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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

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Civic engagement: a case study of civic leadership in partnering with an urban public school district

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Civic engagement: a case study of civic leadership in partnering with an urban public school district

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CIVIC ENGAGEMENT:

A CASE STUDY OF CIVIC LEADERSHIP

IN PARTNERING WITH AN URBAN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

by

Kristen Kaplanis McGregor

_____________________________________________________________________

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

August 2007

Copyright 2007 Kristen Kaplanis McGregor

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DEDICATION

This dissertation is dedicated to my family; my husband, Rick, and my two

wonderful daughters, Victoria and Anastasia. Their love and support was continuous

and welcomed throughout this process. Thank you for being in my life and learning

with me. I love you.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I acknowledge and thank the following for sharing their valuable advice and
knowledge and their continued guidance:
Dr. Adrianna Kezar – my chairperson
Dr. Carol Wilson – committee member and supporter
Dr. Michael F. Escalante – committee member and supporter
Dr. Dennis Byas – willing participant and supporter
Debby Collins and Deb Rinder – my partners throughout
Meg Abrahamson, Caroline Bermudez, and Jen Smith – my Pasadena support

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION ……………………………………………………….................... ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS …………………………………………….................. iii

ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………vii

CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
Introduction ……………………………………………………………….. 1
Problem Statement ……………………………………………………..…. 1
Background of the Problem ………………………………………………. 2
Civic Leaders and Civic Engagement ……………………………………. 6
Civic Capacity …………………………………………………………… 11
Social Capital …………………………………………………………….. 14
Accountability ……………………………………………………………. 16
Purpose of the Study ……………………………………………………... 18
Research Questions ………………………………………………………. 20
Significance of the Study ……………………………………………….... 21
Proposal Organization ……………………………………………………. 22

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Introduction……………………………………………………………….. 24
Leadership Capacity ……………………………………………………… 26
Qualities of Civic Leaders ………………. ……………………………… 27
Communication Skills and Networking …………………………. 27
Healthy Youth and Family Development……………………........ 29
Access to Social Services ………………………………………… 31
Focus and Vision for Now and the Future ……………………….. 32
Cultivating Local Leadership ……………………………..……… 34
Civic Leaders in Relationship Building ………………………………….. 36
Strategies in Relationship Building ……………………………………….. 38
Social Capital ……………………………………………………………… 41
Civic Leaders in District Involvement or Take-Overs…………………….. 48
Civic Leaders in Reconstitution …………………………………………... 54
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………… 56

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction ……………………………………………………………….. 58
Methodological Approach: Case Study …………………………………… 60
Sample and Population ……………………………………………………. 61
Research Site ………………………………………………………………. 62
Participants ………………………………………………………………… 62
Data Collection Procedures ……………………………………………….. 63
Data Analysis ……………………………………………………………… 65

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Ethical Considerations and Limitations …………………………………… 66
Trustworthiness …………………………………………………………… 67
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………… 68

CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS OF DATA AND INTERPRETATIONS
OF FINDINGS
Introduction ……………………………………………………………….. 69
Colton …………………………………………………………………….. 70
Grand Terrace …………………………………………………………….. 74
Fontana ……………………………………………………………………. 77
Rialto ………………………………………………………………………. 80
San Bernardino ……………………………………………………………. 83
Loma Linda ……………………………………………………………….. 84
Summary of Backgrounds ………………………………………………… 86
Findings for Research Question One …………………………………….. 87
Characteristics …………………………………………………… 87
Commitment to Youth and Healthy Families/
Access to Social Services ………………………………………… 95
Flexibility/Adaptability …………………………………………… 102
Vision …………………………………………………………….. 105
Summary of Findings for Research Question One ……………………… 110
Findings for Research Question Two ……………………………………. 111
Input/Outreach …………………………………………………… 111
Leadership Role ………………………………………………….. 115
Partnerships ………………………………………………………. 120
Summary of Findings for Research Question Two ………………………. 128
Findings for Research Question Three …………………………………… 129
More Communication ……………………………………………. 130
Budget ……………………………………………………………. 131
Economic and Image Issues ……………………………………… 134
Demographics …………………………………………………….. 136
Future Leaders …………………………………………………… 137
Summary of Findings for Research Question Three ……………………... 139
Discussion ………………………………………………………………… 140
Summary of Chapter Four ………………………………………………... 147

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS,
AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduction ……………………………………………………………… 147
Purpose of the Study ……………………………………………………. 147
Summary of Findings …………………………………………………… 147
Findings for Research Question One …………………………… 148
Findings for Research Question Two …………………………… 152
Findings for Research Question Three ………………………….. 154
Implications ……………………………………………………………… 154

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Recommendations for Practice …………………………………………. 159
Future Research …………………………………………………………. 161
Conclusions ……………………………………………………………... 165

REFERENCES …………………………………………………………………. 170

APPENDICES …………………………………………………………………… 181

APPENDIX A: Interview Protocol for City Managers ……………….….. 181

APPENDIX B: Interview Protocol for the Superintendent ………....……. 183

APPENDIX C: Survey Protocol for Mayors …………………….……..... 185

APPENDIX D: Survey Protocol for Principals …………………….…….. 187

APPENDIX E: Data Analysis Codes ……………………………………. 190

APPENDIX F: Characteristics of Leaders ………………………………. 192

APPENDIX G: Chart of Input/Outreach ………………………………… 193

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ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to describe and examine the roles of civic
leaders and their relationships with the communities and local school district leaders,
looking at the strengths and weaknesses of these roles and relationships. This study
was guided by the overarching question: How do civic leaders work with school
leaders to build the capacity needed to implement reform and improve underachieving
urban schools? The following specific sub-questions were developed to guide the
study and were addressed through data collection and analysis:
1. What qualities and characteristics of leadership do the civic leaders use
in order to work together with the school leaders to build the
relationships and social capital within the school and community
needed to improve the schools?
2. What do collaborative efforts between civic leadership (input) and
school leadership (outreach) look like?
3. What does the future look like for the partnerships between the local
communities and the district as the cities continue their plans for urban
revitalization?
Qualitative descriptive case study research methods were used to describe and
examine these roles and look at whether the civic leaders can and do build successful
relationships and social capital as they work with school and district leaders. The site
was Colton Joint Unified School District and the communities that feed into that
school district. The city managers, mayors, principals of the school district, and the
superintendent were the participants.

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Several major findings emerged from this study:
1. There are certain characteristics that are common to all civic leaders:
communication being the umbrella over all areas; commitment to
healthy youth and families through healthy programs; flexibility and
adaptability; and having a vision.
2. There is a lot of input and outreach in the way of participation,
cooperation, and partnering, but the deep collaboration and true
partnership piece is missing. Most of the partnerships are surface level.
Although the qualities of good leaders may be present and the
intentions are there, there are invisible barriers that prevent the full
development of the partnerships. There is a gap in the follow through of
partnering.
3. Further planning sessions and regularly scheduled meetings could build
better working relationships. There are many possibilities for future
partnerships through budget, facilities, publications, and focus on
education.
This study recommends further research on the barriers to building
relationships to determine how civic leaders can best serve their young constituents as
they work with the school leaders. This study also recommends research on the
strategies for implementation of partnerships, as it seems the pieces are there, just not
in place. Finally, a study on leadership training programs is recommended as we will
need many civic and school leaders in the near future and they need to ready to take on

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a variety of issues, including how to work together to best meet the needs of the
students.

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CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
“There’s a collective understanding that urban schools mean poor children,
brown children, schools that don’t do well, a government that doesn’t function well, a
system under turmoil, and people throwing up their hands at what to do” (Katrina
Kelley, Director of National School Boards Association Council of Urban Boards of
Education 2004.)
Introduction

Our public schools are struggling and sometimes, even failing, especially in the
inner city, urban districts, as evidenced by the Academic Performance Index and
Annual Yearly Progress reports released every year. These two reports track the scores
of standardized testing given each spring from districts, schools, and individual
students to show growth and participation from the local level through the national
level. Scores are just one way to see the struggle. Lack of participation from families
in the schools and lack of engagement from the communities contribute to the
struggle. Other contributing factors include issues connected with the communities
such as poverty and language barriers. Our schools need strong leaders both in the
communities and the schools to take the helm and guide the schools through the
reforms needed and the re-engagement needed to move toward success in educating
our students, despite all these barriers and issues.
Problem Statement
There is often a lack of connection between school leaders and civic leaders,
especially in our urban communities. These civic leaders, usually the mayors and city
council members, and other city leaders such as the city managers, and school leaders

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serve the same constituents, the students in the city, but they are often thought of as
separate entities (Henig & Rich, 2004). Many cities and school districts have the same
geographic boundaries and therefore programs within the city, such as health care,
housing, and transportation, affect the same population in the schools (Besharov,
1999; Hill, Campbell, & Harvey, 2000). If students are healthy, they will be more apt
to be in school. If families have safe and affordable housing, parents will feel more
secure and school would be a higher priority. If students (especially high school
students) can get to school more conveniently from community provided
transportation, attendance would likely be higher. Some cities and districts do not
have contiguous boundaries with each other which make the partnering and working
together harder. Some districts serve multiple cities so the district leadership has to
work with multiple civic leaders. This study looked at an urban district that has
struggled with academic achievement and is now building relationships and increasing
the civic engagement. The relationships built and the social capital that has
subsequently developed are important to the success of any changes or reform these
schools implement. Nationally, more people are demanding improvement and higher
accountability, as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 raised the bar of achievement.
The civic leaders are working more closely with school leaders to fully engage the
leaders in the community for purposes of improvement. What can be done to more
effectively partner the leaders of the schools and the cities?
Background of the Problem
There has been a loss of engagement between urban communities and their
local public schools (Putnam, 2000; Stone, Henig, Jones, & Pierannunzi, 2001).

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Engagement happens when one is totally involved or participating in an event, group,
or relationship. Engagement is the two-way interaction between the schools and the
communities, usually intended for the betterment of the schools (Votruba, 2005).
Civic engagement originally was focused in the higher education realm (Keaster,
2005), but is applicable to all levels of school-community relationships. In K – 12
education, one of the most familiar ways parents and communities can be involved in
schools is through the Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA) and other site level groups
such as the English Language Advisory Council (ELAC) and School Site Council
(SSC). These groups are formed on the local campuses with the purpose of helping at
the schools through an advisory role and being a social outlet for the parents to meet
other parents of the children at the school. But, membership in the PTAs across the
nation has fallen steadily since the hey-day of the 1960s showing an increasing lack of
participation. In the 1990s alone, reports show that the membership fell by over half a
million members, while school enrollment rose by five million (Crawford & Levitt,
1997). This loss of engagement from not just PTAs, but all aspects of the
communities, has caused or played a part in the demise of public education and the
subsequent public outcry as we have watched test scores plummet and graduation rates
drop while drop-out rates rise. Our urban schools especially are failing. This is an
immediate problem for the students currently in the system, but a longer term problem
for society as schools produce students with gaps in their learning (Henig & Rich,
2004; Hill et al., 2000). Studies have shown that middle class families participate in
schools on a more consistent basis, while class, race, language, and ethnicity
determine home-school relationships. Although not the focus of this study, race and

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class do play a part in developing relationships (Lamont & Lareau, 1998; Lareau,
1987).
Not all is lost as lately there have been adjustments in how communities are
looking at public schools, in particular by city leaders. Communities have been
focusing on education more in the last several decades, in particular on the reform
efforts and the effect they can or are having on educational outcomes. Since
successful reform needs strong public awareness and active engagement to ensure
sustainability, it would make sense to include the civic leaders in the process. Schools
are reaching out to business and community partners in some communities, while
other communities are reaching into the schools. (Henig et al., 2004; Hill et al., 2000;
Kirst & Bulkley, 2001). People tend to agree that schools need help. Whether it is
through true collaboration and partnering or take-over depends on the community
environment, the depth of the problems, and the strength of the civic leaders. Many
people do not think the urban schools are doing a good job with the leaders they have.
Some schools may need guidance and support while others may need more in the way
of leadership and reform. One of the ways communities have sought to reform failing
schools is through reconstitution, which involves removing partial or whole staffs and
administrators intending to give the school a fresh start. San Francisco Unified School
District is considered the expert district in reconstitution as they have reconstituted
over fifteen schools in the last two decades (Adcock & Wheeler, 1999; Goldstein,
Keleman, & Koski, 1998). Another way of reforming schools and districts and re-
engaging the public is mayor-centrism, where the mayor has partial or total control of
struggling or failing districts (Henig; Hill). There are various levels of involvement

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from low influence such as an advisory role to moderate such as picking the school
board and superintendent to total control where they manage the whole operation.
Some mayors make education part of their platform, some step in to pick up struggling
districts, while still some others do not involve themselves much at all. Both
reconstitution and mayor-centrism are discussed further later in the study.
Mayors, as the visible leaders in large urban cities, have been getting involved
as the disengagement of community has increased over the past several decades. The
community includes parents as well as people who live and work in the community,
but may not have children in the schools. Business leaders, city employees, and
housewives are all part of the local community. Disengagement is considered to be
the disattachment and lack of involvement by the community with the urban public
schools. People have been ignoring the plight of these schools according to reports
and studies by researchers such as Putnam (1993, 2000). Civic leaders, mayors, city
managers, or otherwise, can help push the realities of schools and their need for
partnership and relationship building to the forefront of community awareness (Cook,
2004). Several events are perceived to have been starting points of the disengagement
from public education. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, people were unhappy with
the Vietnam War, riots erupted, and white (as well as bright of all ethnicities) flight to
the suburbs and private schools ensued (Cook). Women back in the work force and
less moms available to be at the schools as room mothers and helpers contributed to
disengagement as well (Putnam, 2000). These perceptions and/or realities have led to
failing school districts, reconstitution of schools, mayoral control, increase in private
schools, charter schools, and home schooling (Cook). Part of the failure of public

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schools rests with the separation of class through the increase in private and home
schooling. The families who can’t afford those options remain in the public schools.
While race and class are not the focus of this study, it is worth noting and
acknowledging as the make-up of the urban schools is predominantly African-
American and Latino students and mostly lower socio-economic class (Bryk, 1999;
Hess, 1999). This issue does play a part in the re-engagement of the schools through
the communities.
Civic Leaders and Civic Engagement
Who is a civic leader? Civic leaders are expected to be the people who,
according to Gladwel (2000) in the threshold theory, can make change – those who
have information, those who connect to people, and those who translate change
information to easily understood meaning. Then change can spread (Arriaza, 2004).
Civic leaders are currently more in the spotlight since school improvement is an
important topic, as they are expected to fix the schools as part of urban revitalization
(Hill et al., 2000; Stone et al., 2001). Effective leaders make change happen (Vander
Ark & Klock, 2002) and communities are looking outside the schools for those
leaders. Urban schools need far more leadership from the civic leaders (Kirst, 2002)
and support and engagement from the community as the students have many other
barriers to overcome – language, poverty, less educated families – as the schools
struggle to sustain their reform efforts (Sanders & Lewis, 2005). This study looked at
these leaders and how they engage the necessary supporters, through the strategies
needed to get the outcomes desired from school improvement.

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The ideas behind community engagement began with John Dewey, an early
civic leader, and his idea of democratic, community-centered education (Dewey, 1915
in Warren, 2005) and continued through the 1960s and 1970s and the community-
control movements (Fantini, Gittell, & Magat, 1970, as cited in Warren, 2005).
Dewey was one of the first educators and philosophers who discussed the concept of
participation. Participation and experience were how people came together as social
beings. All social groups tended to be thought of as communities; whether they were
joined groups, the school, the family, the political party, churches, or the public in
general (Halliburton, 1997). Although Dewey has critics (Edmondson, 2006), he
believed in openness and the right to think, question, and be diverse thinkers on the
road to a democratic society.
More current civic leaders are interested in the revitalization of communities
including the urban public schools because good schools benefit the community as
well (Hill et al., 2000). Revitalization of a whole package is a better option and has a
better chance at succeeding. Civic leaders can be the key to developing community
partnerships with the schools. A more deeply invested public would ensure the
continuity of the reforms even through changing district or city leaders (Hill). Civic
leaders can encourage businesses, investors, churches, civic and community groups to
be involved who then could have a myriad of responsibilities supporting the schools
and being accountable to the reform efforts being implemented (Jones et al., 1997;
Portz, Stein, & Jones, 1999; Stone et al., 2001).
Several mayors have acted in the civic leader capacity through school district
reconstitutions, reforms, and/or take-overs. Governor Mark S. Schweiker took over

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the failing Philadelphia system in 2002 and then hired former Chicago Superintendent
Paul Valles as the new leader (Ouchi, 2003). Chicago and Philadelphia have been
under some sort of mayoral control since the 1960s (Bryk et al., 1998; Shipps, 1998).
In 2001 Philadelphia was taken over by the state (Stone et al., 2001). There have been
several large studies such as the six city study by Michael Kirst in 2001 and the eleven
city capacity project by Stone and others in 2001. These studies showed limited
success in mayoral take-over. Atlanta is an example of a failed school system with a
corrupt board of education, and no civic engagement. The schools don’t court
businesses and while urban redevelopment may be working, education is not included
(Henig, Hula, Orr, & Pedescleaux, 1999; Holmes, 1993; Stone, et al., 2001). This
seems to be a recipe for disaster on all levels.
Involvement for mayors used to mean just appointing board members, but they
have expanded their roles throughout the years. Detroit and New York City have had
city and mayor influence in the idea to improve the schools, but have stopped just
short of the operational part (Kirst & Bulkley, 2002). Boston has changed their whole
process from electing their school committee to an appointed one (Portz, 1994). Both
Chicago with Mayor Daley in 1995 and Boston with Mayor Menino have had strong
mayors who have been involved with the schools (Kirst, 2001).
Other major cities such as Washington, D.C., Cleveland, and Milwaukee have
mayors overseeing the school systems (Henig et al., 2004). Los Angeles is just
recently entering the collaboration discussion. Former Mayor Riordan got his choice
of school board members elected and then replaced the superintendent with former
Colorado Governor Roy Romer. He had an active role in the district while in office

