Findings of a study that examined patterns in coalition-building for school restructuring are presented in this paper, which focuses on the adoption and early implementation stages of educational change. A case study analysis of two high schools and one district involved in school restructuring was undertaken through site observation and interviews with five informants at each school. Interviewees were asked about the effect of the following roles--supervisor, district office administrator, local board member, teacher, teacher association member, principal, and state education agency--on the restructuring process. Findings suggest that no particular role exerted a major influence on restructuring efforts. That only one school utilized informal political coalition building fails to support Timar's (1986) model of integrated, political coalition-building. A suggestion is that national coalitions may provide an integrated approach to school improvement to replace the fragmented interest groups that dominate the state-level reform scene. (Contains 27 references.) (LMI)