Best practices of high performing high schools: reform begins with understanding why schools need to change, using good data to determine what needs to change, and then knowing how to carry out the change.

In 2004, 30 high schools identified as successful by national organizations or state education commissioners participated in the "Bringing Best Practices to Scale" initiative, co-sponsored by the International Center for Leadership in Education and Council of Chief State School Officers, with financial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The findings reveal that a school usually needs to progress through three consecutive stages in order to achieve high academic standards for all students:

1. Convincing educators, parents and community members as to why the school needs to change.

2. Using good data to determine what needs to change.

3. Determining how to change the school once people embrace the why and the what.

Regrettably, many schools begin their improvement efforts in the reverse order--they find a "solution" without articulating the need. Yet, if staff and stakeholders do not believe the school must change or understand what needs to change, the suggestion for how to change is likely to be rejected.

Why we need to change high schools

High school reform begins with a desire to change what exists in order to keep pace with society. The leaders in successful high schools embrace change as exciting rather than threatening. They believe we must equip all students with the skills to be lifelong learners in a technologically based society. Technological change is inevitable, and they are ready to deal with it.

Working in the context of a digital society requires breakthrough thinking. The leaders of the 30 high schools have accepted the reality that today's students will need a different set of skills from their predecessors to enjoy success in adult roles, and that schools need to reinvent themselves to prepare students to meet the future demands that will he placed upon them. The old rules simply do not apply.

More extensive scientific and technological advances will occur in the next few years than have happened in the last two centuries. Dealing with these advances requires a different education system from the one in which we were educated.

Determining what to change

1. Creating the vision

Once stakeholders are aware of the economic and human reasons why education must change, the successful schools use that knowledge to develop a student-focused vision and common purpose that helps to identify the changes needed. The vision creates a collaborative spirit among staff and community.

In high-performing schools, fostering intellectual development, teaching students to be responsible citizens and getting them ready for higher education remain high priorities. The leaders also understand the importance of preparing students for careers, because working will be a common denominator for all students and because the academic skills used in the workplace are often at a higher level than and different from those needed for college.

2. Changing the mind-set

Over the past 40 years, our economy has gone through dramatic changes that require workers to possess different skill sets from those traditionally provided in school. As the demands to raise standards have become steeper, schools tend to rely on tried-and-true curriculum content and teaching approaches. However, this old methodology was intended for an education system whose mission was to select and sort students, not to move all students to high levels of proficiency.

The successful schools focus on the future, with the goal of teaching students how to think--not simply what to know. These schools teach students how to apply high levels of cognitive knowledge to real-world unpredictable situations.

3. Identifying what to teach

Once the schools had created a student-focused vision embraced by all, they turned to identifying what to teach. Many schools had an overcrowded curriculum, so they used data to make hard decisions about what is essential for all students to know, what is nice to know, and what should be taken off the plate.

Literacy was identified as a critical competency area, and many of the schools have made a major commitment to reading and writing across the curriculum. Teachers are trained and expected to teach reading in their courses.

In addition, some schools have ninth-graders who are not proficient enough in reading and math to benefit from the instructional materials used in high school. For them, the schools provide an intensive program, often around a theme, to ready them for 10th grade, so that they will not struggle academically and possibly drop out of school.

The 12th grade also looks different. The successful schools have a rigorous 12th grade program. Instead of electives, students take advanced courses, sometimes in articulation with community colleges. The schools may also require a senior project for graduation.

4. Optimum organization of instruction

To provide rigorous academics to all students, most of the schools developed small learning communities--typically theme academies. Academics are taught within the context of the theme. The schools have found that when they built programs around students' interests, learning styles and aptitudes, the students did better in school.

Relevance is critical to get most students to rigor. Relevance creates the conditions and motivation needed for students to make a personal investment in rigorous work for optimal learning. Students work harder and learn better when the content is connected to something in which they have an interest. Nearly all of the model schools have invested substantial resources to improve instruction and have created multiple opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and community service as ways to bring relevance to academics.

Strong relationships are also critical to academic success for students. Students are more likely to engage in rigorous learning when they know that teachers, parents and other students actually care how well they do.

The work of the model high schools in strengthening relationships was as noteworthy as their efforts to bring relevance to education programs. When guiding principles such as respect, responsibility, honesty, compassion, contemplation and perseverance are embedded in the school culture and underpin all interactions, positive relationships, better collaboration, and an overall sense of caring, support and teamwork are the result.

It is important to note that the model schools did not waiver from their primary goal of raising the academic achievement of students or back away from improving performance on standardized tests in the process of increasing the relevancy of the curriculum and creating a culture of strong relationships and mutual support. Their academic content steadfastly reflects high expectations for all students, is non-negotiable, and is based on the knowledge and skills students will need to demonstrate in their lives after graduation.

Determining how to change

Schools that have gone through a process of discovering why they must change followed by a data analysis that identifies what they must change are far better positioned to determine how they need to change. The challenge in changing high schools is breaking free of traditions, such as summers off, 45-minute periods and all courses being the same length. Many of these practices are not based upon what research shows is the most effective way to educate children. All traditions regarding such issues as class size, independent departments for each discipline and bell schedules need to be challenged to determine whether they are aligned with student needs.

Creating an environment in which staff and students feel safe in questioning current procedures is an important factor in staying on a path of continuous improvement. Some highly successful schools of a decade ago are no longer regarded as innovators because they became institutionalized in their new rules, policies and thinking. For long-term success, schools need to engage constantly in reflective thinking. The truly successful schools shun any sense of having "arrived" and continually strive to improve and reinvent themselves.