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and continues to influence education through his Riordan Foundation which provides
computer-based literacy programs for the primary grades and low socio-economic
schools. Now Mayor Villaraigosa has put forth his plan of controlling the Los
Angeles Unified School District by having a Council of Mayors of the twenty-eight
cities currently served by the mammoth school district (Blume, 2006). As this is
current and developing, it will be an interesting piece to this study of the analysis and
application of mayoral control. Even Pasadena’s city council is demanding a seat on
the local school board.
As more people are becoming more aware of how poorly the public schools are
doing, they are demanding involvement of the civic leaders as they have lost trust and
faith in the effectiveness of the local school boards and often times school leaders
(Cibulka, 1997; Kirst, 2001). The civic leader has a wider base of constituents as they
work with the whole community. These leaders determine what they want, who they
need to work with, and how much power they will need (Bolman & Deal, 2003) to get
the job done. Civic leaders seem to be in charge of this area. Civic leaders can wield
this power to raise public awareness of the schools’ plight and gather support for
reform. Schools have not been generally set up to support the collaborations and
partnering needed to run effectively in today’s society (Elmore, 2002).
According to a review of school change by Lawrenz, Huffman, and Lavoie in
2005, all the studies support the need for strong leadership and cooperation from all
involved in the change efforts with sustainability and implementation of the change as
separate but intertwined parts. They also tie in the importance of strong leadership
and teacher ownership saying “…although curriculum reform is challenging to

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implement and sustain, it can be accomplished with leadership that provides the
resources and support the teachers need” (Lawrenz, Huffman, & Lavoie, 2005).
School Site Councils are a way for parents and community members to be involved in
more of the governance of the schools as Title I regulations say these councils have
the capacity to develop and implement the programs and budgets associated with those
funds.
Communities are demanding more accountability and the civic leaders seem to
be the ones who can and often do provide it. Mayors tended to avoid the political
issues of education in the past, but leaders in both the business industry and housing
market see schools as an important part of the larger urban city success (Cibulka,
1997; Kirst & Bulkley, 2001).
This study is based on the involvement and leadership capacity of civic leaders
as they work with the local schools and communities. These civic leaders could be the
mayors, city managers, city council members, or even community organizers. There
is no doubt that schools need to improve (Ouchi, 2003). The improvements come
through civic engagement and from the reform efforts within the schools (Henig et al.,
2004; Hill et al., 2000; Stone et al., 2001). The relationships built outside the schools,
through civic leaders, and with the community itself, are what can help sustain the
reform by providing support, financial resources, human resources, and professional
relations (Bolman & Deal, 2003). This study adds to that body of knowledge by
showing how engagement and partnering by civic leaders can affect the success of a
school district. “To ignore the intimate connections between school and community in
the reform and restructuring of urban schooling is to condemn such attempts to almost

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certain failure” (Sirotnik, 1991). These relationships are very important to the success
of the engagement.
Civic Capacity
Civic capacity or capacity building involves people in various roles throughout
the community coming together to work on a common goal, in particular the
improvement of the local school district (Stone et al., 2001). This community, or sense
of belonging to a place and to a group, is the bond that everyone has in common
(Sergiovanni, 1994). Communities are where people work, live, shop, play, and send
their children to school. Communities take pride in the public schools based on what
is deemed successful by the published test scores, API (academic performance index),
and AYP (annual yearly progress) scores. This ties to accountability as this is the
public accountability piece people see. Many schools have implemented reform
efforts in order to focus on student improvement and raising test scores. Civic leaders
and the respective communities can support these reform efforts in the schools through
many avenues. One main contribution to successful learning is to build relationships,
or social capital, with the schools. This study looked at civic leadership and how they
build those relationships with school leaders and subsequently develop social capital
with the schools.
Community participation in the schools binds the whole community together
through shared values and desired outcomes (Putnam, 2000). All parties have to
actively participate in order for proper accountability and implementation to occur
(Hill et al., 2000). Studies show that active relationship building is important as these
people work together in order for any reform to be successful (Coleman, 1988, 1990;

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Holm, 2004; Jones, Portz, & Stein, 1997; Putnam, 2000). Relationship building
comes from open communication between leaders of the schools and leaders of the
community. The partnerships and relationships developed during the involvement and
engagement build social capital for both the schools and the communities. The social
capital built during participation helps sustain the reform efforts as it builds on the
trust of the people as they work toward a common goal of improving the schools
(Karner, 2000; Putnam; Stone et al., 2001).
Civic capacity and engagement research shows that relationship building, the
growing interdependence, and trust of those involved in the reform efforts are central
to its success (Evans, 1996; Putnam, 1993; Stone). Putnam and others have studied
civic capacity, and found that it is the civic traditions and bonds that show the
community organization (Gold, Cucchiara, Simon, & Riffer, 2005; Jones, 1997;
Putnam, 1993, 2000). Groups can grow together and overcome issues and crises if
they have those trust bonds built in. Other studies (Byrk, Sebring, Kerbrow, Rollow,
Easton, 1998; Hess, 1995; Jones, 1997; Shipps, 1998) of civic capacity in conjunction
with educational reform show that while there may be differences in the background
of the civic leaders and levels of involvement, there are key elements to building that
capacity that include redirecting businesses from a purely economic development
focus to one that includes public education and leadership as well as connecting with
the community and social services to support the needs of the community. The civic
leader, in order to build this capacity, has to bring various stakeholders together to
work on reform and improvement of the schools (Stone; Vander Weele, 1994). They
cannot do it alone, nor should they. The schools cannot shirk their accountability, they

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need to still be held accountable for the education of the children, but now it becomes
a shared accountability (Comer, 1997; Hill et al., 2000).
Civic capacity, the working on a common goal, in this case the improvement of
the educational system, is possibly the most involved and most complete way to
involve a whole community because people use the schools, live by the schools, pay
taxes for the schools, or need employees who have come up through the schools.
Everyone, especially the teachers and site administrators, needs to buy into whatever
reform or change is being implemented as they are the actual practitioners and are the
ones who can make the reform more successful (Ouchi, 2003). Their participation can
help sustain reform as they are the links to the children.
The focus of this study is the characteristics of civic leadership, the
accountability that comes with being a leader as well as the accountability of meeting
state and federal guidelines and mandates, tied together with community involvement
in order to affect change or reform efforts to improve schools. These reform efforts
are being brought about by the increased focus on struggling and failing schools
(Warren, 2005). Change in the schools can be small or large as long as the intent is to
improve the current urban school system. Change requires good leadership to guide it
and keep people focused on the process as they work toward the results (Fuhrmann &
Odden, 2001). Leadership comes from within and without the system. Civic leaders
are usually outside the schools. Leaders are needed to implement and enforce reform
(Chong, 1991; Vander Ark & Klock, 2002). Accountability comes as schools try to
meet mandated standards and goals for student performance (Elmore & Fuhrmann,
2001; Gullatt & Ritter, 2000). The results of this accountability are printed in the

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newspapers and on government websites for all to see. Community involvement
comes from people demanding change and improvement. Some involvement comes
from the schools needing and asking for support and the community seeing the need to
become involved for the sake of the future of our children (Ouchi, 2003). Civic
engagement can be a reciprocal process. The notion of a community getting re-
engaged in their local schools offers a way to build social capital and relationships as
the schools receive support and extra hands. Some schools have been reaching out
more recently (Mavis & Lewis, 2003) as they realize it is easier to improve with more
support. This study looked at the blending of these concepts of leadership through
leaders who have certain characteristics that lead to the outcomes of leadership
capacity, social capital, and partnerships with the schools, and are held accountable for
the improvement in schools. These leaders are involved or guide involvement through
their actions.
Social Capital
Social capital is connected to civic capacity as it is an outcome of relationship
building by effective leaders. Reviewing the concept of social capital is important as
it ties in with the leadership and relationships needed to implement and sustain reform
in urban public schools. Social capital is defined as the connections between
individuals and the networking that comes from these connections (Putnam, 2000).
According to Bourdieu (1986), social capital resources are built up and then used to
further one’s goals. Both views involve the use of networking or connecting with and
working with others. Robert Putnam’s view of social capital is that it comes as people
learn to work together, be reciprocal of other’s ideas, and develop trust (Putnam, 1993;

15

2000). James Coleman calls social capital the relations “that facilitate action”
(Coleman, 1990, p. 304). Our lives and the environment in which we live are enriched
by the social interactions we have. The better we know and work with people, the
easier it is to solve problems, share information, and make our schools and
communities more successful (Putnam, 2000). When social capital is built between
the schools and communities, trust is built and work can begin on a common vision for
reforms that will improve achievement and the educational outcomes of the students
(Warren, 2005). Social capital shares similar tenets with civic capacity which is the
base of engaging the public schools “as a major area of community concern and high
priority for action” (Stone et al., 2001, p.27). Since human interactions can be
unstable at times depending on the current issues, the more opportunities for civic
engagement to happen and social capital to be built, the more successful the results
will be (Stone et al.).
While social capital is often thought of as a positive reenergizing concept, it
has been suggested that it can cause “an overeagerness to wish or think away some
issues related to interests, power, government, and politics that, although messy and
problematic, ultimately hold the key to the challenge of sustaining meaningful
change” (Stone et al., 2001, p. 143). If the public can get past the finger-pointing and
blame, the work on building some positive relationships and working toward reform
for the schools can actually begin. Studies have suggested that people need to trust
each other as improvement decisions are based on the leader knowing how to lead and
that the followers should follow (Evans, 1996; Putnam).

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In addition to building social capital, other community issues that influence
academic achievement include adequate health care, food, housing, and safe
neighborhoods. Civic leaders have a direct role in overseeing these areas for the
community. These issues, when inadequate or lacking, are tied to poverty and poverty
is often a barrier to student achievement (Hill et al., 2000; Putnam, 2004; Stone et al.,
2001). Students cannot learn well if they are affected by an insecure home life. Part
of the partnering a school and a community can do revolves around a collaboration of
home, school, and community resources. Partnering will benefit the families and
ultimately the children who will be able to better learn if their basic needs are met
(Warren, 2005). Community organizations can support the school by supporting the
families (Briggs & Mueller, 1997) and civic leaders have the community resources to
address these issues more readily than the schools as they deal with the broader scope
of the community. This also builds relationships between the communities and
schools which allows both civic and school leaders to focus on the reform efforts in
order to increase academic achievement (Hatch, 1998, Warren).
Accountability
Part of being engaged is being knowledgeable about what is involved and who
is accountable for what. Knowing the background of reform efforts is important
because they parallel the renewed interest in civic engagement and accountability.
Accountability means everyone knowing about standards, assessments, levels of
performance, budgets, and who is in charge of all of it (Ouchi, 2003). Educational
and elected officials need to be held accountable to provide financial support and
leadership necessary for the implementation of reform efforts in the schools (Ouchi;

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Stone et al., 2001). Although the word accountability is used quite often in education,
it really should be the base of engagement as people demand more accountability for
our schools. To be held accountable is to be held responsible. Who is being held
accountable for our failing schools?
The federal level of influence and civic involvement as evidenced by the
Education Summits with President George H. W. Bush and governors in 1989 began a
turn in educational focus from procedural accountability to educational accountability
(Goertz, 2001). The problem was there was not sustainability for national reform due
to lack of funding and resources needed and there was not a detailed implementation
plan. The accountability on the federal level suffered (Goertz; Elmore, 1997). As the
accountability trickles down to the state level, there still is not one common reporting
system for the accountability that the states must provide to the public (Gullatt &
Ritter, 2000) which can lead to confusion or incorrect knowledge of what is happening
at the schools.
The increase in accountability through more assessments and raised standards
as mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has changed how schools
implement the curriculum and how principals lead (McGhee & Nelson, 2005). Many
people saw the end goals of these mandates as almost unachievable on this grand of a
scale. It impacts the large, urban districts the most because they struggle with English
language learners, issues of poverty, health, housing, overcrowding, and less parental
and community involvement and the previously mentioned disengagement (Hill et al.,
2000; Stone et al., 2001). The states began emphasizing more accountability as they
began designing standards more appropriate to their states and constituents. While the

18

federal reform lacked teeth, the states put in their own standards and accountability
programs with rewards (sometimes) and consequences (Elmore & Furhmann, 2001).
Communities look at these reported results as the public accountability piece and
decide if their schools are “good” or “bad”. The results of standardized testing are
reported each summer with schools and their relative communities either sighing with
relief or with frustration at the results. The communities with failing schools are
looking for someone to take on the leadership responsibilities of the public schools in
order to improve the academic achievement that is apparently lacking in some. This
study looked at the characteristics of civic leaders and the strategies they use to build
positive relationships with school and district leaders. Since everyone is being held
more accountable (Tucker & Codding, 1998), communities are looking for leaders to
enforce that accountability in order to improve the schools. Is this where civic leaders
can make a difference?
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to describe and examine the roles of civic leaders
and their relationships with the communities and local school districts looking at the
strengths and weaknesses of these roles and relationships through interviews, surveys,
and observations. This study looked at the various levels of influence civic leaders
have with district leaders and whether these leaders can work together to determine
what is best for children. With the current levels of standards for achievement required
by the state and federal levels of the government being higher than the current levels
of achievement of our students in many urban schools, there is a need for further and

19

continuous study on whether and how the role of civic leaders affects the
implementation of reform efforts and the improvement of today’s schools.
In this study, the leaders involved include the local appointed and elected
officials of the communities served by a midsized urban school district that does not
have contiguous boundaries with the communities it serves as well as select district
leaders. These individuals include the mayors and city managers of the cities and the
superintendent and principals of the school district. This is a purposeful sampling
specific to chosen urban cities, but the frame and questions can be adapted to any
community. These people were chosen because of their proximity to leadership of the
local school district as well as their knowledge of city governance. The individual
school members were chosen in order to explore their perceptions of the
characteristics of leadership needed to effectively partner and whether the civic leaders
are supporting or can support the reform efforts. The idea is to get a broad
representation of the issues in order to focus on which relationships are most
successful and why.
Different respondents in this study had different views based on their own
position as well as how their position relates to the others. Some positions have more
interaction and direct connection than others, but all stakeholders have some
accountability (Ouchi, 2003) in the success of our students as schools implement
reforms due to students not achieving at proficient levels. These reform efforts are
necessary to meet the federal and state mandates for accountability brought about by
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The need for evaluation in all areas of the
cities and schools would only improve education as implementation is necessary and

20

successful implementation benefits the students and the communities at large
(Firestone, 2002; Hill et al., 2000).
Research Questions
This qualitative research study described and examined the roles and
responsibilities of leadership, specifically civic leaders and strategies used to build
relationships with school district leaders as they work to implement reform and
improve the level of education for all students.
Since standards are here to stay and accountability is something everyone is
affected by, the current direction of reform is toward tighter control, better efficiency,
and more effectiveness through better alignment. The current feeling in some local
communities is that the mayors may be the ones to provide those needs as they work
to improve other local social issues (Henig et al., 2004). One local councilman from
Pasadena said all the mayors were talking about this issue at the last National Council
of Mayors meeting. Mayoral take-over is not the only answer, there is also the
reconstitution issue to review (Adcock et al., 1999; Goldstein et al., 1998). But, other
options can be developed through building leadership capacity in the schools and
communities as well as looking at strategies learned from other urban districts that
have successfully been through reform.
The following overarching primary question guided this research:
How do civic leaders work with school leaders to build the capacity needed to
implement reform and improve underachieving urban schools?
The following specific sub-questions were addressed through the data
collection and analysis:

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1. What qualities and characteristics of leadership do the civic leaders use
in order to work together with school leaders to build the relationships
and social capital within the school and community needed to improve
the schools?
2. What do collaborative efforts between civic leadership (input) and
school leadership (outreach) look like?
3. What does the future look like for the partnerships between the local
communities and the district as the cities continue their plans for urban
revitalization?
Significance of the Study
The purpose of this study is to see how civic leaders and school leaders work
together for what is best for children since there is an increased interest in civic
engagement in the education of our students. If it truly takes a village to raise our
children into successful adults, then we have to start with the leadership needed and
the whole community participating.
This study is significant because it informs civic leaders as they grapple with
their level of involvement in the local schools. The impact will be more effective and
efficient leadership and cues to better communication among participants.
This study is important because many students are not meeting California State
Standards at this time. It is of national concern because we need to compete globally
(Ouchi, 2003). There is no forgiveness in the global market. It is of state and local
concern because businesses and property values are based on successful schools
(Reese, 2004). Increased property values attract more highly educated families

22

looking for better schools which can balance the lower performing students in the
urban schools of today. Civic capacity can bring the community together to support
the school and the children (Stone et al., 2001). It is important morally because these
are our children and they need to be positive contributing members of society. To not
teach them to high standards would not be fair or ethical (Ouchi, 2003; Warren, 2005).
As it is hard, if not impossible, for the state and federal levels to directly monitor
districts and individual sites, it comes down to the local communities to become
engaged and have a direct impact on the improvement of schools as they implement
various reforms.
Effective, active reform efforts supported by civic leadership should increase
student achievement and improve the educational experience for all students in the
local schools. Effective reform should raise achievement which in turn should raise
test scores which would shine a more positive light on the schools. As this study is
completed, it is hoped that the pros and cons of civic engagement within urban school
districts are brought forth and that this knowledge will be added to the base of civic
leadership and engagement along with the accountability associated with the
implementation of the reform efforts. Reforms have to be led by strategic, politically
savvy, and energetic leaders who focus on achievement by the students and create
successful schools (Ouchi; Putnam, 2000; Stone et al., 2001). This study looked at the
relationship building needed to have that successful engagement.
This dissertation starts with an analysis of civic leaders and the strategies
needed and used to build relationships. Following is a look at why it is important to
build these relationships between civic leaders and the local schools and districts. One

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outcome is social capital and as it is developed, leadership capacity, another outcome,
can be built and therefore more social capital will be developed in a spiraling fashion.
As the communities hold the schools and cities more accountable for the education of
their children, more people get involved and more relationships and social capital are
being built and finally reform can be implemented and then sustained. The actual
interviews and surveys provide the base of the research of this study.

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CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

“Trust is the emotional glue that binds followers and leaders together. The
accumulation of trust is a measure of the legitimacy of leadership. It cannot be
mandated or purchased; it must be earned. Trust is the basic ingredient of all
organizations…” (Bennis and Nanus, 1985).

“Is it really possible to reform American schools – to ensure every school
offers a powerful learning environment and every child, regardless of background, is
achieving at high levels?” (Wingspread Coalition, 2001).

