"If you have an authoritarian,
hierarchical school structure, the teacher becomes the information
dispenser in the classroom. If kids are going to collaborate
in classrooms, then teachers have to collaborate in decision-making." --Eric Nadelstern,
founder of International High School in New York (quoted in
Authentic Assessment in Action, p. 124)
"A democratic school,
over time, is a more satisfying and professionally rewarding
place for students, faculty, and parents or guardians. It becomes
a true community." --C. Glickman,
Renewing America's Schools: A Guide for School-Based Action
Many schools have achieved their success by ensuring
that teachers – and often parents and students as well –
have a voice in governance. There is evidence that teacher participation
in school decision-making can lead to improved academic achievement
for students (Smylie et al, 1996).
Democratic decision-making at the school level models the collaborative
work that effective teachers expect from their students (and indeed
the democratic process of the larger society) and enables small
schools to make significant improvements in their practice with
the full endorsement and engagement of all members of the school
community.
Most large schools find it difficult to manage
universal participation in governance because of their size, so
they typically turn to representative forms of governance, such
as school-based decision-making councils. These efforts to obtain
everyone’s input often leave some people out and end up alienating
others. At a small school, everyone can have a voice, and everyone
can hear the other voices. Teachers, parents, and students can create
a common vision for where the school is going, and teachers can
make decisions that lead to student success. The ownership that
results from shared governance is critical if innovations are to
last.
Shared
Norms and Values The process of democratic decision making
is not easy, however. The first key element of a shared governance
system is the development of shared norms and values that guides
the work of teachers, parents, and students in making decisions.
Working through these values is worth the time it takes to develop
a strong consensus about what matters to members of the school community
and what the goals for student learning and joint work will be.
Teachers can then use these as touchstones when hiring colleagues,
developing evaluation systems, engaging in peer review, making curriculum
decisions, setting standards for assessing student and teacher work,
and deciding on professional development. These common values provide
essential coherence to the educational program.
Decisions
Close to Classrooms Within the framework established by these
shared norms and with ongoing collaboration in school-level decisions,
effective schools place day-to-day decision-making authority as
close as possible to the classroom, so decisions are made by those
who best know the students and their needs. Just as many businesses
today have clear standards and goals but allow work teams to have
considerable flexibility as to how they reach those goals, well-structured
schools establish academic standards and shared values, and then
give teaching teams the responsibility of making decisions and hold
them accountable for student performance. For example, at International
High School, a team of three or four teachers might share a group
of 75 or 80 students. The teachers have the authority to create
their own curricula and even daily schedules, and they have access
to a budget to support their work; in exchange, they are collectively
responsible for the academic success of their students, as measured
through the school’s performance assessment system. This localized
decision-making structure allows teachers to respond quickly and
flexibly to changes in students’ needs.
Faculty
Governance Where school-wide decisions are concerned,
many successful schools create committees that interview and hire
staff, plan and implement professional development, and manage other
functions that cut across teaching teams. These smaller groups of
staff work on specific issues, bringing them back to the whole staff
when policy decisions must be made. This whole-school decision-making
gives all staff members the chance to participate in the final decisions
and maintains the coherence and unity of purpose in the work of
the school. At some schools, committees and work groups have changing
memberships to reduce territoriality and create opportunities for
people to develop shared perspectives and learn from one another.
In addition, all participants in the governance process receive
leadership training, so that decision-making is collaborative and
skillfully executed.
Student
and Parent Involvement Finally, at good schools, student and
parent involvement in governance is common. Parents and students
are sometimes involved in the kinds of committees described above.
In addition, student advisory groups regularly discuss school-wide
issues of concern and make recommendations; at the secondary school
level, their purview is not just dances and assemblies, but also
substantive teaching and learning decisions. Students also lead
regular town-hall meetings and participate on school-wide committees.
Through these activities, students develop new skills and learn
to be responsible members of a democratic community. Parents too
are invited to participate in the governance process, and while
many working parents may not have time for committee meetings that
are not directly related to their child’s education, it is
essential for schools to cultivate parent leaders who can accurately
represent diverse parent voices in the decision-making process.
Parents are continually involved in discussing the work of their
own students and are often invited to the staff development and
other school development activities that guide the life of the school.