Finally, we found that change leaders in high-performing schools are willing to take necessary risks because they believe there is no choice but to change. Playing it safe is more dangerous than taking a risk, and there is no protected harbor from the storm. Therefore, they take control and steer the ship through the storm, rather than simply trying to keep it afloat in turbulent waters.

Creating the plan

Many leaders of the high-performing schools took the approach that one-third of the faculty will be excited about the new school improvement plan, one-third will be cautious but open-minded, and one-third will say, in effect, "over my dead body." These leaders engage the top third in an open process to help conceptualize, create and implement a strategic plan for change.

They involve the middle third by asking them to analyze, evaluate and volunteer to pilot components of the plan. This approach typically influences the middle group to join in the change process within a year. Over time, many of the bottom third come aboard, too.

The leaders make sure everyone understands that the plan is not perfect because there is no perfect model. This admission that the plan will need to be adjusted constantly helps quiet the bottom third, who might otherwise say, "I told you it wouldn't work."

The high-performing schools develop plans that, while based on student needs, play to the strengths of the faculty, community, school and students. Many reform efforts spend too much time trying to figure out how to compensate for weaknesses rather than capitalizing on strengths. By focusing on the positive, people become energized to move ahead even though the solution is not perfect. Constant fine-tuning of the plan moves it from being a good plan to becoming a great plan over time.

Managing change

Managing change is especially challenging in institutions with long traditions, such as public education. Traditions, and the rules and regulations that surround them, become anchors that are difficult to pull up so that the "ship" can be redirected.

Educators need assurance that any contemplated change is well thought out, carefully researched and clearly better than what currently exists. The problem is that seldom are there absolute rights or wrongs relative to organizational structure. Managing change in organizations with deep-seated traditions and widespread fear of change requires extraordinary leadership.

Since the 1983 report "A Nation at Risk," we have had two decades of pressure from business and political leaders to change the education system. Because of public schools' inability to change quickly, they have witnessed erosion in support from Key stakeholder groups. Therefore, we must have education leaders who cannot be seduced into ignoring what they know we should do. Playing it safe to avoid risks places schools and students in greater peril than not attempting change at all.

Leadership is everyone's responsibility

Leadership and a clear focus are two themes that guide successful schools. Leadership is not a position, but a way of doing for everyone in the school. Establishing a clear focus means everyone understands the goals. The work of leadership by all then centers on what is most critical. These schools tend not to have an all-encompassing curriculum but rather offer active, in-depth learning in the focus areas. They also tend to support both student and adult learning in an effort to establish a culture where learning and leadership are part of the system for all to experience.

There is little doubt that if we could harness the collective energies of all the educators, students and staff in our schools, we could make the changes needed to educate all students to high standards. Leadership density and a laser-like focus are great places to begin.

Best leadership practices in the model high schools

Certain characteristics that contribute to success were consistent across the model high schools studied in the "Bringing Best Practices to Scale" initiative. Dedicated leadership is one of those characteristics. The schools typically have a leader with solid skills and a clear focus, who stays in the position long enough to sustain change. Charisma is not a requirement.

The following are some examples from that study.

* Academies at Englewood (New Jersey) has an energetic and highly visible principal who is a cheerleader committed to the mission of the school. He knows nearly every student by name and is able to say something personal when he sees a student in the hall. He revels in the high spirits of the students and the creativity of the staff. He trusts the staff to make good educational decisions and stays out of their way.

* Boston Arts Academy (Massachusetts) has a leadership model of top-down support for bottom-up leadership. Collaboration exists in all meetings that discuss improvements needed to continue as a "cutting-edge" school or address the needs of students. The school employs a team structure that allows all staff members to participate in decision-making and to display individual talents and interests.

* Central Educational Center (Georgia) has a leadership model that describes leadership as communicating an exciting vision of the future; initiating action to bring about continuous improvement; acting as mentor, developer and facilitator; using strong influencing and negotiating skills; making the complex simple; making fact-based arguments; planning strategically for change in the program; ensuring that team members understand career goals and attracting and retaining team members whose career goals match the program. The school's management philosophy outlines four directives: hire great people, provide clear goals, expect and support continuous improvement, and build a culture of continuous change.

* Kennesaw Mountain High School (Georgia) characterizes essential elements of its leadership style by defining the capacity and capabilities of school leaders. Leaders have a vision for the school that they constantly share and promote; collaborate and cooperate with others; persevere and take the "long view;" support, develop and nurture staff and never stop learning. The goal of the leadership team is to create a system that develops the capacity of staff members rather than creating a system to control them.

* Merrimack Valley High School (New Hampshire) has committees of administrators, faculty and students who meet frequently to make decisions. A Senate committee, for example, has 12 professional staff and 12 students from student council. A separate leadership team is composed of faculty members elected by peers and an administrator. The faculty members teach two classes a semester and have one period for planning and one period for administration.

* Stuart High School (Virginia) represents focused and visionary leadership as demonstrated by the principal, who models the leadership qualities he expects from others. Leadership is shared, collaborative and empowering, and accountability is demanded in areas of delegation. Department chairpersons are instructional and curriculum leaders, and the very visible principal assumes the roles of resource provider, orchestra leader, cheerleader and marketer.

* Sumter High School (South Carolina) students willingly volunteer their positive feelings about their principal's leadership. ("He's always around." "He talks to us and listens to us.") The leadership style is to empower and build capacity in others. The administrative team regards all teachers as leaders, resulting in a responsive faculty that knows how both to lead and to follow. Upper-class students provide leadership to freshmen. Nurturing student leadership is part of the school culture.

--Willard R. Daggett and Raymond J. McNulty

Willard R. Daggett is president of the International Center for Leadership in Education. Raymond J. McNulty is senior consultant and executive director of the Successful Practices Network, International Center for Leadership in Education.