Introduction

A considerable amount of research has been done on leadership and the impact
good leaders can have in transforming organizations (e.g., Antonakis &
Sivasubramaniam, 2003; Bolman & Deal, 1991; Henig et al., 2004; Kezar, 2000,
2005a; Reese, 2004; Vander Ark et al., 2002). As discussed in chapter one, the
purpose of this study is to describe civic leaders and their roles and the strategies used
in order to build the relationships that are so important to the engagement in and with
the public schools. This study was guided by the overarching question of how do
these civic leaders work with school leaders to build the necessary capacity to
implement reform and improve our underachieving urban schools. This review
examined issues around leadership roles of civic leaders through their interactions and
relationship building with district leaders and their efforts to improve public schools.
As leaders, they are all responsible for and need to be held accountable for the success
and achievement of the students in the local schools (Ouchi, 2003). The problem is
the civic leaders and the school leaders historically have been two separate entities,
not usually engaged in each other’s domain. Schools need strong leaders to guide and
support the reforms needed to help students succeed. Some communities are better at

25

success than others, which, due to barriers of poverty, geography, lack of leadership,
and lack of social capital, have schools that struggle with academic achievement
(Henig et al., 2004; Hill et al., 2000; Stone et al., 2003).
With chapter one providing a background of civic capacity, civic leadership,
and social capital, the following review of literature focuses on these particular areas.
This chapter begins with a look at a section on leadership and relationship building
with a specific section on civic leaders and the characteristics that make them
successful. As civic leaders build their leadership capacity, they also build social
capital. A section on the role of social capital in relation to the development of
relationships built through the leadership of urban civic leaders follows. Following
that is a section reviewing mayoral roles and school reconstitution as two of the ways
civic leaders can implement change in the schools. This review examines case studies
of schools and districts with involved civic leaders and mayoral influence and/or
control, looking at first, what does it look like and why it should or shouldn’t work;
second, the problems and issues that arise when outsiders step in; and third, the
relationship between reform efforts and actual student achievement in urban schools
(Meier, 2004).
Communities and states are demanding more accountability from the schools,
especially in the urban school districts that are struggling, and currently the civic
leader is the one they are looking at to provide that accountability (Elmore &
Fuhrmann, 2001; Gullatt & Ritter, 2000; McGhee & Nelson, 2005). In order to
implement reform and guide the schools toward improvement, civic leaders need to
work with school leaders to produce those positive results. A review of this material

26

provides information as to the importance of civic leadership in today’s schools and
how civic leaders are building the relationships between the community and schools in
order to re-engage the public in the public schools. The literature frames the study by
determining what qualities make a good civic leader and what strategies a good civic
leader uses to develop relationships to ensure success in reform, whether at the schools
or within the community.
Building Leadership Capacity
Leadership “…is an influence relationship among leaders and followers who
intend real changes that reflect their mutual purposes” (Rost, 1991).
This section covers leadership as we look at civic leaders specifically, how
they develop, their relationships, the strategies they use, and why they are important.
Civic leaders are those members of the community who step up to take on the
challenge of leadership in the community, often with a focus of improving our
schools. Learning about how these leaders function is important to the analysis of
whether a civic leader is successful. This study looked at the leadership capacity and
relationships of civic leaders, oftentimes mayors, city managers, and sometimes city
councils, as they pertain to the partnering with and improvement of our schools. Civic
leaders who influence school districts tend to do more than maintain; they instigate
change when and where it is needed. Some civic leaders tend to not be happy with the
status quo or being stagnant (Vander Ark & Klock, 2002). They look for ways to
improve and then sustain that improvement or reform for the future (Chong, 1991;
Henig et al., 2004; Hill et al., 2000; Kirst, 2002). Leadership is reviewed because
leaders have a different role than regular participants in the reform efforts. Without

27

leaders the reform can become rudderless and the intended change may not happen.
“…change entails active commitments of energy and resources from a willingness to
build new relationships with traditional educational policy makers, and at the same
time bring new ways of thinking about urban education to the educational subsystem”
(Stone, et al., 2003). When civic leaders use a broader coalition of community
members to work on the school and district issues, good and bad, builds civic capacity.
The emphasis is on active engagement in solving problems. The end result should be
more of a commitment of resources and agreement on direction of reform.
Qualities of Civic Leaders
According to the research, civic leaders have certain qualities or characteristics
that make them successful in their leadership (Fisher, 2003; Jehl, 2002; Lawrenz, et
al., 2005; Reese, 2004; Silverman, 2005). There are others, but this study looked at
six of those qualities used by civic leaders to build relationships: communication skills
and networking, commitment to healthy youth and family development, access to
social services, focus on a vision for the present and future, the ability to build
relationships, and the ability to cultivate local leadership. Following that section are
the strategies used by civic leaders which can be mayor-centrism, reconstitution, and
partnering. This study focused on the partnering as it builds the outcomes of
leadership capacity, social capital, and better school-community relations and
environment.
Communication Skills and Networking
The first characteristic civic leaders are found to have is strong communication
skills and networking skills. A high interaction level is necessary for developing

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working relationships and getting the support needed to move change or reform
forward. Being able to communicate well with others increases the feelings of
ownership and involvement from others (Lawrenz, et al., 2005). One of the ways
leaders open communication lines is by being transparent. Transparency means the
community and parents have access to all pertinent information about the schools and
the district. Some indicators of transparency include: widely, regularly disseminated
information; regular informational meetings are held regarding resources and
assessments; public community forums are held to discuss performance improvement;
an annual state of the school, district, and city are presented to the public; and,
information and meetings are shared in appropriate languages. These indicators show
that there is true communication being developed (Mediratta & Fruchter, 2003). More
distinct groups such as religious or faith-based organizations, people without children
in the schools, businesses, and legislative groups also need effective communication
(Fiore, 2006) to understand what is going on at the schools.
A piece of communication skills involves being visible and accessible. This
builds relationships as people meet with and talk to each other at various meetings or
events. Being visible is an important strategy in leadership because people like to see
and have access to who is in charge. It is important to be among the people. Visibility
correlates with accessibility (Fiore) which involves the simple acts of returning phone
calls or emails, answering the public on key issues, and acknowledging the public.
Visibility develops effective human relations (Bolman & Deal, 2003; Fiore). This
involves recognition of staff and individual successes and acknowledgment of the
work people do. People like to feel recognized as this helps build positive

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relationships which are needed in change efforts. Visibility means being in the
community at events, at the schools, and at important functions. This gives civic
leaders the opportunity to share their vision. Being visible also is linked to
transparency. Civic leaders communicate and share their vision each time they are
with community people, so the community is informed and aware of the current
direction of the leadership of their community (Haberman, 2002). Civic leaders are
visible by attending community meetings, committee meetings, department meetings,
and school meetings and being able to answer questions about the direction of the city
and the community programs.
Healthy Youth and Family Development
The second characteristic civic leaders tend to have is a strong commitment to
healthy youth and family development (Jehl, 2002). An important question to ask is
what do civic leaders do for the youth in the community? The civic leader is in a
unique leadership role in that part of his role is to involve the actual community
members and their environment in the city plans. Many children in the communities
are not healthy and are labeled “at-risk”. Being labeled “at-risk” in the broadest
educational terms means the student is at-risk of failing his academic classes, but there
are deeper connotations as to how that child got to that point. Usually the home
environment is unhealthy as well and plays a part in the issues that carry over to
school. Some of those circumstance include children with single or no parents so they
are being raised by relatives; children who come from poor, impaired, or illiterate
families; childhood or birth issues; or families involved with gangs, drugs, or alcohol
issues (Schorr, 1988). The stresses of all of these environmental home-life issues can

30

be overwhelming as the support for education is not of top importance. The civic
leaders and the school leaders have a responsibility to help the families with many of
these issues. The school leaders see the children in the school environment while the
civic leader is responsible for them as constituents and community members.
One report put together by The Phoenix Commission on Excellence in
Education (1988) reviewed how the city could and should support the twenty-eight
districts that are wholly or partially in the Phoenix city boundaries. While this is
opposite from most large cities, the study is worth noting because many of the
leadership qualities are woven throughout. In this particular case, the mayor was not
looking to take-over the schools, but partner with the school districts in order to ensure
all students within the community would be successful in their education. The civic
leaders, in this case the commission members appointed by the mayor and city
council, took the lead in partnering with the districts to improve education as part of
their civic duty. One area was to increase and expand programs supporting children
such as the early childhood programs (such as Head-Start), drop-out prevention
programs, and after school tutoring. The committee also recommended all-day
kindergarten, school-age child care programs, and business community engagement
with a city-wide Foundation for Education. Post reports show these recommendations
were implemented and many are still in various forms of existence. Involving the
community with the preparation of the report and implementation of the
recommendations showed the civic leaders were effective with their communication
skills, vision, and commitment to healthy youth programs. Another study,
“Communities Working for Better Schools,” (Lewis, 1999) brought people together to

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discuss successes and connect educational improvement and community based reform.
These studies are valuable resources for civic leaders to review and use as
reinforcement in building relationships as they work toward improving the
environment for the families in their communities. Being that schools are part of the
community, civic leaders have to get the engagement early on (Fisher, 2003), but it
doesn’t just happen. It takes a lot of energy, enthusiasm, and dedication to make
relationships happen and be sustained. These reports show that depth of participation.
Studies have shown that the successful urban districts are the ones that engage
the local community (EWA, 2003; MDRC, n.d.). They suggest that communities
through their civic leaders must deal with the problems within their community and
work on solutions for these problems in order to sustain their change efforts (Heifetz,
1994). Some community problems directly affect the schools such as housing and
health issues so it benefits both the civic leaders and school leaders to work together
on solutions (Silverman, 2005). Again, healthier children attend school more
regularly and shelter is a basic need for survival, so both are important issues.
Access to Social Services
Tied to ensuring healthy youth and family development, the civic leader is
responsible for working with the social services within the community to make sure all
families have options and opportunities to receive support. As a civic leader, he acts
as a facilitator of those departments that provide services to the community members.
Social services include mental health services, transportation, health services, library
accessibility, housing subsidies, and shelter availability and homeless support. As part
of the communication to the community, the civic leader needs to share how

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partnering of these services and the schools would offer various levels of support to
families in need (Silverman, 2005). Civic leaders need to know which social services
are available for what needs and for whom, as well as how they are operate. Knowing
how they are financed and whether they scholarship children is important to
accessibility for local families. There are smaller entities such as summer camps,
swim lessons, and seasonal sports programs that rely on grants and public funding to
continue providing services to those who can’t afford to pay for them (Hill, et al.,
2000). These often are taken for granted by the middle and upper classes, but are
much needed in neighborhoods of poverty. These extra activities help create the
social aspects of children as they develop self-awareness and social capital not
necessarily developed at home (Horvat, et al., 2003). Housing development has
important implications for the development of the community. Cities can control the
amount of building of both high-end luxury housing and Section 8 or subsidized
housing. This directly affects the ability of lower socio-economic families and even
teachers to purchase affordable housing (Silverman). One strategy civic leaders might
use is to have school or district leaders sit on committees such as housing and
transportation to offer different views in order to better serve the children and their
families (Silverman, 2005). Knowledge of and access to implementation of social
services is important to the civic leader’s role.
Focus and Vision for Now and the Future
Another characteristic this researcher chose that effective civic leaders have is
the ability to create “an agenda for change” with two main areas of focus: A vision for
long term goals and a strategy for achieving the changes. The vision and the strategy

33

must take into account the internal and external issues that come with public
governance (Kotter, 1988, as cited in Bolman & Deal, 2003). Civic leaders and board
members must learn how to work together through building relationships and
partnering to achieve a successful agenda for change. This change should be as
transparent (Welch, 2006) and publicized as possible so that all stakeholders have a
clear picture of the importance and relevance of it (Guiliani, 2001). Transparency
helps community members and parents see what is going on in the school and how
well or poorly the school is functioning (Meridatta & Fruchter, 2003). In order to
improve performance in the schools, reports suggest that the expectations and goals of
the schools and their accountability as they work toward the standards should be
public and explained in everyday language (Elmore & Fuhrman, 2001; Manthey,
2004). This transparency helps develop internal capacity along with the notion that
outside constituencies are developing external capacity. Relationship building
through sharing a common vision is important in order to implement change or reform
and have it be successful. Research is showing much more interaction between
mayors and city managers as civic leaders and district leaders, especially the
superintendents within this past decade (Silverman, 2005). While traditionally
separate entities, there seems to be more commonalities than differences between the
leaders; both have budgets, both have many employees, both have constituencies, both
have to answer to others, and both are working toward improvement of their
environment and community. Civic leaders have to commit to their vision and
continually evaluate it to strengthen and improve it as it is public and drives the
direction of the city (Hill, et al., 2000).

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Research has shown that the strong beliefs and visions of leaders affect how
they lead (McGowan & Miller, 2001; McPhee, 1995). Civic leaders are key politically
and influential throughout the community as evidenced by the reports from schools
with successful community engagement (Kirst, 2002). Communities are looking to
civic leaders to include education as part of the urban reform and revitalization process
(Henig, et al., 2004; Kirst; Ouchi, 2003). The civic leaders are responsible for an
overall community plan of which education is a part. The vision must be clearly
understood by all participants – teachers, parents, community members, and civic
leaders (Haberman, 2002).
Further leadership research shows there are different levels of leadership from
managing the status quo with small changes to full-blown overhauls that change entire
corporations (Collins, 2001; Fullan, 2006). Leaders in businesses are looked to as
people who have a strong vision and can transform a company from good to great by
implementing their strategies for success through their vision, emphasis on high
performance, and a clear, well-known focus (Collins). Leaders often use these models
in the attempt to transform their community, including the schools, toward successful
communities. Individual leaders acknowledge that true leadership is about
empowering others to be part of the growth and reform and to recognize that is part of
being a leader (Welch, 2006, as cited in Kornik, 2006).
Cultivating Local Leadership
Civic leaders have the ability to cultivate local leadership (Jehl, 2002), as they
build relationships within and among the community. By communicating with
multiple groups within the community and sharing their vision, the civic leader has the

35

opportunity to develop some local leaders or key communicators within the larger
community. There are many groups in the community that work on supporting various
aspects of education. Some groups are run by or through the city governance or non-
profit organizations. Some are after school programs that offer tutoring such as the
YWCA, YMCA, Sylvan, and other neighborhood organizations. Others are faith-
based or cultural-based organizations. They are often set up to share a religious
message while giving the children a place to congregate after school. Still some others
are supported or sponsored by local businesses or philanthropies. These all form an
integral part of strengthening the community as well as supporting families. Through
these organizations, the opportunity for local leadership is being developed. High
school and college students often act as tutors, mentors, or aides where these young
adults can grow into local leaders. These groups often partner with schools to offer
and provide this support. Civic leaders can build stronger relationships within the
community supporting this growth of local leaders, encouraging the local leaders, and
connecting them with the schools. Still other community based organizations exist to
challenge the school system’s inadequacies such as the rate of non-credentialed
teachers placed at low-performing schools, inadequate building facilities, and
ineffective school leaders (Meridatta & Fruchter, 2003). It is important for civic
leaders to work with these groups by meeting with the local leaders to work
collaboratively on issues of concern. Again, this builds relationships and social capital
as people partner on these issues.
Often times it takes a civic leader to connect these local leaders and their
community based organizations to the schools because school leaders may not know

36

about them or may not use them. Civic leaders can spearhead that group’s connection
with the schools. Leaders use their communication and networking skills to
collaborate and engage the groups and get the most participation from them (Stone, et
al., 2001). Depending on the size of the community, a civic leader may identify sub-
leaders and key representatives within the external groups in order to disseminate
community information on a wider basis (Fiore, 2006). This communication with and
development of local leaders ties in with networking and developing relationships.
Additionally, these leaders could be part of the city committees involving youth
development.
Civic Leaders in Relationship Building
Although leadership matters in all areas, there is no single right way to be a
leader (Evans, 1996), but there are several areas that are common. Civic leaders have
to have the ability to “work the room” in knowing how to push for the agenda that best
meets the vision put forth. This relationship building is important to the success of
moving any change effort forward. Leaders also should know how to work with other
leaders so everyone is on the same page. Again, in the educational setting, the end
result of any change effort is to be about what is best for children. One way civic
leaders can work is to review “positional bargaining” (Fisher & Ury, 1981). Often
times people state what they want and don’t make concessions. This set position does
not allow for the relationship building necessary to work together collaboratively.
Fisher and Ury propose “principled bargaining” which focuses on four areas: First,
separate the people from the problem. Taking disagreements personally can send the
negotiations out the window. Often school leaders and school boards come under

37

tremendous verbal attacks because not all decisions are popular or even make sense.
Second, focus on interests, not positions. There are sometimes several options for
achieving the same goal. Civic leaders need to be presented several options in order to
make the best decisions. This is where previously built relationships could come in
handy as the civic leaders have to work together with the school leaders to determine
the best policy or direction concerning the schools or district. Third, along that line,
invent options for mutual gains. Look beyond the first option. Again, this involves
knowing how to work with others and not be the lone decision maker. And fourth,
insist on objective criteria. When civic leaders make decisions regarding schools, they
should have examples of what other districts did or businesses so there can be
rationale to the decision. These decisions affect children, parents, and staff members.
Principaled bargaining is just one way for civic leaders to work with people and build
relationships.
There are other programs that research has shown to be successful in building
relationships between the leaders of the community and the schools. Several reports
have been published on these methods of school improvement (Jehl, 2002; Lewis,
1999). “Making Connections” is a project based on children’s success that begins
with success at home and in school showing that the social networks and services
available to families contribute to overall more successful schools (Jehl, 2002).
Showing families how to be engaged and have successes in their own families can be
powerful toward building positive relationships within the community. This ties in
with the civic leader’s characteristics of strong communication skills and ability to
access social services.

