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ERIC Number: ED456508
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 2000-Nov
Pages: 35
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Lessons Learned from the Quest for Quality Learning Communities Project, 1996-2000.
Howley-Rowe, Caitlin
This report summarizes lessons learned from the Quest project. Data sources include a group interview with Quest staff, formative-evaluation reports, summative-evaluation case studies, and project research reports. One lesson learned concerned the importance of school leaders to the success of reform implementation. Schools with supportive leadership found ways to attend various network events and enact school-improvement projects. Those with less supportive leaders struggled to continue their involvement in Quest or terminated their participation in the project. According to Quest staff, the use of the network to support continuous school improvement has been a fruitful strategy. One benefit had been the way in which practitioners have been able to learn from each other rather than from researchers, state department of education staff, or other entities external to the life of a school. Quest staff reported that the financial and logistical support they offered participants was critical to the continued involvement of some schools. Project staff and school teams made significant efforts to include parents and students in their Quest participation and school-improvement initiatives. These efforts succeeded to various degrees, though some parents continued to report feeling peripheral to their school's undertakings. Student voice proved to be a valuable addition to the network. The participation of community members, however, was quite limited, as schools struggled to find meaningful ways in which to involve them. Appendixes include a brochure and framework for improvement, and a completed evaluation standards checklist. (Contains 47 references.) (DFR)
AEL, Inc., P.O. Box 1348, Charleston, WV 25325-1348. Tel: 304-347-0400; Tel: 800-624-9120 (Toll Free); Fax: 304-347-0487; e-mail: aelinfo@ael.org; Web site: http://www.ael.org.
Publication Type: Information Analyses; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: AEL, Inc., Charleston, WV.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A