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9/11/1997 12:06:00 AM

Rice Sets the Stage for School Reform During Summer Institute

By David Kaplan
Rice News Staff

Middle School Humanities Teacher Lorraine Chanon, one of the facilitators at the Reforming Schools Summer Institute held July 29 to Aug. 1 at Rice University, recalled her days as a public school student and how she harbored deep in the pit of her stomach the fear that her teachers would call on her and pose a question she couldn't answer.

Chanon's own students at the innovative Central Park East Secondary School (CPESS) in the Spanish Harlem district of New York City are far less likely to have that trepidation because they feel more in control of their destinies and are consumed by doing research and asking questions of their own.

Chanon was one of four school reform pioneers from New York City, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, who shared perspectives, experiences and ideas with about 100 Houston-area elementary, middle school, and high school educators. The Reforming Schools Summer Institute was cosponsored by the Center for Education and the Coalition of Essential Schools through a generous gift from the Brown Foundation.

Representatives from 24 local schools attended; each school sent a team comprised of teachers and administrators. They experienced a variety of frameworks and tools for making schools more effective and more student-centered places of learning. Educators met in a variety of cross grade-level, cross-district, and school-based groups.

Doris Rodgers Robins, director of the Texas Coalition of Essential Schools, set the stage for the institute by focusing the participants on the institute's outcomes. Robins outlined student learning, authentic pedagogy, organizational structures, and external support as circles of support central to transforming schools into student-centered places of learning.

Linda McNeil, co-director of the Center for Education, told those assembled that the summer institute's aim is to "create a common conversation around the idea that schools can be good places for children to learn, places where parents feel a sense of trust, and teachers feel a sense of ownership and belonging." The institute also strives to "help educators connect with the rich resources available," said McNeil, who noted, "We're here for the long haul. We hope we'll be their continuing colleague in this work."

Along with discussions of school reform theory, the four-day event featured lessons learned from the field. For example, David Smith, director of Central Park East Secondary School, explained how his school is a democracy where critical thinking is encouraged. Students are actively encouraged to question and challenge teachers by using habits of mind such as: "Why are we studying this?" and "What's your evidence?" At CPESS, teachers organize their classes but relinquish the responsibility of the classroom to the students, said Smith, who noted that his teachers "nudge the students along when they get stuck."

The elementary school reform perspective was shared by Paula and Samuel Howard, principals from Pittsburgh, Pa. The institute participants experienced a powerful glimpse inside the two student-centered Pittsburgh schools through video and a slide presentation showcasing authentic student work. Paula Howard emphasized that collaborative school, community, university and business partnerships are critical to sparking the impetus for school change.

Cheryl Craig shared the international perspective and centered on the public schools in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Craig described how the district has flipped the organizational chart to better serve the students and maximize resources.

Keynote speaker Anne Hallett, director of the Cross-City Campaign for Urban School Reform in Chicago, discussed the need for establishing community support when seeking school reform. She observed that "the work the Center for Education is doing is just invaluable. It's so important, the kind of sharing taking place at the summer institute. This kind of school-to-school connection is how real learning among teachers and administrators takes place."

As the Reforming Schools Summer Institute came to a close, one of the participants, Tim Salmon, a social studies teacher at Drew Academy in the Aldine school district, said it was "very beneficial" to hear from educators at schools "where they've already gone through the process of change. Our team has already started developing our plan of action that we're going to take back to our school."