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Politics play a part of the relationship building between civic leaders and
school leaders. This can manifest itself in several ways. Oftentimes one group does
not want to give any power to the other (Bolman & Deal, 2004). Based on the
governance structure, usually civic leaders have larger constituencies and a broader
base from which to draw power. Sometimes school boards and city councils are at
odds over power issues. If the politics are hindering the decision making and the
function of a school district, nothing will change or improve until those forces are
changed or removed (Ouchi, 2003) as both the district as an organization and the
reforms themselves tend to be political in nature (Tyack & Cuban, 1995). When
districts undertake change, there will be rough times and uncomfortable situations, but
if it is truly what is best for children, one has to continue the reform change efforts and
go beyond the status quo (Fisher, 2003; Ouchi). The civic leaders need to partner with
the superintendent’s office as it is the source of policy decisions and operations
(Stone, et al., 2003). While some school boards may want to be central to the reform
efforts, it is the superintendent who has the relationship with and is the connection to
the civic leaders. Civic mobilization and participation have to be a part of the reform
because educators are often more attached to the status quo than outsiders (Fisher).
Strategies in Relationship Building
Leadership is about bringing people together to solve problems and make
changes (Welch, 2006). One type of shared leadership practice is known as
distributed leadership (Lashway, 2003). The studies of distributed leadership look at
the notion of more than one leader. As this is a relatively new area of study, there is
not a true or fully accepted definition. Spillane (2001) suggests that leadership is

39

distributed by blending people together toward a common cause while Elmore (2000)
adds that distributed leadership plays a role in guiding reform. This notion can help
the civic leader as he starts building relationships. Getting more people engaged and
helping with the actual implementation of the process tends to benefit everyone. The
common cause or focus is the educational achievement of our students, no matter what
the current buzzword. Getting people focused on that common cause is important.
One of the biggest problems with the notion of leadership in general is that there has
to be a single leader (Chirichello, 2003). Civic leaders have to know how to blend all
the participants into working relationships whether they have leadership roles or not.
Most of the current studies of distributed leadership acknowledge the lack of empirical
evidence which may cause some civic leaders to hesitate fully implementing it – at
least when they are getting started (Chirichello, Copland, 2003; Lashway).
Another strategy for building relationships is collaboration. Collaboration
allows for differences, which are even encouraged in order to work toward what is the
best solution and in this case what is best for children. Pluralistic leaders, often civic
leaders, value the diversity of opinions found by engaging many people
collaboratively, use a multitude of resources, and work to reduce conflict within the
group through engagement (Cox, 1993 in Kezar, 2000). One indicator of pluralistic
leadership is the solicitation of community input into school and district performance
discussions. Effective civic leaders facilitate successful agreements between the
stakeholders – students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community (Vander Ark
& Klock, 2002). School leaders need to know who the key civic leaders are in order
to best partner with and move toward better organization in making successful

40

decisions. Partnerships move things in a positive direction. Another indicator of
pluralistic leaders is the inclusion of a variety of community members on school and
district committees. This participation helps bridge the gap from community to school
as well as builds trust between participants (Evans, 1996; Putnam, 2000; Reese, 2004).
Strong partnerships and relationships built between the communities and the
schools is one outcome of civic leaders having and using these characteristics. This
study looked at those partnerships and relationships. Civic leaders can provide the
connection for the community and its assets as they support the reform and
improvement of the schools (Pierce, 1999, as cited in Hill, 2000). This strategy
includes and involves public and private entities throughout the community in order to
tap into multiple resources to support families (Hill). There is an abundance of
opportunities for civic leaders to broker partnerships between various social services
and community support groups and the local schools such as working with the
transportation department on route connection and destination for student
convenience. An area where partnerships are more important in the accessibility of
education for the youth of a community involves the districts with non-contiguous
boundaries. This poses the added challenge of developing relationships between the
district leaders and multiple civic leaders. Not all communities have the same
demographics, socio-economic status, or ethnicity, but the students may all be
assigned to the same schools. This study looked at the ability of multiple civic leaders
forging a relationship with one school district and whether those partnerships work for
the students to ensure successful schools. This shows the importance of relationship
building.

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Social Capital
“Social capital greases the wheels that allow communities to advance smoothly”
(Putnam, 2000, p. 288).
Another outcome of building successful relationships is the building of social
capital. This section looks at social capital and the mostly positive effect it can have
on people and organizations. Social capital comes from the building of relationships
and trust which are much needed in building capacity for change. Included is the use
of intentional organizations as described by Coleman (1990) which uses social capital
to build the relationships that will ultimately benefit the schools. The idea of social
capital has been around a long time and has background from a broad array of areas –
social scientists, educators, and political scientists – such as Jeremy Bentham (1748 –
1832), James Mill (1773 – 1836), Alexis de Toqueville (1805 – 1859), Karl Marx
(1818 – 1883), Max Weber (1864 – 1920), Georg Simmel (1858 – 1918), John Dewey
(1859 – 1952), and Emile Durkheim (1858 – 1952). Social capital is about
relationships that develop around a social network that usually can further an
individual’s interests, also known as networking (Bourdieu, 1986; Coleman, 1988,
1990; Hawkins, 2005; Karner, 2000; Putnam, 2000). In working together, civic
leaders and school leaders are building social capital as they build their relationships.
Coleman (1988, 1990) purports that social capital is not a visible product, but rather
involves the levels of trust developed, the information channels available, and the
notion that the common good is better than individual gains (Dika & Singh, 2002).
One of Coleman’s six forms of social capital is called intentional organizations where
individuals come together in an organization that directly benefits them. In schools

42

these organizations include the PTA (Parent Teacher Association) or ELAC (English
Language Advisory Council). Other groups include School Site Councils, Title I
Advisory Councils, and Special Education or GATE (Gifted and Talented Education)
Advisory groups. PTAs have been the traditional form of parental and community
involvement since their inception in the 1900s, but as a measurable indicator of
participation, the numbers have dropped dramatically since the 1960s (Crawford &
Levitt, 1999). The loss of membership in the PTAs is just one indication of the
disengagement from the public schools. The declining membership in the PTA is just
one example of the overall trend of loss of group participation (Putnam, 2000). How
can we get them back? One way is to encourage the parents to join an organization.
Joining is about building relationships, supporting students, and participating in a
social organization, which, in turn, builds social capital in and among schools and
communities. This benefits the participants since they meet and make new friends.
The students benefit since participants donate time and resources to the school.
Parents get the benefit of belonging to a social organization and networking and the
students get the benefit of the action that comes from the parents’ participation. As
one of the characteristics of civic leaders is the ability to cultivate local leadership, by
encouraging the participation of parents and community members, local leadership in
these groups can be developed. Social capital building in the communities makes a
difference in the lives of the participants as they grow into leaders, usually starting
with the basic groups such as the local PTA (Evans, 1996; Hill et al., 2000). Civic
leaders are farther involved as they look at not only one PTA group at one school as

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they build relationships, but parental involvement in all the schools from all aspects of
the community (Goodlad, 1983).
Social capital needs to be used in order to grow and help build those
relationships and trust (Coleman, 1990; Karner, 2000). Coleman (1990) purports
social capital allows individuals to work together to resolve community issues.
Schools are part of the communities regardless of whether everyone uses them or not
and there are relationships developed. If they are positive, they are more beneficial
and can be used to bring about change. Trust is essential to the development of social
capital because if people don’t trust each other, distortions and suspicions can develop
and then no change will come about (Evans, 1996). This is where the civic leader’s
characteristic of strong communication skills and networking plays a role. Various
people in various roles within the schools and within the community bring a broader,
more stable supply of social capital than individuals acting alone (Coleman).
While Coleman highlights the importance of familial connections, Bourdieu
(1986) looked at upper class French society in trying to determine how their type of
invisible capital and distrust maintained the social inequities so prevalent in class
society. The upper class tended to invest into more social capital in order to maintain
their place of dominance in society (Lin, 1999a). Looking at how other cultures
develop their relationships helps guide that development. Bourdieu suggests that the
amount of social capital one possesses is determined by the networks available to that
person (Dika & Singh, 2002). This carries over to the study of civic leaders as
according to Bourdieu, the larger one’s social network, the better chance one has of
drawing on and using those resources. It is where “who you know” comes into action

44

(Bourdieu, 1986; Hawkins, 2005; Karner, 2000). This is important for leaders as they
have to communicate with people to partner with them as they work toward first,
building relationships and social capital, and then, change.
Other research points out negative effects of social capital noting that the same
social structures “…that give rise to appropriate resources for individual use can also
constrain action or even derail it from its original goals” (Portes & Sensenbrenner,
1993). Social capital in strong organizations can lead to exclusion if an individual
doesn’t conform to the group norms, such as gangs and mafia-type organizations
(Hawkins; Portes & Landolt, 1996). Sometimes individuals can overpower the group
dynamics which can lead to a decrease in social capital as well as a decrease of
participation in the group. The individuals lose out, the group suffers, and the end
benefactors, the students, don’t get the benefits as fully as they could. In the case of
schools, a strong leader needs to share their vision to ensure continuity and appropriate
implementation of reform and/or change for school improvement. The current trend is
leaning toward involving civic leaders in that role (Henig et al., 2004; Hill et al.,
2000). The question is - can civic leaders build enough social capital to re-engage the
communities and in effect, rescue the failing schools? The re-engagement should take
into account the often ignored areas of race and class as well as other excluded groups
to ensure full participation and involvement (Lareau, 1989; Portes & Landolt).
Studies have shown when there is a lack of social capital communities have a
harder time realizing success at mobilizing leaders, participants, or even observers
(Hill et al, 2000; Putnam, 2005). The lack of trust and insufficient relationships are
endemic to reform failure. Civic leaders have to first build trust and awareness before

45

launching any new changes. The engagement piece is key to reform implementation
in the local schools or any community issue (Putnam, 2005). Unfortunately, the
notion of social capital has the potential to be linked to the “deficit theory” in that
social capital is another attribute that some families, neighborhoods, and communities
lack (Morrow, 1999). The communities lacking social capital usually are the ones with
struggling schools because the spill-over effect from community to school can be quite
embedded.
In the fast paced world of today, civic capacity and social capital can be used
to not only support reform efforts in the schools, but also to bridge the gaps of race,
class, and location. Social capital offers a way to participate, a way to lead, and
benefits to the students (Coleman, 1990; Putnam). Putnam (2005) suggests society
has called for civic renaissance where civic minded reformers created new institutions
to replace outdated ones. Now society is looking for ways to bridge the gap of
achievement so prevalent in our schools at the same time that some civic leaders are
attempting to rebuild the communities. The benefits of social capital through outside
resources should be available to all students. Although not a focus of this study, this is
where a review of charter schools fits in. Civic leaders are creating schools that meet
the needs of the students without the layers of bureaucracy and rules that can stifle
educational advancement, especially in the larger urban cities. It warrants further
study in connection to civic capacity and social capital as the development of charter
schools are increasing with very influential civic leaders on the boards.
The use of social capital has become a catch-all for fixing what is wrong with
our schools as well as our communities because of the stretching of the original

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concepts of both Bourdieu and Coleman (Dika & Singh, 2002; Portes, 1998). In their
critical synthesis, Dika and Singh discuss the many ways social capital is being used,
and often distorted. The amount of literature referencing social capital has increased
dramatically in the last decade but the original concepts are being stretched to cover
many other areas such as with Putnam who views social capital as an attribute of
community development (Dika & Singh). Communities and civic leaders are using
social capital to fill in some of the gaps in civic engagement that have become more
apparent over the last decade.
David Putnam’s view of social capital is one of the most influential as he looks
at social capital as to how society benefits, not the individual. His definition of social
capital refers to the connections among individuals and how those social networks,
also known as “civic virtue” are strongest when there are reciprocal social interactions
among many at the same time (Putnam, 2000). While building this social capital, it is
also building the ties that support the issues at hand. It is the connections that make
social capital worth creating. He looked at the connection between poverty and civic
culture and suggested that if social capital was increased, the social problems would
decrease (Putnam, 1995, as cited in Hawkins, 2005). The so-called base of social
capital is “the principle of generalized reciprocity” (Putnam, 2000, p. 20). This being
the case, civic leaders are looked upon to take care of the community. The reciprocity
can happen somewhere later when the community supports a civic event, volunteers,
or donates to charity or when community leaders emerge from the schools (Bryk et al.,
1999; Hill et al., 2000).

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Although there doesn’t seem to be a specific way to measure social capital, it is
widely agreed that it is important when thinking about how to work on the societal
issues that affect so many students, as examined for this particular study. Social
capital is developed by the building of relationships between civic and school leaders,
but as a concept, the connection is relatively new and needs further study (Hawkins,
2005). If, as Putnam (2005) puts forth, civil disengagement is so prevalent now, there
should be a way to measure social capital in order to determine the reasons, and if
possible, the solutions to correct the decline and decrease of social capital and
engagement. Schools seem to be great benefactors of social capital and the positive
civic engagement that comes with it.
Other studies have discussed the importance of linking reform in the schools to
reform in the community (Henig et al., 2004; Hill et al., 2000; Stone et al., 2001;
Warren, 2005) by using both social capital and building capacity for developing
leaders. Civic leaders, as well as community based organizations, can provide the
resources for poorer communities and provide guidance for holding schools, district
leaders, and school boards accountable for their success or failure. These studies also
discussed the broader solution of creating the political capital needed to support the
communities demand for accountability (Noguera, 2001; Warren\). The need to
improve schools has become a concern of national, state, and local leaders.
Communities are outraged (finally) that schools are struggling and, in fact, some are
outright failing and they want someone to do something, usually a civic leader as they
have tended to have lost faith in many school leaders (Hill et al., 2000; Ouchi, 2003).
While not the direct focus of this study, still other studies have used social capital to

48

explain different experiences in schools revolving around race, class, and gender
(Lareau & Horvat, 1999; Lareau, 2001). Research by Stanton-Salazar (1997, 2001)
has also focused on the socialization of Mexican-American youth in schools and
families and the use of social capital to get through the process.
As seen by the literature reviewed, the literature on social capital and its use
has increased in the last decade and has been stretched to include other areas than
originally intended. This study looked at social capital as an outcome to the building
of the relationships needed by civic leaders to effectively engage the communities and
implement change.
Civic Leaders in District Involvement or Take-Overs
Another strategy used by civic leaders to fix urban schools is mayoral
involvement or take-over. There are many civic leaders who have attempted to make a
difference in public schools (Henig et al., 2004; Kirst & Bulkley, 2001; Ouchi, 2003;
Ruda, 2001). In several large urban cities, the mayors have become the civic leaders
in charge of rescuing the schools with some sort of influence over the schools. The
amount of influence ranges from low, with the mayors only picking the
superintendent, to high, with complete take-over of the operation of the schools (Kirst,
2001, 2002). Smaller communities do not seem to have the issue of mayoral
involvement. Civic leaders are important because they bring a different view to
school as an organization. They answer to a larger crowd, that of the community in
general, many of whom do not even have children in the public school system, but
there is a current popular theory that it takes a village to raise a child (Clinton, 1996,
Hill et al., 2000). If this theory is true, then civic leaders are in the right position to

49

build the relationships necessary to make this happen. Their characteristics of
communication and commitment to healthy youth and family development are
important in involving the appropriate community services and social services needed
to support the families. The theory suggests that all community members play a part
in the development of the child as sometimes parents are unable to raise their children
successfully.
Some school boards and school leaders are ineffective in getting the job done,
so there needs to be a leader to ensure change efforts are implemented and supported
(McAdams, 2000; Ouchi, 2003; Villegas, 2003). School boards in struggling urban
districts are more likely to try an alternative in governance, especially as the public is
becoming more knowledgeable about accountability and reform issues. Although
cities are usually run by city managers, mayor and city council intervention or control
is one of these options. Mayors are the visual civic leaders in the communities, so
they are in that leadership role. In Pasadena, California, due to a struggling school
district and a community unhappy with many of the decisions made by the school
board, the city council is demanding a seat on the school board to monitor, advise, and
partner with the school district. What does this shared governance look like? Can
cities and schools work together to improve the schools? One of the areas that a civic
leader can offer partnering on is the area of social services. Communities offer
services in health care, housing, and food support that all benefit the students in the
schools. This would seem to be an effective link to help with school improvement.
Research projects have shown that children do better in school when their families
have better access to these social services and social networks (Jehl, 2002; Lewis,

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1999). City councils, usually led by the mayor, are stepping in to save the schools in
large urban districts because in a much larger picture, failing schools are bad for
business, the housing market, and the local employers. Families want good schools
for their children and good schools improve the housing market. Employers need
educated workers for their businesses. There is and should be a vested interest by the
community in the success of local schools (Ouchi, 2003). The point is to get people
involved in the schools before they fail. The community itself plays a role in the
success of school reform. If the community is struggling to determine priorities,
education may not be their choice of focus (Glass, 2001). But the very critical part of
improvement rarely has a specific policy attached. It is about the power of the
community becoming engaged (Lewis, 1999). “…school reform cannot, will not, and
should not happen without strong community connections” (Anne C. Hallett,
executive director of Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform, n.d.).
In several large urban districts, Los Angeles, Boston, New York City,
Philadelphia, the failure has been so imminent that civic leaders have taken over the
running of those particular districts. Mayoral take-over is not the only way, but it is
becoming more viable and more visible. How does it get to that point? How are
school boards so unaware of the despair, or are they so used to the status quo, that they
can’t figure out how to change it? Or are they so comfortable that it doesn’t matter
what happens to the district? Do the city leaders step in because they care or because
it is a political opportunity? All these questions are part of the process in determining
the future direction of the community itself. Some school leaders welcome the
mayoral involvement. “It just seems natural to me that the highest elected official

51

should have some level of responsibility for that school system,” (Barbara Byrd-
Bennett, CEO of the Cleveland Municipal School District, n.d.). School leaders are
beginning to acknowledge that the more the community is involved, the better the
schools tend to be (Silverman, 2005).
These large urban districts have tried accountability reform efforts to improve
perception and performance. Chicago did the most intensive decentralization of
governance in 1988 when the state legislature created local councils (mostly parents)
in the 550 schools (Wong & Shen, 2001). The mayor finally took over in 1995. In the
1990s, a more positive mayoral image began, coinciding with the implementation of
Standards Based Reform. Mayors began to portray themselves as public managers,
intent on improving public services, including the schools (Hess, 1999; Kirst, 2002).
Mayoral take-over usually occurs after systemic reform has either not occurred or not
been successful. Sometimes teacher’s unions can be a barrier to reform. Oftentimes
community capacity or interest is not strong enough to support reforms. This
“integrated governance” usually comes about after public outcry about failing schools
(Danzberger, Kirst, & Usdan, 1992). The positives of mayoral partnership or control
include “…a single point of electoral accountability, greater integration of children’s
services with the schools, and better pupil attainment” (Kirst, 2002) which will
ultimately lead to more middle class satisfaction, business development, and coalition
of services such as transportation and after school programs, many of which are
already provided by the cities on or near local schools (Parks and Recreation, YWCA,
YMCA, LEARNS, etc.) “…school reform initiatives” have greater sustainability

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“when the community actively participates as an empowered change agent” (Arriaza,
2004).
Some districts have only been threatened by mayoral involvement or take-over
while others have been proactive in building capacity such as San Francisco. They
hired former Superintendent Ramon Cortines to be a liaison between the district and
the mayor’s office (Kirst, 2002). Cortines has now said he would be interested in the
reconfigured Los Angeles Unified School District superintendency if Mayor
Villaraigosa asked him (Rubin & Vogel, 2006). The one thing that has emerged is
there is no pattern to mayoral take-over or civic involvement (Kirst, 2002). It depends
on the mayor, the district’s performance, and the community interest (or demand).
Mayoral take-over in the large urban districts in Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, New
York City, and Baltimore has had mixed results. Baltimore actually ended up having
sixteen schools put on probation by the state as reported in “The Economist
Newspaper, Ltd.” in London (2006).
“…mayoral control of urban schools is merely one reform strategy. Changing
governance arrangements clearly can make a difference in the way urban public
school systems function, but such a strategy requires the right combination of
ingredients – committed and skilled leadership by the mayor, willingness to use scarce
resources, a state coalition of supporters, appropriate education policies, and a cadre of
competent, committed professionals to implement the reforms” (Cibulka, 2001).

