explanatory power of key project principles. The weakness of the volume resides in its limited research evidence of effectiveness presented for the project approach. Although noted through a few key citations, the narrative does not portray a vision of successful change as much as it presents a work in progress, complete with the usual stumblings associated with educational development work. As such, it makes painful but interesting reading and through its many voices that are invoked provides an authentic view of educational change up close and personal. This book would be excellent reading for anyone interested in the workings of the Accelerated Schools Project, especially school administrators. As a primer to understanding why gifted education has become silenced as a voice in the reform effort and as an informed view on the change process at work, it also should be required reading for educators of the gifted. The writing is clear, and the book is organized in a satisfactory way, excepting the final section.

REFERENCES

Senge, P. (1991) The Fifth Discipline, New York: Basic Books.

Reviewed by Joyce VanTassel-Baska,. the Jody and Layton Smith Professor of Education at The College of William and Mary and Director of The Center for Gifted Education and a Advisory Board Editor of the Roeper Review.