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136
of locally grown professionals is demonstrated through promoting from within to
maintain the continuity of leadership at the school and district levels. The sense of care
for the individual present across the district is underscored by the belief that data, facts
and figures are important, but they do not define human beings. When schools fall short,
they reflect, regroup and reconnect with multiple resources to support their future growth.
Under the current California model, education funding is directly tied to the state
and federal fiscal climate, which forces schools to regularly deal with the frequent
fluctuations in funding. This severely impacts the services a school can offer.
Policymakers should take note of the improvement strategies successful schools like
those in the sample are using to yield the maximum dividend with minimum additional
resource allocation.
As the common core standards and new assessment and accountability systems
are designed, policymakers, educational testing companies and school improvement
consultants might draw on the practices of these successful schools to serve as models for
structures that need to be in place on a larger scale to effectively move schools forward.
Recommendations for Future Research
This study adds to the growing body of research on school-level resource
allocation strategies. The focus of this study was on three schools in the same district
successfully that made higher levels of academic achievement possible for all students in
spite of the complications associated with reductions in funding due to the California
budget crisis. It would be helpful to study other schools and districts with similar
resources to determine if there are commonalities in terms of resource allocation and
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 148 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 136 of locally grown professionals is demonstrated through promoting from within to maintain the continuity of leadership at the school and district levels. The sense of care for the individual present across the district is underscored by the belief that data, facts and figures are important, but they do not define human beings. When schools fall short, they reflect, regroup and reconnect with multiple resources to support their future growth. Under the current California model, education funding is directly tied to the state and federal fiscal climate, which forces schools to regularly deal with the frequent fluctuations in funding. This severely impacts the services a school can offer. Policymakers should take note of the improvement strategies successful schools like those in the sample are using to yield the maximum dividend with minimum additional resource allocation. As the common core standards and new assessment and accountability systems are designed, policymakers, educational testing companies and school improvement consultants might draw on the practices of these successful schools to serve as models for structures that need to be in place on a larger scale to effectively move schools forward. Recommendations for Future Research This study adds to the growing body of research on school-level resource allocation strategies. The focus of this study was on three schools in the same district successfully that made higher levels of academic achievement possible for all students in spite of the complications associated with reductions in funding due to the California budget crisis. It would be helpful to study other schools and districts with similar resources to determine if there are commonalities in terms of resource allocation and |