In Los Angeles, Mayor Villaraigosa is leading the charge to take over the Los
Angeles Unified School District, a district that has been low performing overall for a
long time, with a graduation rate of only 45 per cent (Harvard Civil Rights Project,
2005). “We can’t be a great global city if we lose half of our work force before they
graduate from high school” (Villaraigosa, 2006). Mayor Villaraigosa’s plan is to have

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a council of mayors of the 28 cities that Los Angeles Unified School District serves in
charge of reforming how LAUSD does business. Mayor Villaraigosa also plans to ask
Sacramento to put him in charge of LAUSD instead of bringing it before the local
voters (Blume, 2006). As this is the most current civic leader issue, it will be
unfolding as this study is being conducted.
Other studies have shown the success of mayoral take-over depends on the
broader make-up of a particular city and why the system has gotten to the point where
take-over can happen (Kirst, 2002; Kirst & Bulkley, 2001). The theory behind
mayoral control is that a more politically accountable person will force reform and
therefore fix the schools – as in New York where the mayor’s office keeps getting
more power (Mediratta & Fruchter, 2003). Mayoral control alone cannot change the
teacher buy-in to reform, inadequate classrooms, ineffective teaching, or force
community engagement. There must be systemic change throughout the district and
community with effective leaders on both sides to ensure the change effort is
implemented and sustained.
As this is a relatively new vision for many civic leaders and their control of the
schools, studies will continue to be done throughout the next ten years or more in
cities such as Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago (again), and even Pasadena as to whether
mayoral control as the civic leader in charge of engagement and improvement has
improved the achievement levels of the students and been successful in implementing
and sustaining reform. So far, changes cannot be directly linked to civic governance
change, although Wong and Shen (2001) concluded it had a positive impact. Mayoral
control is not enough to change teacher capacity, union entrenchment, and community

54

apathy. Merely altering the structure of the governance isn’t enough. It just happens
to be the current trend. The incentive for change comes from the relationships and
social capital built in the school and in the community (Mediratta & Fruchter, 2003;
Putnam, 2000).
Civic Leaders in Reconstitution
While mayoral control of failing schools directly involves the civic leaders,
another way districts are attempting to fix low-performing or failing schools is through
reconstitution. This involves the removing or shuffling of staff and administrators in a
particular school in an attempt to give the school a fresh start. This seems to be the last
resort before the civic leader gets involved. San Francisco Unified School District is
the most experienced at reconstitution as the district had a court order originally
designated for desegregation purposes and was required to reconstitute three schools a
year, but it was then amended to include all low-performing schools (Goldstein, et al.,
1998). Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Cleveland, Denver, and Philadelphia have all had
some experience with reconstitution, but with the research being somewhat limited,
there has not been a clear connection that reconstituted schools maintain any jump in
improvement over a long period of time (Adcock, et al., 1999; Goldstein, et al., 1998;
Rudo, 2001). Instead the reports look at the impact of teacher morale as well as
suggesting that many other interventions happen first, as this method tends to place
blame on the teachers instead of dealing with the actual educational, cultural, and
environmental issues (Rudo). This particular strategy would not be conducive to
building social capital among the teachers and administrators as it directly affects their
livelihood. Among the positives of reconstitution are the removal of ineffective staff

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members and the infusion of energetic staff ready to take on the challenge of a
struggling or failing school, increased parent involvement, and oftentimes stability
(Rudo, 2001). What it has not brought is automatically higher scores. There have
been only sporadic results. The piece not evident in the reports was the civic
engagement or civic leadership, if any. They mention the need for strong site
leadership and new directions, but it seems to be district driven. Currently, there is not
a strong enough argument for reconstitution as a way to reform schools through civic
leadership. An area for further research is to see if there is a place in reconstitution for
civic leadership and what that role looks like.
Sometimes it takes a civic leader to ask the hard questions about
accountability, data, and solutions. To make accurate decisions about improving low
performing schools, boards and councils need accurate, comprehensive data and need
to know how to interpret it, disaggregate it, and finally what to do with the results.
The role of leaders among boards and councils is worth further review as both are
expected, and in effect, mandated to provide continued and sustained support as urban
schools continue to struggle with reform efforts. “Successful educational reform
ultimately requires a broad and sustainable coalition of support,…successful education
reform implies the implementation and institutionalization of policies, not just a public
endorsement of the desirability of change” (Stone, et al., 2001.)
City councils and local governments are asking more questions and demanding
more results from the schools and their leaders. Communities perceive the failure of
schools as part of the accountability lacking in schools today. This is increasing the
call to civic leaders to take on this role and fix the schools. The link between what

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educators as practitioners can do about resources, equity, and high expectations and
civic leaders in their policy making role is an important one in ensuring reform will
work as well as be sustained over time. Reform du jour is not effective and the
students do not reap the benefits that successful and sustained reform will bring
(Elmore, 1997). The action of reform implementation is probably the hardest part of
the reform.
Conclusion
So, what does this all mean? If civic leaders are to be successful, they need to
have certain characteristics that enable them to build the relationships necessary for
them to partner with the schools and school leaders to ensure their improvement.
Those characteristics include strong communication skills and the ability to network
effectively; a commitment to healthy youth and family development; access to social
services and the ability to partner with people in need in the community; focus and
vision for the future; ability to build relationships; and the ability to cultivate local
leadership. These characteristics help build the relationships to partner with the
schools and district leadership. While mayoral influence or control and school
reconstitution are options, they are not the focus of this particular study. Civic leaders
and the superintendent of non-contiguous boundary districts have to communicate
even more as they focus on what is best for children. If schools are to be successful,
they need to adjust the way they do business. Their business is about student
achievement. If students are not achieving, then something is wrong. There are
several things that have to be in place in order to increase the achievement. Effective
leadership is key to the success of reform and change. The relationships that come

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about through building trust and from effective leadership must be in place for reform
to move forward (Evans, 1996). The subsequent development of social capital and
trust are an important part of any reform effort and cannot be ignored (Putnam, 2000;
Stone, et al., 2003). School leaders need to be held accountable for the achievement of
the students and improvement of education if they are not achieving (Ouchi, 2003).
Civic leaders need to be held accountable for the success of the schools in their
communities (Hill, et al., 2000). The characteristics of effective civic leaders and their
partnering with the schools can make the difference in the success of a school district.
This study looked at whether civic leaders and school leaders can work together and
what strategies they employ as they partner in such areas as social services and local
leadership development. Another option includes other interventions such as the
mayors directing the reform of the schools or reconstitution to restart the schools.
There is an increased movement toward more accountability of the schools and civic
engagement from the civic leaders and the community. Can these leaders be brought
together for a social good - that of improving schools (Chong, 1991)? Overall, this
chapter provides a framework to examine civic leadership through literature on the
characteristics and qualities of effective civic leaders, their relationship building, and
the development of social capital. The next chapter discusses the methodology used in
studying civic leadership and their building of relationships.

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CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

Introduction
This chapter addresses the research design of this study including the
participants, sites, data collection and analysis procedures. A qualitative, descriptive
case study method was used to describe and examine the roles of civic leaders and
whether they can and do build successful relationships as they work with the district
and school leaders. The study took place in a district serving several distinct
communities. There are observable characteristics of civic leaders as shown by
research necessary to successfully lead, engage with, and partner with district leaders
(Fisher, 2003; Jehl, 2002; Lawrenz et al., 2005; Reese, 2004; Silverman, 2005). The
characteristics chosen for this study include strong communication and networking
skills, a commitment to healthy youth and family development, access to social
services, a focus and vision for the future, relationship building, and the ability to
cultivate local leadership in the community. Observations, interviews, and surveys
were used to collect information and data. Constant review and analysis of the data
allowed for on-going reflection and interpretation throughout the study. This study
looked at the specific district of Colton Joint Unified School District, a working class
district with non-contiguous boundaries with the surrounding communities. These
communities feed the Colton Joint Unified School District, located in the Inland
Empire in southern California; Colton, San Bernardino, Loma Linda, Rialto,
Bloomington, Grand Terrace, and Fontana. The superintendent must serve multiple
constituents through the various communities. The civic leaders also work with

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multiple district leaders as the boundaries are not always contiguous with the
community boundaries.
In that case study design is used to gain information and insight (Merriam,
1998), this case study looked at and compared the hows and whys of the civic leaders’
relationships with the district leaders and the building of partnerships between the
communities and the district. The building of relationships and the subsequent
development of social capital needed to implement reform in today’s urban schools
are usually the desired outcomes of these connections between the civic leaders and
school leaders. The pros and cons of civic engagement will be added to the base of
knowledge as other communities look at whether civic leaders are the best people to
be involved with the operation of the schools. This case study was guided by the
following main question:
How do civic leaders work with school leaders to build the capacity needed to
implement reform and improve underachieving urban schools?
and the following specific sub-questions:
1. What qualities and characteristics do the civic leaders use in order to
work together with school leaders to build the relationships and social
capital within the school and community needed to improve the
schools?
2. What do collaborative efforts between civic leadership (input) and
school leadership (outreach) look like?

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3. What does the future look like for the partnerships between the local
communities and the district as cities continue their plans for urban
revitalization?
Methodological Approach: Case Study
Case studies are “intensive descriptions and analyses of a single unit or
bounded system (Smith, 1978) such as ‘…community’ ” (Merriam, 1998, p. 19). Case
studies can and often do blend a variety of disciplines such as sociology and
psychology, and in this case, political science. The bounded system in this case
included the communities and its local school district of Colton Joint Unified School
District. The participants included the civic leaders and the district superintendent as
looked at through the civic engagement of working in and out of the school to
implement change. Being that civic leaders and the engagement of the larger
communities are involved, the politics of the city governance play a role in the overall
implementation. Knowing civic leaders’ expanded roles helps frame the knowledge of
the current role of engagement within the local urban schools. Qualitative research
design offers appropriate methods to describe these roles.
Qualitative research allows for interpretations and analyses in a natural setting
with reports back in expressive, descriptive language – or described as “an intricate
fabric composed of minute threads, many colors, different textures, and various blends
of material” (Creswell, 1998, p. 13) which offers a vivid description of the process.
Qualitative studies ask how or what questions on topics needing exploration and
analysis in order to provide a detailed, descriptive view of the topic (Creswell). The
researcher becomes an active learner in the process because of the deep time involved.

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The interviews with and observations of the participants show their viewpoints as the
researcher makes the human connections through working the case in the field. This
study looked at those relationships between and characteristics of civic and district
leaders and through the researcher’s involvement developed a deeper understanding of
this particular type of leadership and the characteristics needed to be an effective
leader. As chapter one showed, our schools need strong leadership and the current
trend is toward involvement of civic leadership. The communities are demanding
school improvement, but this is not a definitively proven method of successful
operation. Chapter one also revealed there is a lack of engagement in our schools and
there is currently a need for civic leaders, whether from the community side or the
district side, to re-engage our communities and build social capital among the
stakeholders to improve our schools. Chapter two reviewed the pertinent literature on
social capital, leadership and the characteristics that civic leaders have that help make
them successful leaders. Chapter two also reviewed several options that civic leaders
employ, which are mayoral involvement, reconstitution, and partnering. Partnering is
seen as the strategy most likely to build social capital. Partnering is the direction in
which this study focuses. As qualitative research is interpretive, this study involves
interpretations of civic leadership and involvement.
Sample and Population
The sample size was the study of seven communities through its civic leaders,
community members, and the local urban public school district leaders of the Colton
Joint Unified School District. The civic leaders chosen in this study met the criteria of
being engaged in the operation of a city and operation of a district as they go through

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continuous efforts to improve. The community demands an appropriate education for
the children and looks to the civic leaders to provide it (Ouchi, 2003). By their titles,
city managers, mayors, and the superintendent are included in the interviews and
surveys. This study looked at whether the civic leaders provide support for an
appropriate education for the students in their communities.
Research Site of the Study
The cities of Colton, San Bernardino, Rialto, Bloomington, Fontana, Grand
Terrace, Loma Linda and the Colton Joint Unified School District were the sites for
this study. These communities have both similarities and differences which are delved
into more deeply and therefore revealed more thoroughly in chapter four. The
differences revolve around who the participants are in public education and city
governance in each city, socio-economic differences, social services offered and
supported, and other demographics. The socio-economic levels and demographics of
the communities and district were not the focus of this study, but do play an important
part of determining how the civic leaders approached their leadership of the
community they serve and the availability of funds to partner with the schools in joint
ventures.
Participants
The participants were civic leaders and community leaders who individually
and collectively provided a view of engagement from the city perspective. The city
managers, the hired civic leaders of their communities, were the focus of the
interviews of civic leaders. The city manager and the superintendent, in parallel roles,
often do not cross, although they serve the same constituents, but in different arenas.

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Sometimes they can even work at cross purposes as cities and school districts compete
for the same state monies. The mayors were surveyed to provide a fuller picture of the
engagement. The superintendent, as the hired district leader and parallel comparative
leader to the city manager, provided the district point of view of the engagement and
was the focus of the district interviews. Principals and community members, as
surveyed, provided a different view through their direct or indirect role in reform
efforts and/or engagement process.
Data Collection Procedures
Data collection was done primarily with interviews and surveys and
secondarily with observations of interactions between key players. Data in qualitative
studies “…can include virtually anything that you see, hear, or that is otherwise
communicated to you while conducting the study; there is no such thing as
‘inadmissible evidence’” (Maxwell, 2005, p.79). Other notes, informal interactions,
and conversations fall under the other contextual information area. These add to the
atmospheric description of the interviews and observations. The idea of using
interviews allowed for rich data, full of more details that cannot be collected by
reading research alone.
The interviews, conducted from November 2006 through February, 2007, were
semi-structured, lasting 30 – 60 minutes, using a combination method of “…a
standardized interview format in the early part of an interview and then leaving the
interviewer to pursue any subjects of interest during the latter parts of the interview”
(Patton, 2002, p. 347). Other follow-up questions or comments gave further insight
into the issues. Speaking candidly added to the richness of the information (Creswell,

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1998). (See Appendix A.) Only one city manager was not interviewed due to non-
responsiveness from his office. The interviews with the superintendent covered several
hours. (See Appendix B.) The goal of using surveys was to enable more information
to be included and get a fuller view of the work of the civic leaders and their roles as
seen through the eyes of other participants. Questions revolved around leadership,
engagement, and opportunities for involvement in the improvement of the schools
through change or reform. This helped determine whether the engagement is deemed
helpful or not. While the surveys were intended to be an easier way for principals and
mayors to participate and respond, the return was approximately 25% for the
principals and 50% for the mayors. (See Appendix C for the mayors and D for the
principals.) The third type of data used was observations of meetings and casual
interactions between civic leaders, community members, and school leaders to see
whether they work together or not. This enabled the researcher to get an inferential
perspective (Maxwell, 2005) and a feeling of the culture of the organization. Another
type of data was document analysis. These included any documents pertaining to any
engagement as well as current reforms, such as city, district, or school reports, memos,
agendas, and minutes of meetings. Lastly, other documents available that related to the
improvement of the schools and the district, usually shown by test scores and awards
or honors that schools have earned were reviewed. These were analyzed for inclusion
of issues of engagement, leadership in and with the schools, and other issues
pertaining to school involvement. Collection of information from multiple sources
helped triangulate (Fielding & Fielding, 1986) the data and therefore strengthen the
information (Maxwell, 2005; Merriam, 1998). This allowed for a broader

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understanding of the issues with the ultimate goal being the knowledge of how civic
leaders use their particular characteristics to build relationships and whether they are
successful in partnering with district leaders. This study looked at whether those
relationships are beneficial to the school or district. Triangulation tends to reduce the
possibility of systematic biases and contributes to a more balanced assessment of the
data (Maxwell, 2005).
Before data collection began, I obtained approval from the Institutional Review
Board at the University of Southern California.
Data Analysis
Data analysis was ongoing throughout the data collection process as “…the
right way to analyze data in a qualitative study is to do it simultaneously with data
collections” (Merriam, 1998, p. 162). Bogdan and Biklen (1992) agree, even offering
a top ten list of suggestions for simultaneous data collection and analysis. Detailed
descriptions of all aspects of the events and interactions “…highlighting the major
players, the sites, and the activities” (Creswell, 2003, p. 154) are included.
The interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. They were
analyzed, highlighted, and disaggregated for first, codes (see Appendix E), and then
patterns, in relation to the research questions of characteristics, input and outreach, and
the future, as shown in appendices F and G. Notes and highlights are on each
transcription for continuous reference. Details then were filled in as themes developed
through the researcher answering the questions.
Qualitative methods offer many opportunities to focus on “discovery, insight,
and understanding from the perspectives of those being studied” (Merriam, 1998, p.1)

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which gives the newest, freshest versions of research. As education is an ever-
evolving field, a continuously updated knowledge base is needed. Interviewing,
surveying with the subsequent analysis, and observations are the base of qualitative
studies. This study used those methods to collect and analyze the data pertaining to
the characteristics of civic leaders and the relationships they form as they operate and
manage their respective organizations. This study looked at whether those
relationships build capacity and social capital as the leaders work together to improve
schools.
This researcher had several assumptions at the beginning of the study. The
research held that civic leaders are the ones to save the schools in the larger urban
districts. In that sometimes district leaders seem hand-tied as they battle poverty, low
performance, low participation, and sometimes the unions, having civic leaders step in
seemed like a logical step. This researcher felt there was merit to that argument. This
reflection allowed the assumption to be reviewed and set aside. Another assumption is
that, given the opportunity, civic leaders and school leaders should make every effort
to work together to improve the schools. While this is part of this researcher’s beliefs
on partnering, the reflection allowed the researcher to look at the data with fresh eyes
to see what relationships were out there.
Ethical Considerations and Limitations
This researcher has worked in urban public education for almost twenty years
first as a teacher and then as an administrator, most recently a principal and now a
director at the district level, and has seen some civic and community engagement in
various forms at various schools. There have been great examples and mediocre

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examples of individuals making a difference. Some have more leadership qualities
than others. Those examples or experiences in urban public education did not bias this
study. This researcher was committed to keeping an open mind as this research was
conducted. Some assumptions include 1) engagement can benefit the school and the
community under certain terms and conditions and depending on the leader, and 2)
school districts and city agencies are both bureaucracies and with that come rules and
regulations that often preclude total engagement.
The rules and regulations of the Institutional Review Board at the University of
Southern California were followed. Participants were informed of the study and that
their participation was voluntary. By scheduling the interviews, the city managers and
superintendent gave their consent to participate. All the surveys were mailed with the
consent information as well. All surveys were anonymous.
Trustworthiness
In order to determine trustworthiness of this particular study, several strategies
could have been used (Creswell, 1998) such as clarifying researcher bias,
triangulation, peer review, and rich description (Merriam, 1998). For this particular
study, triangulation was used as this researcher cross-referenced, cross-questioned,
and used comparison analysis of several different sources (Creswell, 2003) regarding
the same information. This collection of information from multiple sources helped
triangulate the data. Using surveys and interviews of leaders in different areas gave a
broader picture of leadership in this particular district and the communities
surrounding it. Another way to verify the information is through the rich descriptive
pieces that came out in the interviews. These city managers, superintendent, and

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principals mentioned similar pieces. The interviews alone were not enough to ensure
complete validity or enough details. The surveys gave the process more validity as
they allowed for complete honesty through their anonymity.
Conclusion
This chapter has provided the reader with the methodology used in this
qualitative study. This case study of civic leaders in their various roles and their
relationships with each other included several methods of data collection including
one-on-one interviews, surveys, observations, and document analysis. This combined
methodology allowed the study to be conducted in a meaningful fashion and answered
the questions of how and whether civic leaders should work with school leaders to
build relationships and capacity to grow the social capital needed for successful
partnering on the betterment of our schools and communities overall. The following
chapter presents the analysis of the data and the findings of the study.

