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57
administrators, the study conducted by Marzano and Waters (2009) indicates that district
leadership has a measurable effect on student achievement.
After conducting a meta-analysis of educational research from 1970 to 2005, the
researchers have indentified five district-level responsibilities that most directly impact
student learning: (1) ensuring collaborative goal setting, (2) establishing nonnegotiable
goals for achievement and instruction, (3) creating board alignment with and support of
district goals, (4) monitoring achievement and instruction goals and (5) allocating
resources to support the goals for achievement and instruction (Marzano & Waters,
2009). Odden (2009) admits that in some cases, schools can produce dramatic
improvements in student learning on their own, but it certainly is facilitated if there is
support from the central office. Marzano and Waters (2009) take this notion further by
suggesting that district leaders should adopt a proactive stance that ensures certain
uniform behaviors occur in every school in every classroom.
While central office leadership may be needed to move all schools in a district
onto the pathway toward doubling performance (Odden, 2009), it is necessary to strike
the right balance between direction and school support (Marzano & Waters, 2009). To
accomplish this, the districts and school sites establish a unique relationship where they
shift from loosely coupled entities to tightly coupled networks focused on high student
achievement systemwide. Furthermore, the Marzano and Waters (2009) study finds that
when districts and schools adopt an attitude of “defined autonomy” as a norm in their
relationships, schools have flexibility to innovate while still adhering to the collaborative
goals set and monitored by the district.
Object Description
| Title | Navigating troubled waters: case studies of three California high schools' resource allocation strategies in 2010-2011 |
| Author | Landisi, Brian Anthony |
| Author email | landisi@usc.edu; blandisi@charter.net |
| Degree | Doctor of Education |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Education (Leadership) |
| School | Rossier School of Education |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-03-28 |
| Date submitted | 2011 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2011-04-28 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Picus, Lawrence O. |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Hentschke, Guilbert C. Nelson, John L. |
| Abstract | This study was conducted to examine instructional strategies and resource allocation in successful schools. The study was based on the analysis of three comprehensive high schools in one school district in Southern California. Each of the study schools increased students’ academic achievement over time as measured by sustained growth on California’s Academic Performance Index. The efforts of these study schools also contributed to narrowing the achievement gap.; Successful schools in this study were analyzed primarily through the lens of Odden’s (2009) 10 Strategies for Doubling Student Performance. In addition to effective organizational and instructional strategies, this study also analyzed human and fiscal resource allocation at the sample schools. The study used the Evidence-Based Model (Odden & Picus, 2008) to analyze how the schools allocated resources during 2010-2011, navigating a catastrophic economic crisis facing California and the rest of the nation. Interview data, student achievement data and information on school-level resource use were included in case studies on each of these successful schools.; The findings indicate that although the resource use patterns of the study schools were significantly fewer than what the Evidence-Based Model suggests, the improvement strategies showed many commonalities to those suggested in the body of literature on school improvement. Strong leadership from the district office supported the reform efforts at each of the school sites. This leadership came in the form of a single district focus combined with continuity of leadership, development and retention of talent within the district and a common school improvement framework.; A heavy investment of time and fiscal resources into professional development created a collaborative culture within and between the high schools in the study. The schools that were most successful in raising student achievement demonstrated a commitment to collaboration and embraced the role of teacher leaders. The most effective schools in the study had in place internal accountability structures to support the implementation of the school and district focus. It is the effective implementation of research-based strategies, not simply resource allocation that makes schools successful and contributes to further growth in student achievement. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. |
| Keyword | education finance; secondary education; educational leadership; budget crisis; instructional leadership; Odden and Picus; resource allocation; school finance; school reform |
| Geographic subject (county) | Los Angeles |
| Geographic subject (state) | California |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA |
| Coverage date | 2010/2011 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3797 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Landisi, Brian Anthony |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Landisi-4355 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume14/etd-Landisi-4355.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 69 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 57 administrators, the study conducted by Marzano and Waters (2009) indicates that district leadership has a measurable effect on student achievement. After conducting a meta-analysis of educational research from 1970 to 2005, the researchers have indentified five district-level responsibilities that most directly impact student learning: (1) ensuring collaborative goal setting, (2) establishing nonnegotiable goals for achievement and instruction, (3) creating board alignment with and support of district goals, (4) monitoring achievement and instruction goals and (5) allocating resources to support the goals for achievement and instruction (Marzano & Waters, 2009). Odden (2009) admits that in some cases, schools can produce dramatic improvements in student learning on their own, but it certainly is facilitated if there is support from the central office. Marzano and Waters (2009) take this notion further by suggesting that district leaders should adopt a proactive stance that ensures certain uniform behaviors occur in every school in every classroom. While central office leadership may be needed to move all schools in a district onto the pathway toward doubling performance (Odden, 2009), it is necessary to strike the right balance between direction and school support (Marzano & Waters, 2009). To accomplish this, the districts and school sites establish a unique relationship where they shift from loosely coupled entities to tightly coupled networks focused on high student achievement systemwide. Furthermore, the Marzano and Waters (2009) study finds that when districts and schools adopt an attitude of “defined autonomy” as a norm in their relationships, schools have flexibility to innovate while still adhering to the collaborative goals set and monitored by the district. |