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CHAPTER FOUR
ANALYSIS OF DATA
AND INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS
Introduction
This chapter presents an analysis of the data collected in this study, of which
the purpose was to describe and examine the roles of civic leaders and the
relationships with local school leaders. Case study methodology was used to collect
the data from Colton Joint Unified School District principals and superintendent and
the city managers and mayors of the surrounding communities that feed into the
Colton Joint Unified School District. The data was collected using the following
instruments:
• Interviews with city managers of Rialto, Colton, Fontana, Loma Linda,
and Grand Terrace.
• Interviews with the superintendent of Colton Joint Unified School
District.
• Surveys administered to the principals of Colton Joint Unified School
District.
• Surveys administered to the mayors of the surrounding communities.
As case study design was used, interviews were semi-structured using both set
questions and leaving room for open-ended conversation (Patton, 2002), the answers
are rich with details (Creswell, 1998) and included to fill out the study. The surveys
added further details to give a triangulated perspective (Merriam, 1998).

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This chapter will first describe the demographics and background of each
community of the city managers who were interviewed, in order to establish the
context of the study. A brief introduction of the demographics, history, and current
facts are provided. Although these cities are neighboring, they have demographic and
economic differences that frame the development of the relationship between the city
managers and the district leaders. There are external forces and past history that
contribute to those relationships. Showing the development of these early railroad
towns in contrast to their current situations is important because it is reflected in the
development of the relationship between cities and the school district. This school
district was chosen as it met the criteria of serving several communities and therefore
having non-contiguous boundaries with those communities. The leadership of civic
leaders working with the school leaders and in particular, one superintendent, and how
he in turn, is working with multiple civic leaders is the focus of this study. Several of
the city managers work with more than one district as the boundaries of school
districts and communities are not defined by the same borders. This is followed by the
data analysis and findings of the study. The results of and answers to the research
questions and subsequent interview questions are analyzed and explained.
Colton
Background and History
The city of Colton, located in San Bernardino County and sandwiched between
Rialto and San Bernardino, was incorporated in 1887. It is in the heart of the Inland
Empire, approximately one hour west of Palm Springs. The city straddles the I-10
freeway going east-west and the 215 freeway going north-south. Colton was named

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after David P. Colton, a Southern Pacific Railroad official. Colton Crossing, installed
in 1882, is the largest at grade crossing and the transcontinental trunk of the Union
Pacific Railroad and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. It is a seriously impacted
rail-yard as imports continue to increase. It also is operating 24 hours a day so there is
constant train noise and rumble from the passing trains.
Virgil Earp, brother of the more famous Wyatt, served as the first marshal of
Colton and resided there for approximately six years in the 1880s. Virgil spent most
of his life in law enforcement while his brother spent a lot of time gambling and is
famous for the shootout at the O.K. Corral. The Earps left a lasting impression on
Colton as they are still mentioned today as part of their history. Even the
superintendent mentioned the Earp family during one of his interviews: “The city of
Colton, if you go way back many years in the history of Colton, you’ll see the Wyatt
Earp family was here. Morgan is buried right over there – after the O.K. Corral
shooting” (Byas, 2006).
Governance
The governance of Colton is directed by the city manager whose
responsibilities include implementing the goals and policies of the city council,
overseeing the economic development and financial health and budget, and acting as
legislative advocate for the council. His office also oversees the community events
and city historic preservation program. The offices are in a state of flux as they are
being redone and updated, although the outside of the building is still unassuming.
They are next door to the Colton Police Department. The city is working with a vision
developed in 2003 to enhance the core values of the city through increased

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professionalism of the various agencies and capital improvement projects. The current
city manager has been in that position for five years and was the assistant city manager
for five years before that. The vision of Colton is printed nicely on laminated cards
that say:
Colton is a diverse community where tomorrow’s contributors pursue their
dreams in an attractive and safe environment abundant with opportunities for
educational and economic advancement.

The current administration is trying to fix the poor perception of the city. The
city business cards also have important city numbers on the back under a title of “Who
ya gonna call?” along with the city website address. This is an example of the positive
outreach and communication of the current administration. The government has had
its share of corruption. “The city has always had this link to corruption. They are
always under investigation. The city leadership. It’s always at the leadership level”
(Byas, 2006). Council members and two mayors have been arrested and indicted by
the FBI and did prison time in the last five to ten years. There have other issues such
as kickbacks from freeway billboard advertising. The day after one of the interviews,
a city council member was taken in handcuffs for fraud charges.
Demographics
The current population of Colton, a predominantly blue-collar town, is
approximately 48,000 with 20% below the poverty line. While 43% of the population
is white, 61% of the total population claims at least part Hispanic ancestry. The houses
aren’t as large or nice as some of the surrounding communities and the heavy industry
doesn’t help their image in attracting buyers in the residential part of the community.
The air is often smoggy and the Air Quality Management District monitors the air

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quality daily. The trains, freeways, and being in a valley contribute to the unhealthy
air.
School District
Colton Joint Unified School District serves 25,000 K – 12 students of which
75% are Hispanic, 13% are white, 8% are African-American, 2% are Asian and 2%
are Filipino. Dr. Dennis Byas has been the superintendent for the past eight years and
actually grew up in San Bernardino so he is very familiar with the region,
demographics, and history of the area. There are 18 elementary schools, four middle
schools, two comprehensive high schools, one continuation high school, one
alternative high school, an adult school, and a preschool program. In the actual city of
Colton, there are nine elementary schools, one of the middle schools, and three high
schools. They are currently planning a third comprehensive high school in Grand
Terrace. The district has a common goal: Every child a reader; every child a lifelong
learner. It is on their communication pieces.
While there are twelve colleges and universities in the area, the local schools
are struggling. The District is in Year 2 of Program Improvement as they failed to
meet their Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for consecutive years. Several
elementary schools are in Year 4 of Program Improvement. The API (Academic
Performance Index) score is how academic growth is measured. The statewide goal is
800 out of 1000. While scoring fairly low in Reading/Language Arts on the California
State Test, they are making small steps of growth. The students struggle in the
English/Language Arts portion. The scores of those at or above proficient range in the
high teens to the low 30s, well below the state average of 30s - 40s. The English

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learners’ scores are especially lagging, usually in the single digits. Their math scores
tend to be higher, usually in the 30s and 40s for elementary students, but high school
scores are dismal, in the single digits, according to the California Department of
Education website, http://star.cde.ca.gov. For the California High School Exit Exam
(CAHSEE), of the over 2400 who took it, they have a 50% pass rate. The district
serves students from several surrounding communities as well as part of the
unincorporated area of Bloomington where five elementary schools, two middle, and
one high school are. Bloomington residents are served by Riverside County facilities.
The area is 65% Hispanic, 29% Caucasian and 4% African-American. The
superintendent acknowledges the issues and is working with the city councils and city
managers of several communities to improve the relations and perceptions.
Grand Terrace
Background and History
Grand Terrace, known as the Blue Mountain City, is a smaller community,
located in the hills south of the I-10 freeway and east of the 215 freeway. Called the
Terrace because it is higher than surrounding areas and Grand because of its view, it
has a small town feel complete with a country fair and community pot-lucks. People
know each other here. The community works hard to maintain the familiarity and
comfortable atmosphere. Long before Grand Terrace was a city, it was a collection of
Mexican land-grants that was established in the 1830s. In the Terrace-Colton area,
there were very few buildings or people until the 22 ½ mile long Gage Canal was built
in the late 1800s. Citrus grew abundantly on the farms and eventually walnuts and
peaches because of their hardiness. Local activities used to be organized by the Farm

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Bureau Extension Service and the women’s club. By 1930, the local PTA (parent-
teacher association) was formed.
Governance
The governance of Grand Terrace is city manager driven. He is appointed by
the city council to serve as the chief administrative officer of the city. The current city
manager has been working for the city since 1984. His role is to provide professional
administrative guidance to the council and the mayor in the areas of the policies,
programs, and other services to the community. This office oversees direction to other
city departments, disaster preparedness, public information, economic development,
and property acquisition, to name a few of his responsibilities. He started out as an
accountant and was the director of finance until the city manager at that time twenty
years ago retired and he took the job. Their city offices are pleasant with an open
atrium. The city manager’s office is cozy and full of rolls of plans and other pieces of
the job.
The area has always been a part of Colton JUSD, and in fact, wasn’t even an
official city until 1978 when they found out the City of Colton was applying to the
Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to extend its sphere of influence,
which is usually a prior step to annexation. They then voted for and approved the
measure to become an incorporated city by an overwhelming 82%. It has a small
town feel that the leaders of Grand Terrace didn’t want to lose (Blue Mountain
Outlook, January 2007). The area is more upscale than nearby communities with its
winding canyons and estate homes. The socioeconomic level is higher and the average

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household income is one of the highest in the county. The expectations of service
from the city and the school district are high.
Demographics
Grand Terrace, has a small population at 11,600. The population has been
becoming more diverse with Caucasian at 61%, Hispanic at 25%, Asian at 5.5%, and
African-American at 5%. The Hispanic population is growing.
Schools
There are only two of Colton Joint Unified School District’s elementary
schools and one middle school located in the city of Grand Terrace. The elementary
schools are year-round and host almost 800 students each. Terrace Hills Middle
School is on a traditional track and hosts almost 1100 students. The students are then
to feed into Colton High School which hosts a large enrollment of 3370 students. This
is the time when people leave the district if they can by enrolling in Redlands Unified
School District or going to a private school. The city manager acknowledged:
We recognize that our schools in Colton Unified are terribly impacted at the
high school level. They have just not kept up…One of the problems in our
community is that people are very satisfied with the elementary schools and
middle school, but they’re not satisfied with sending our children out of our
community to high school and so what we find is people either plan to move
out of Grand Terrace when their kids get to high school age or send their kids
somewhere else… (Thomas Schwab, Grand Terrace City Manager, 2007).

For a long time, the community tried to break away from Colton “…because of
its dissatisfaction issues with the district” (Schwab). The dissatisfaction is evident
through the conversation with the city manager who has heard over and over that
people have an exit strategy. Unfortunately Colton High School is overcrowded with
over 3500 students attending a school built for maybe 2300 at the most. The exodus

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affects enrollment for Colton JUSD which translates into money from the state. The
problem is that the high schools are so impacted there isn’t an option. With the site of
the third Colton JUSD high school being located in Grand Terrace, the city leaders are
working very closely with the district to make sure it happens smoothly as will be
described later. The city sold 23 acres to the school district that could have been used
for commercial retail opportunities, but the city leaders felt strongly enough about
supporting the district that they are partnering with them on this project. The ability to
build relationships between the civic and district leaders will ensure a more positive
future for the implementation of the high school.
Fontana
Background and History
The area of Fontana has been inhabited for along time. The Lugo family had a
land-grant of the area in the early 1800s. They sold a chunk of land to Mormon
settlers in the 1850s. Fontana was founded in 1913 by A.B. Miller on an old Mexican
land-grant of Rancho de San Bernardino. There is actually one house still standing
from the original camp built around 1900. The main income in the early 1900s was
from citrus, chicken farms, and vineyards. In the 1940s Henry J. Kaiser built a steel
mill to build ships for World War II. This drew more people and more houses were
built. The city was incorporated in 1952. The area of the current city is 36 square
miles. The seal shows the Kaiser steel building surrounded by mountains. There are
grapes on one side of the mill and chicken and citrus are represented on the other.
Although the mill closed in 1984, the community adapted by becoming a bedroom
community as people commuted to neighboring cities for work.

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Governance
Fontana has adopted a new slogan – “Fontana… a City of Action!” The city
through the business and civic leaders is making a concerted effort to work together to
enhance the quality of life for the residents. Redoing the center of the city and putting
in a new, state of the art library is part of their dedication to completing projects.
Businesses are investing in the city and there is a positive energy in the air. The
people in the city hall and administration building are friendly and professional. The
offices are large, nice, and locked when no-one is there. The downtown area is clean
and there are new developments going on to improve parking and traffic flow. Even
building the new speedway three years ago has increased their image. “We’re really
moving now…we have spent years identifying the communities needs, looking for the
right partners and investors, and lobbying regional, state, and federal agencies to
return our fair share of tax dollars” (Mark Nuaimi, Mayor of Fontana, 2006). The
leadership in Fontana is steady as the city manager has been employed in various
positions since 1990. The city manager has an impressive record of successes during
his tenure. He pulled the city from bankruptcy and has a continually growing base
through economic development and investments. He is quite proud of the new library
and economic revitalization of the downtown area.
I am probably the impetus behind a lot of the growth of the city. The library
was my brainchild. But I always smile because you know you have a success
on your hands when everybody takes credit for it… and that’s great. So my
role is as a facilitator who makes things happen (Ken Hunt, Fontana City
Manager, 2007).

There is a mayor’s gala event benefiting the library and resource/technology
center complete with dinner, band, and an auction. The city manager also does

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seminars on manager/council relationships throughout California. This is part of the
communication necessary to build productive working relationships. The current
mayor has lived in Fontana since 1989 and has been mayor since 2002. As the
assistant city manager for the city of Colton, he is in the unique position to participate
in the operation of two cities. He is on numerous civic committees for Fontana such
as City of Fontana Annexation and Public Relations, Fontana Unified School District
sub-committee, City of Fontana Recreation Committee, and several committees that
relate to transportation on the various freeways. He also coaches youth basketball
teams. Leading the council and working with the manager, the leaders of the city of
Fontana continue to improve its image and growth potential. Part of historic Route 66
passes through Fontana and places like the Wig-Wam Motel, a collection of cement
wig-wams with wall unit air conditioners sticking out the sides, still exist alongside
new developments. The Exchange Club in town still sponsors Fontana Days, which
are a throwback to the early 1900s with the parade, hen derby, and games. Included
now is a half-marathon. The proceeds go to local programs for both the young and
old. These events and historic remnants keep the early days alive. There are other
groups that give back to the community with events such as parties for the
underprivileged or giving free dental exams. With the next wave of land developments
and national corporations coming into Fontana in the next ten years, commercial
development will explode. The city and council leaders have developed a ten year
plan to guide them through their growth. There is an excitement from the mayor and
council about the rapid growth and opportunity for the development of a business
corridor and a new city center. “The type of community we become will happen in the

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next ten years” (Hunt, 2007). The mayor and city council are leading the community
toward what they see as becoming the regional leader. Their plan is to develop most of
the vacant land in the next ten years.
Demographics
The city has a population of 160,000 in the city limits and another 40,000 in
the unincorporated areas. With the 18-44 age group 64% of the city’s population,
Fontana is one of the fastest growing cities in the county. The planned community
concept contributes to the rapid growth. One of the companies is called
Younghomes.com and they cater to families by offering four and five bedrooms plans.
There are winter festivals and 4
th
of July events on a larger scale as they try to keep a
family oriented town.
Schools
Fontana Unified School District serves 43,000 students, making it the 17
th

largest district in the state of California (City of Fontana, 2006). Colton JUSD serves
the southeastern part of the city with three elementary schools. The city manager
works with five different school districts; Etiwanda, Chaffey, Fontana, Ontario, and
Colton. “By its nature it makes it difficult to have strong relationships when you have
five to deal with” (Hunt, 2007).
Rialto
Background and History
Rialto is only four miles wide and eight miles long and is approximately 60
miles east of Los Angeles. Another city started as the railroad came through, Rialto
was previously home to the Serrano Indians, although artifacts from the 1500s have

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been found here. In 1887, the Santa Fe Railroad created the town, which connected
San Bernardino and Los Angeles. Townships were set up every 2600 yards and by the
end of 1887, there were 25 new towns along this stretch. Several of these actually
grew into larger, more prosperous cities. A group of Methodists settled and started the
town operations. They incorporated in 1911. One story suggests the name came from
the Rialto Bridge in Venice, Italy and it has remained a community symbol as the
theme became “Bridge of Progress” according to the city website. Citrus was
successful here as well with the hot dry weather. In the 1950s, the city changed from
an agricultural area to a suburb with strict residence rules. Many of the groves were
sold to developers for tract homes. The first school was built in 1888 and the Brooke
School District served students until 1920. In 1891, the Rialto School District was
formed with two teachers and a principal. The first schoolhouse was purchased by a
Rialto family in 1921 and has remained in that family ever since. Foothill Boulevard,
part of Route 66, runs through town and brought many people to Rialto in the early
days. In the 1920s, a fire destroyed most of downtown. This area has been recently
modernized with new store fronts and updated buildings.
Governance
The city governance is driven by the City Administrator. He is the Chief
Executive of Rialto. His responsibilities include policy formation, city management,
and guiding the council. He also works with the budget, labor groups and relations,
and is the executive director of the Redevelopment Agency. It is similar to the City
Manager form of government. This city administrator also teaches at California State
University at San Bernardino. When this city administrator was hired, he told the city

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leaders they needed a utility tax. He came up with an eighteen month plan and it
passed by five votes. That’s the kind of adrenaline rush he enjoys about his job. He is
an A/Fuel Dragster driver and thrives on intense action as evidenced in his drive to
move the city forward to be a leader in innovation. His office is the hippest with
music posters and motorcycle posters and other things that interest him. It does not
have plans and maps on the walls. “People come in and say it’s really different. I’m a
music fan and I’ve raced for years. It’s got to be homey” (Henry T. Garcia, City
Manager of Rialto, 2007).
Demographics
The population of Rialto is made up of 39% Caucasians and 22% African –
Americans. People with Hispanic ancestry make up 52% of the city’s population.
The current population is almost 100,000.
Schools
Currently the Rialto Unified School District serves approximately 30,000
students and is the 35
th
largest district in the state of California. Colton JUSD serves a
piece of Rialto. The relationship between Rialto Unified School District and the city
was described as mild to cool. The city does not engage much with the school district.
But on a different level, “Dennis and I go back to Duarte days, so him and I have a
solid relationship in an unusual way administrator to administrator, but not necessarily
Colton to city” (Garcia, 2007). Part of relationship building was created in another
setting and brought forth to this setting as they have a common background.

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San Bernardino
Background and History
San Bernardino is one of the oldest communities in California. Spanish
missionaries came and named the area after Saint Bernard of Siena in about 1810.
With the mission system closing in 1834, it turned into a trading post along the
Spanish Trail with trappers and traders such as Kit Carson and Jedidiah Strong
frequenting the area. The Spanish land owners held many fiestas and rodeos, but the
Desert Indians continued to steal horses and cattle which eventually drove away many
settlers. A group of approximately 500 Mormons came in 1851 and built Fort San
Bernardino to protect themselves from the raids and farmed instead.
The city was incorporated in 1854 as a temperance town with 75% Mormons,
but in 1857 Brigham Young called the Mormons home and the town was
disincorporated. It was reincorporated in 1886. In 1883 the first high school in the
county was built. At the turn of the century, the Union Pacific, Santa Fe, and Southern
Pacific Railroads all met at San Bernardino making it the center of operations in
southern California. The noise and rumbling of trains is constant here as well.
Governance
The city manager is responsible for the administration of the city. This is the
only city manager not interviewed for this study, despite repeated attempts. The city
manager provides the overall management of the city departments. His department is
responsible for the community communication as well as budget and policy
development. Home to California State University at San Bernardino, San Bernardino
Valley College, Norton Air Force Base, and single A baseball with the Inland Empire

84

66ers, it is the anchor city of the Inland Empire. It is a dry area with desert-like
conditions of hot winds and dry soil.
Demographics
San Bernardino is part of the largest county in the 48 states. With the
population at 201,000 and growing, it is becoming a dense bedroom community. The
population is 45% Caucasian, 16% African American and 4% Asian. Forty-eight
percent claim Hispanic ancestry.
Schools
San Bernardino City Unified School District is the sixth largest district in the
state of California, covering 160 square miles, and serving San Bernardino, part of the
City of Highland, and the unincorporated communities of Muscoy and Devore.
Approximately 57,000 students attend the 65 schools in this district. Colton serves a
part of the west end of San Bernardino.
Loma Linda
Background and History
Loma Linda, which means “pretty hill” in Spanish, is located south of the I-10
freeway and directly below San Bernardino. It is a small eight square mile town and
was incorporated in 1970. Although the Serrano Indians lived in the area early on, the
beginning of the town was started as a tourist development in the late 1800s to serve
the railroad passage and was originally called Mound City, but the project failed. In
1905 the Seventh-Day Adventists purchased the resort property and opened a
sanitarium and school of nursing and eventually a school of medicine in 1909. This
evolved into Loma Linda University, a world renowned health-science university with

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medical and educational institutions, which is the primary employer in town. The
university has been known as a national center of health and wellness research for
decades, according the city website. Some people come as patients, others as teachers
or students, and still others as researchers. A 250 bed Children’s Hospital and a
Ronald McDonald House for families being treated at the hospital both opened in the
1990s.
Governance
The governance of Loma Linda is driven by the city manager who is the chief
executive officer of the city. His responsibilities include the general operation of the
city, the operating budget, and supervision of all the departments of the city. His
department’s primary focus is to encourage new retail and high tech industrial
developments to move their businesses to Loma Linda as well as assisting the current
businesses to grow. There is not very much heavy industry as the focus is on medical
and educational businesses due to Loma Linda University. The city was also chosen
as an Enterprise All-Star for 2006 by Network World magazine due to the advanced
level of technology throughout the city and the availability of the internet to the
community. The city hall building is clean and neat as is the city manager’s office,
almost to the point of being sterile.
Demographics
The current population is approximately 21,000 with 52% Caucasian, 25%
Asian, 18% Hispanic, and 7% African-American according to the City of Loma Linda
Redevelopment Agency. A much more affluent community than its neighbors, the city
itself has very little connection with the public schools. While expanding to 60,000

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people in the city during the day either working, attending school or the university, or
just visiting, Loma Linda still retains a small town feel. The religious nature is the
backbone of this community and it ties everything together through either the church
and/or Loma Linda University.
Schools
The religious ties through the Seventh-Day Adventists are so strong they do
not have their own public school district because so many students attend Loma Linda
Academy, a private K-12 school operated by the Seventh Day Adventists, which just
celebrated its centennial complete with parade and picnic as reported in the Loma
Linda Report in December, 2006. Redlands Unified School District serves the
remainder of the students with Colton JUSD serving several housing tracts.
Summary of backgrounds
Having a background of how these communities started and where they are
today is important as they all started off as railroad townships and have since
transitioned into very different cities. Colton has stayed very working class while
Loma Linda is driven by the events at Loma Linda University and the hospital. Grand
Terrace is a high end city while unincorporated Bloomington is served by county
services. Fontana and Rialto are both growing through housing developments and
drawing businesses as they improve their images. The next section will look at the
data collected through the various research questions and the methodology of
interviews and surveys.

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Data
The overarching question of this study is how do civic leaders work with
school leaders to build the capacity needed to implement reform and improve
underachieving schools? In answering that question, there are several specific
questions that help define the roles and responsibilities of civic leaders and how they
work with other leaders to make the goal of successful and prosperous communities
and productive citizens encompass the students through the schools as well. The
connection of leadership is that city managers and the superintendent are parallel in
their jobs. Both positions are chosen by their respective governing boards. They are
equivalent in that they are the responsible for the day to day operations and
functionality of the city and the district.
Research Question One: What qualities and characteristics of leadership do the civic
leaders use in order to work together with school leaders to build the relationships
and social capital within the school and community needed to improve schools?
Findings for Research Question One
Characteristics
This question asked what characteristics of civic leaders are usually present in
successful leaders. In the research there were certain qualities or characteristics that
were most prevalent in civic leaders (Fisher, 2003; Jehl, 2002; Lawrence, et al., 2005;
Reese, 2004; Silverman, 2005). These included communication skills, commitment to
healthy youth and families, vision, access to and promotion of social services, and
relationship building. This question was asked in both the interviews and surveys.
Some characteristics stood out more than others. Some traits were mentioned

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unanimously; while others were mentioned sporadically. The participants were asked
what qualities of civic leadership they saw as their strength and why as well as what
qualities they used in working with school district leaders. This set the stage for their
thoughts on leadership. The need for effective communication seemed to be the one
characteristic that was mentioned by everyone. In this section, the most predominant
characteristics are discussed.
Communication
Communication overlaps all areas. It seems to be the most important aspect of
leadership. It was stated as simply by several mayors, principals, and city managers as
everyone needs to communicate well and often as that builds and supports the
relationships needed to make the city and school district function better (Principals #1,
2, 5, Mayor #1, City Managers #1, 2, 4). Within communication are imbedded the
social skills and the ability to reach out to members of the community and leaders in
the schools (City Manager #2). If people don’t have the smoothness that working with
others requires, others simply won’t work with them. Several of the city managers
emphasized working directly with the superintendent is important because they share
needs and concerns that affect students and community members (City Managers #1,
3, 4). What is interesting with the mayors is first the difficulty in getting responses and
second, getting depth from the responses. There is a noticeable difference in the
attitude toward the district. The mayors are the presumed leaders of the cities and
therefore, the public relations face of the city. One had luke-warm responses. As
Mayor #6 explained: “Conflict will arise, i.e. funding and land use issues, school
placement issues. The relationship will continue to be a good, not a great one.” The

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mayor of Colton, who has the closest relationship with the district leaders, was more
positive and hopeful in her responses. She communicated several times via email and
forwarded extra information. She wrote openness as part of communication and the
necessity “…to have courage to be able to say the things that need to be said. Make
the hard decisions” (Chastain, 2007).
Open Communication
Communication came up as the underlying characteristic needed for the job of
working with district leaders. Communication with and between the civic leaders and
the district leaders does help with the efforts to build the relationships needed for
growth of both entities. From the city managers’ perspective, it is important to create
a good team (City Manager #5) and have quality people who know how to
communicate within the departments at the city and community at large (City
Manager #2). The departments involved in youth programs are ideal partners for
support. Each city is a public service oriented business and how they communicate
can determine how well programs are received, the support for the schools, and
success of the relationships (City Manager #1). City agencies should be the primary
support to promote the goals of the district. From the superintendent’s point of view,
open communication can make or break the relationships needed for successful
partnering between the city and the district. He acknowledged the need for different
relationships for each city based on the demographics, participation in programs by the
city, and need of services from the city. Until the last several years, the relationship
between the City of Colton and the school district had been tenuous without much
communication. The superintendent indicated that the City of Colton had long been at

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odds with the district mainly due to the corruption of the city leadership. The city
manager of Colton said:
For some reason there’s a history. I know Dennis referred to it, but I can’t put
my finger on it, and I’ve been here a long time. There’s some animosity and
we’re, both Dennis and I, scratching our heads trying to figure out what it is
(Parrish, 2007).

The city was always dealing with corruption and financial issues within their own
employees. The district has tended to stay clean and out of the turmoil there. Dr. Byas
has brought the council and school board together to discuss mutual issues, but
acknowledged it has been difficult. This is an area of continuing development as
schools boards and councils change on a regular basis. Although Dr. Byas has been in
Colton for eight years, superintendents change fairly often as well. The ability to
study council/board relationships would be an interesting ongoing study.
One example of the difficulty or lack of communication he gave was the
summer swim program held in Bloomington. Bloomington is governed by county
officials as they are not incorporated, so it is different level of governance. There
probably isn’t as great of connectivity through county leaders who oversee a huge
county that covers many square miles.
In Bloomington, the county came in one year and said we’ll give you $3500 to
lease your pool for the summer for kids and they would hire the lifeguards. So
we did that. The cost to maintain that pool is about $6000 so they gave us
$3500. Now you have a program in place. Year two comes along. All these
kids are expecting to be there now and they have swim teams and everything
built up. Well, we’re only going to get $3500 from the county and the cost is
up to $9000…The county sends you a letter that says here is your check for
$300. And we say no, it’s $3500. And they say, well, we’re only paying $300
from now on. But we have a program… This is where the relationships
between a district and a city and county fall apart is when you agree to
something and get something in place like a program with people, where they
expect it. Then they back out and they don’t tell you in advance and they still

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publish materials that say oh yeah, we offer those programs, when no, they
don’t (Byas, 2006).

He added that that particular member of the board of supervisors was indicted by the
FBI for kickbacks. So corruption on top of lack of communication can break the
relationship needed to provide decent programs for the community. This area of
communication between the city and school district is important and ongoing,
especially when the district or schools are asking the civic leaders to participate in
shared events. The superintendent has made it a goal to improve relationships
between the city and the district. Both sides acknowledge an improvement in
communication and relationships. With his position he is working with and
communicating with multiple civic leaders. He works with the city managers for the
day to day business of the two entities as they share problems and programs and he
works with the mayors and to a lesser extent the city councils for the ceremonial
events and occasional joint meetings. Even the perception of communication is
important in that the community looks to the leaders to see who is talking to whom
and who supports what measure and program.
Communication through public relations and publications
The city managers and superintendent are the public relations leaders to the
outside community. They are the public face of the community and the district.
Additional communication occurs in the publications put out by both the cities and the
school district. The cities are trying to attract businesses and new residents through
their colorful and informative brochures. The City of Colton has a laminated card as a
public relations piece that states:

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Putting the City first is the spirit that permeates all deliberations and governs all
decisions. Knowing this gives us the courage to stand up for City issues and manage
financial discipline. Courage and discipline earn respect. Sustaining respect requires
that we act honestly and deliver with accuracy and timeliness. Trusted government
will be our legacy.

This is a positive (and relatively inexpensive) way to share their vision with the public.
There is an information desk in each of the city offices that has a multitude of
pamphlets for classes, programs, and city services. Not very often is there something
for the school district. Each city has a website. Some are more advanced and more
informative, but each one has connections to services and departments. The school
district has a website that has connections to the schools as well as the city and some
of the programs offered. The school district also puts out printed information in
English and Spanish to the parents and community. One comment from the
superintendent suggested that the city and the school district could share letterhead for
communication aimed at informing community members about programs and events.
Shared letterhead would show unity on information.
What we really need to do is have the cities print the same literature we have.
We have been able to put out newsletters on the city counters in city hall and
get that information out. It would be even better if we had their logo on our
things, which we are working on, and get their logo on our materials is what
we are trying to do…I think it would be a stronger goal if we were able to do it
together in partnership with all the cities saying the same thing (Byas, 2006).

Communication through committees
While committees are formed to look at specific issues, they are also used as a
communication piece between groups and between leaders. The school district has an
Interactive Agency Committee that functions as a connection to the community. This
committee gets district information and presents it to various groups and town-hall

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meetings and acts as the voice of the district (Byas). This is a great way to get parents
involved as representatives of the district as not only community input, but district
outreach. Who better to listen to than a fellow parent and especially when this
particular parent gets the information from the district? This supports the
communication piece that is important to the district. The City of Colton has the
Bridge Committee that is supposed to be a bridge of communication between the city
and the school district. The members include members of the school board and
members of the city council. They meet quarterly to discuss issues, programs, and
events. The city and the district can strengthen their partnership as they work together
(Mayor #1). It is a positive step between the city and school district, but only the City
of Colton has this Bridge Committee so far.
Communication and the schools
The principals agreed that communication and communication skills are very
important in building their relationships with both civic and district leaders. Knowing
the community and the culture of each community, including the history, enables the
leaders to communicate better with the constituents who know what they want and
need for themselves and their children (Principals #2, 3, 4). While the principals
agreed the city leaders should visit the campuses and attend the events, they stressed
the need for informed awareness of reform issues and state and federal mandates as
schools are part of the city culture and everyone should model and support excellence
(Principal #2). Several principals suggested civic leaders could bring information on
the local job market trends and what skills employers are looking for as that would
help solidify the connection of young constituents and the community in which they

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live (Principals #3, 6). The principals rely on the district to provide additional
information from the city. Each school has its own connections to various people and
businesses within the community, but it’s not consistent. While this is communication
on a different level, it is still a responsibility of the civic leaders to support the schools
and the district.
Legal Communication
One of the difficulties encountered revolves around communication in legal
issues due to policy initiatives and implementation such as Megan’s Law. The
superintendent shared how frustrating it is to work on district policies because laws in
the various communities may or may not be compatible. That is where the non-
contiguous boundaries are a problem as the superintendent expressed:
How do you handle Megan’s Law across city boundaries? Cities handle
Megan’s Law differently, so I can’t put a policy in place for the entire district
because one city says we don’t do that. Something simple like that as an
example, do we share the addresses with parents? And one city says
absolutely not, we don’t do that in our city…And the other cities say yeah, we
put out that information So I can’t write a district-wide policy to all six or
seven communities and say this is how we’ll do it and share information with
parents because one city says no (Byas, 2006).

The problem is a lack of communication between the cities as they do not agree how
to handle the legalities of the law. Getting policy and law-makers to meet and discuss
this would benefit the schools as well because of the consistent implementation
needed. Dr. Byas said even if he did put out a policy, the cities may not send police
officers or support arrests, so the response would be sporadic.
Communication throughout all the various levels, district leaders, civic leaders,
principals, and community members, is the overarching characteristic most important

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for all to use and have as they build relationships with each other. Effective
communication allows the other areas to happen more readily. Through
communication the social services will be easier to use and the vision of the schools
and the district will be easier to implement. This thread runs through the ability to
build the capacity needed to ensure improvement and success among our schools.
Commitment to Youth and Healthy Families/Access to Social Services
This section combines what started as separate categories: commitment to
youth and healthy families and access to social services. Because access to social
services shows a commitment to supporting health initiatives, they are intertwined.
Healthy families make better citizens. Student attendance is higher and adult
productivity is higher. Some families need extra support from counselors and other
social services. As research has shown, many children are labeled at-risk due to poor
home environments, failing their classes, drug and alcohol issues, and poverty (Schorr,
1988). Part of the communication piece is publicizing the services available to the
community (Silverman, 2005). Often times the parents do not know what is available
or how to access services.
Healthy Programs
An important characteristic for leaders and necessary for the community is the
ability to serve the youth and their families through social services and programs for
healthy living. As Principal #6 explained: “It is difficult for staff to argue against
implementing a reform that research shows will help the students.” Colton has started
a Mission Nutrition program aimed at making families aware of better nutritional
habits. This is being introduced into the schools as well. Grand Terrace Elementary

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had a Pass-the-Principal event to promote healthy lifestyles and good school
attendance. Those who had perfect attendance got to race the principal. This is a fun
and positive way to promote health and the school. Loma Linda has the designation of
being a healthy city. They have programs that target the homeless and the schools
through the school of public health at Loma Linda University.
We have a program called the community assistance program. It isn’t just a
school based organization, but we reach out to the faith based organizations
and county social service organizations. We have an inventory of all these
organizations where if they walked in my door and said ‘I’m homeless or I’ve
got this issue, where can I go for help?’ We have a program – a kind of one
stop shop thing and they can bring the resources necessary (Hunt, 2007).

This is the kind of community support necessary to reach all types of constituents.
Most of the cities have health fairs that have booths and displays of health awareness,
nutrition, child safety, and other services offered. Health awareness is an important
issue, not just in Colton JUSD, but nationwide. Healthy children will attend school on
a more regular basis and learn better. Some communities, Fontana, Colton, and San
Bernardino, and especially the district, have publications and mailers in English and
Spanish that target health and active living through classes.
A beautiful example of civic leadership this researcher came across was started
by Councilwoman Acquanetta Warren called the Healthy Fontana Program. It was
launched in January of 2004 because of her concerns about obesity and other health
diseases. This program is available online as a link on the Fontana website. It is well
maintained and a great resource for the community. There are corporate sponsors
including Vons, Kaiser Permanente, San Antonio Community Hospital, Weight
Watchers, and Tasty Chicken. There are fun events such as the Biggest Loser Contest

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which raised money for the new library and awareness for healthy lifestyles. There
are Fast, Fresh, Fabulous Cooking classes, Secrets of Salads, and a walking club. This
would be an easy program to partner with the schools as they could participate at the
sites with walking clubs and mini cooking classes and involve their parents. The
website is interesting, easy to access, and a great service for the community. No-one
mentioned it.
Interestingly, but not surprisingly, the mayors did not mention either access to
social services or commitment to healthy youth as characteristics of a civic leader.
They did acknowledge and discuss the various programs and shared facilities as
progress toward partnering (Mayors #1, 4). The mayors tended to focus on the more
global picture of servicing the community, not just the child, with programs such as
the Mission Nutrition program, park improvement, Little League, and soccer. For
example, with 40% of Colton’s population under 27 years of age, the council has
made youth part of their vision and goals (Chastain, 2007). The policies and programs
are developed with youth in mind. Servicing the whole community fulfills the theory
of developing social capital through the use of intentional organizations (Coleman,
1990). These relationships will build a healthier community and get people together
for the betterment of themselves as they build relationships around a social network
(Bourdieu, 1986; Coleman, 1990; Putnam, 2000). Fontana Community Services
Department is actively pursuing connections with the community in order to provide
more services to their residents. They offer health support, social interaction, and
worker support. One of Fontana’s goals is to address the needs of the low-income
residents by building 300 – 400 low-income units as reported in the city publication,

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A City of Action. Healthy programs and promotion of healthy lifestyles has become
part of many cities plans throughout California and is actively supported here by the
city councils. The next step would be the partnership with the schools. Then the
community would have a full service healthy community.
School connection to social services
The principals felt they had a good connection with the social services through
their counselors and the Sheriff’s department (Principal #6). One of the school’s
counselors is the chaplain for the Sheriff’s department. This counselor has been
honored by the district for his work at the school for working with students. He
handles the religious and social issues for the Sheriff’s Department in times of
disaster. He is required to go on ride-alongs for ten hours a month to keep current
with the day-to-day activities. This is a positive link between the school and the
community. Principal #3 suggested what would help and support the schools would
be a better response time from some of the local law enforcement agencies. It was
generally agreed that the Colton Police Department is excellent, and that Fontana was
responsive, but that the Sheriff’s Department had a slow to no response record for the
schools. Getting all the agencies to agree on protocols and communication would
benefit everyone. Although the principals may not be as knowledgeable about
individual services offered, they felt the counselors had a record of local services
provided and were a resource in this area (Principals #2, 3). The schools also use their
nurses and psychologists for connections and recommendations to services. While
again, this is on a smaller scale than the citywide access, sometimes the schools are the
first to recognize there is a problem within a family or with a child. As mandated

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child abuse reporters, school personnel often are the first connection with the social
services on behalf of the child. The schools work with social workers, probation
officers, and other social service help connections on a regular basis because this is a
safe place for the children and the parents are not there to interfere. The
superintendent’s office also has information in English and Spanish on programs for
health and child safety. The superintendent is also the connection with the Colton
Police Department.
City connection to social services
The city managers see their role as providing public service and safety to the
communities as a whole. Nothing is specifically written into city plans or policies
about family involvement although both research and four city managers said it is an
important part of leading a city, especially one that has more need of social services.
There are committees such as the Citizen’s Advisory Committee in Rialto, which
promotes working with the schools. This indirectly benefits the schools and students,
but is not written into policy (Garcia, 2007). The city managers are very cognizant of
providing service to people, being that they operate a people business. If the streets
are paved and maintained, the parks clean and usable, and police and fire support is
provided, the city managers are fulfilling their duty to the communities, but in order to
have deeper effectiveness, there needs to be more connection with and for the people.
City managers provide public service and public safety because that is what the public
wants. Programs designed for youth are important overall. There is a Parks and
Recreation department in each city except Loma Linda. The city managers
volunteered that sports are very popular and a benefit to the city as they draw families.

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Football and soccer are two of the most popular sports. Colton Youth Football is
heavily supported by the community. The Colton Police Department also runs a Cops
and Jocks program that has athletes partner with the police officers to do community
projects (Byas, 2006; Parrish, 2007). The Colton Police Department is popular and
their active support of the youth in town is well-known. The cities also have swim
programs in the summer. All these programs help support healthy youth, but are not
directly connected to or partnered with the schools.
Of the other possible services provided by the cities, transportation did not
seem to be as important as originally perceived by this researcher. Most communities
rely on county transportation systems and the stops seem to be placed appropriately.
The school district provides bussing for the students which is expected as many
students live many miles or across major freeways from their schools (City Manager
#4). Most people in Grand Terrace drive their own car and their two attempts at
public bussing failed.
We have tried twice to implement bussing. We belong to our local transit
authority called Omnitrans and twice we have tried to implement a bus system
in the community, but Grand Terrace is just not a transit town, even when it
was free…Most people in Grand Terrace have a car (Schwab, 2007).

Day care is the biggest support coming from each city. Three city managers
acknowledge the importance of providing quality, year-round day care and after
school care as mentioned in the interviews. Although two separate programs, they
serve the purpose of allowing the parents to work a full day. Kindergarteners are on a
half day program and transportation is provided to the day care centers, some of which
are off-site. After school care provides an on-site program usually geared to

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homework completion and athletic activities. Both programs benefit the community
as the parents can work and be productive members of the community and more self-
sufficient (City Manager #4).
As far as housing opportunities, the cities mostly defer to the county housing
authority. The several experiences that the cities have had drained them financially
and caused more issues than worth the time (City Managers #1, 3). Since shelter is a
basic need for survival, especially when children are involved, it would be a benefit to
offer low-income housing or housing subsidies, but one city manager was adamant
about cities staying out of the housing business.
We’re not really involved in housing. We do have a couple projects that are
senior oriented and one was a financial nightmare for us. That experiment will
be over in July. The other one is a mobile home park which we had to
purchase based on a court decision from the early 90’s and we have been
hemorrhaging over that as well (City Manager #1).

While policies on families are not specifically written into the cities plans,
being aware of social services and programs offered is important. The city managers
have studies and reports that show age levels and movement trends that they rely on
for information. The cities work to provide services to the community at large.
Several programs are in place to support families and partner with the schools such as
the Mission Nutrition in Colton and the school program provided by Loma Linda
University to the students in Loma Linda. Youth sports programs are in place and
strongly supported by the communities in most cities as referred to multiple times
during the interviews. There is definitely more room for connections in this area.

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Flexibility/Adaptability
Being a leader involves being flexible. Being flexible allows for planned as
well as unforeseen events to occur. The city managers mentioned the ability to be
flexible in leadership styles as important so one would know what skills are needed
where and when. Being flexible in how you communicate is part of the
communication skills that civic leaders need to work with others. The city manager of
Fontana stated:
You just listed several wonderful qualities and what I have found in my tenure
is there are times when the most important skill is communication. There are
times when the most important skill you need is an almost confrontational,
draw the line in the sand approach to fight the battle. Sometimes you need
coaching, sometimes you need speaking…And when I say flexible it is the key
for successful leaders in this type of organization to have the ability to
understand what skills need to be applied where. The challenge is knowing
when to communicate and when to be quiet, when to attack and when to coach,
when you need to throw visions out there and when you need to hear from
other people.

For leaders in this type of organization to be successful, there is a need to be flexible
as it allows for new, changing, and adapting relationships based on time, place, and
need. Having an adaptive leadership style was listed as a main characteristic as civic
leaders are working with a variety of people every day. Under the umbrella of
flexibility and adaptability is the ability to problem-solve and facilitate (Mayor #6).
When people are angry about issues, whether the issues are potholes, dirty parks, or a
neighbor making noise, the civic leaders deal with a myriad of problems on a daily
basis. Add in the schools and there is another set of problems.
I think the leaders that are going to be successful have to have a more adaptive
leadership approach, a higher regard and appreciation for ambiguity. The
adaptive and ambiguity piece is very critical to people…who work in multi-
faceted settings (Garcia, 2007).

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Because people change jobs and interests, and what topics may be volatile one month
may not be the next month, leaders have to be flexible in how they communicate (City
Managers #2, 3).
The majority of the principals listed flexibility and openness as important for
all leaders. As plans are implemented, Principal #1 mentioned that leaders have to be
open to the fact that there may be deviations from the original plan. Being adaptable
to change and other’s ideas communicates to the staff and community that you are
willing to work with people, not against them. If leaders are too rigid, people won’t
support their reforms. The ability to make things happen while being open to other’s
ideas comes from successful leaders (Principal #2). The importance of flexibility in
leadership was evident in several of the responses from the city managers as well.
They have learned to be more flexible because of the environment and variables of the
job. City Manager #2 shared:
I’ve been with the city for a long time. This is my 17
th
year and I will tell you
there were things that when I walked in the door 17 years ago that I would say
this is an absolute – I will never deviate from that. And now I go hey – that is
not so absolute anymore. What I thought was so important 17 years ago I have
come to learn that it may be important, but may not be the final answer to deal
with that situation.

City Manager #3 said that it was ok to say leadership has a high degree of
variables but the flexibility comes in determining what variable is occurring and what
trait would be most appropriate in the response. Several of the cities have introduced
new taglines or phrases to go along with their plans to publicize their ideas and get the
community to see new options and ideas, such as “Fontana – A City of Action!”

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Flexibility is an important part of communication or these plans would remain on
paper only because people wouldn’t necessarily support them.
It is beneficial to be a generalist so you have a kind of broad background and
not be an expert in anything, but with the broad general skills, the challenge is
knowing when to communicate and when to be quiet. This sort of generalization helps
balance the extremes that can come with working with the public and various interest
groups. Leaders who will be successful are the ones who are willing to learn and
change (City Manager #2). One city manager told the story of watching the movie
Madagascar with his son:
We’re watching this movie Madagascar, love that movie. He says ‘daddy, I
saw you in that movie’ and I thought, the lion. He says, ‘no, the penguin. It’s
so you. The penguin turns around and says to the other penguins “don’t give
me excuses, give me results.” ’ I said, ‘daddy never hit anybody’ and he says,
‘no, the excuses part.’ I said I knew it! That is me. I don’t want to hear it.
Deliver me something in a reasonable time (City Manager #3).

This city manager views his role as a facilitator of projects and has high
expectations. The city manager said he knew it because he expects things delivered in
a reasonable time. There is a learning curve in the beginning of any new job, but as
comfort in the job grows, so does the ability to demand more excellence while being
flexible in how it is achieved. There is a difference in the level of bureaucracy
between a school district and a city. City managers feel they can make things happen
at a much more efficient pace than district leaders. The example was given that if a
pothole needs to be filled, a phone call can take care of it. If something at a school
needs fixing, it takes a requisition and a work order and then it gets calendared
according to importance and availability of staff (City Manager #3). Fixing things

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seems like an easier process to the city managers. Flexibility and adaptability are
traits that help smooth the way for building better working relationships which in turn
increases efficiency between the schools and the cities (City Manager #2). This
maturity of leadership comes with time and trust. It takes work to build successful
relationships. All the leaders indicated at one point or another that they do work on
building relationships with other leaders both in other communities and with the
district leaders and try to work on solutions that benefit both groups.
Vision
This section discusses the importance of leaders having focused visions. The
superintendent is in charge of articulating the vision of the district to the public. “We
reiterate over and over again – student performance is our number one goal” (Byas,
2006). Communication of the district’s vision comes from the public relations
department of the district through their newsletters, posters, flyers, and website. The
vision should be explained in everyday language (Elmore & Fuhrmann, 2001) so that
everyone is aware of the direction and focus. The district management makes
presentations at the schools and community meetings to share the vision and direction.
We try to get more city buy-in with our vision – that is something we really
need to do. Now, the way we have been able to share with the cities is we go
to city council meetings and do our same presentation about the district vision.
What we’re asking the city is to buy into it because the city has some programs
and what we’ve been able to do is link some of our programs with theirs like
the after school program and start taking some of the processes into the city
programs (Byas, 2006).

Communication comes from the sites as well in their newsletters and meetings with
the parents and community. The vision has to be common knowledge and reinforced
in order to be successful. Student performance as a vision is generic, which makes it a

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flexible and obtainable goal. The goal should be transparent (Welch, 2006) in order to
be understood by the community.
District vision
The District vision is:
We believe that every student will achieve academic excellence
essential for career success. We further believe that every educator,
student, parent, and member of the community is a stakeholder in our
dynamic district.

The district has a goal of: Every child a reader; every child a lifelong learner. The
vision focuses on the child and who is responsible for educating that child. The
interesting thing is the district vision includes the community as a stakeholder in the
process while education is not included in the cities plan. In focusing on student
performance, the district has three strategies to improve performance: process writing,
reciprocal teaching, and direct instruction.
The direct instruction piece is the strongest…we do action walks in the
classroom …focus walks, theme boards to see every teacher teaching the same
subject matter at the same time. It relates back to student performance and we
do a couple of presentations and try to bring every staff member up to speed
that this is our vision (Byas, 2006).

This is the district’s way to ensure movement toward the vision. Dr. Byas emphasized
that the reason we, as educators, are here is to articulate the vision of students
performing. The teachers all need to have the same emphasis on teaching and learning
and be united by this common goal. To the principals, the ability to cultivate the
vision with the school community is essential to implement reform or improvement
efforts in the schools (Principal #1). Safety and a productive learning environment
where students can work to their fullest potential is more specific which for a site

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helps focus the staff, parents, and students on the expected outcomes as shared by
Principal #2:
The vision for my school is to have a safe and productive learning
environment. Our students are expected to work to their fullest potential. Our
staff is expected to bring out the best in our student. As principal, I expect to
bring out the best in my staff, students, and parents. The participants for our
school vision are staff, students, district, and community members. I articulate
the school vision in all communications with stakeholders in writing, weekly
bulletins, on school letterhead, at meetings, and at assemblies.

Safety and learning go together in student performance. High expectations are
paramount to higher performance. Parents want to see a safe campus and students
need a safe campus in order to learn without distractions. High school students are
also expected to become productive members of society in addition to their academic
success. They are also expected to take part in their learning by actively participating
in school. Counselors meet with students on a regular basis to ensure progress toward
their goals and vision of the school as mentioned by Principal #3:
Our vision is that all of our students will experience academic growth. It is
articulated verbally and in writing. Students, teachers, parents, district
personnel, and the community at large are stakeholders.

Principals are very aware of the need to communicate their vision with the public as it
is the only way the public knows what the focus of the school is. Newspapers and the
news media jump on the negative, whether it is low test scores or fights or police
activity. Having a positive focus helps counter some of the negative press a school
may get for low test scores, crime, or other drama that may be attached to the school.
The vision is “Expect Success” - that every student is capable of earning a
diploma. I articulate it in meetings, emails, copies of research and articles on
student motivation, and by holding accountable teachers who were not doing
their jobs well. I consider all staff, students, and district personnel as
stakeholders (Principal #6).

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This is supported by ongoing reading of research and professional development with
the staff. All staff members are stakeholders and therefore need to be held
accountable in supporting the vision (Principals #1, 6). This is supported in the
research of making everyone accountable for the success of the children (Ouchi,
2003). The principals are very passionate about their schools and sharing what they
do with the communities. They expect the students to perform at their very best level
as part of the overall school expectations. The teachers are expected to perform at
their very best as well.
City visions
Visions are a way to focus the direction of the city. It is a public relations
piece to communicate to the community that this is what the city leaders believe in and
are moving toward. The cities include safe, well-maintained, and family oriented
themes in their plans, policies, and programs, but education is not specifically
mentioned in their mission statements as shared by City Manager #2:
I’m thinking of our vision statement – safe, well maintained family oriented
community, capitalizing on first, being well maintained. I don’t think we
specifically mention education, but certainly education is the backdrop to all of
those things. Education is interrelated to having a safe community and a well
maintained community.

Education is part of having a safe city and a progressive community.

Several of these communities are blue-collar and the city managers realize the
higher the education is, the higher the quality of life, so it is important that education
is emphasized as they push for economic advancement at the same time (City Manager
#2). Each city has its own vision. The city visions are not the same as the school

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district vision. One city manager said the school district doesn’t have a broad
perspective on doing things because they have the narrow alibi of doing things for kids
first, but city managers have to take into account the sidewalks, group homes,
businesses, parks, roads, retail, commercial, and residential (City Manager #3). The
city managers have a different responsibility than district leaders as they are
responsible for the place people live, shop, and work, not just go to school. The vision
is more important to the schools as a focus piece than the city. They are focusing on
teaching children. The city view is broader because the constituents are broader. It
depends on the leader’s position what the focus is and how broad the vision is. In
Grand Terrace, part of their vision includes the third high school. It has been part of
their vision and discussions for about seven to eight years. There has been a lot of
planning toward making it not only feasible, but potentially successful immediately.
The city manager talked a lot about the possibilities that will open because of the work
the leaders are doing:
We helped them find a site…23 acres of it is ours, but we went to the point of
moving a Riverside water line. It took $1.7 million to move it. We paid 60%
and the district paid 40%. We saw it as an opportunity to help the school
district…so there’s a huge level of cooperation between the school district and
us.

By working together, they are supporting each other’s vision and building a
working relationship that supports children. A specific vision involving education was
not part of any of the plans for the cities. They are focused on the community overall.
Education is an underlying assumption, not a direct mission. With educators, it is a
direct mission.

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Summary of findings for Research Question One
There were other characteristics mentioned by all groups but none was as
prevalent as communication. Others included by the city managers were the ability to
listen and learn from others, but that falls under communication (City Manager #2).
Being competent, cooperative, and honest are all important human traits, not just for
leaders (City Manager #3). The principals included enthusiasm and positive energy
(Principal #5) – probably mostly because they have to model that for children all day
long. Being bilingual was included as well and again, that is indicative of the
population they serve (Principal #4).
In summary of the characteristics, there are a few broad traits with more
specific traits falling under that umbrella. There are several areas in the research, that
tied together, form the base of successful leadership: trust, communication, and
relationship building. Communication is the overarching characteristic. Having
knowledge of and accessibility to social services and a commitment to healthy youth is
shown by the communication to the public about available programs and the
connectivity possible to support the families. Being flexible and adaptable is how a
successful leader works with the community and other leaders. Having a specific
vision is important to the school leaders, but having a more global vision is what the
civic leaders use. The schools and the district put their vision and focus on many more
publications than the cities do. Being informed and aware matters, but the depth of
information and awareness depends on the position.

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Research Question Two: What do collaborative efforts between civic leadership
(input) and school leadership (outreach) look like?
Findings for Research Question Two
Input/Outreach
This section reviews the ways civic leaders and the community participates or
involves themselves in the district and the schools and the ways the district includes
the community and civic leaders in their activities and events. Input efforts are the
things the civic leaders or community can do for or with the district. Outreach efforts
are the events or activities in which the district includes or involves the community
and the civic leaders. Both are necessary in building partnerships between schools and
the community. Following that is a section that reviews the leadership role and
partnering.
Input
Input from the city and collaborative efforts, at this point, are mostly surface
level or gingerbread as one city manager repeatedly called the ceremonial activities
(City Manager #3). Four of the city managers stated that the input and participation
from the city departments is fairly surface at this point including school resource
officers, crossing guards, after school programs, and day care. These are all necessary
programs, but the city managers agreed that they could do more and actually would
like to do more, but said they were not the initiators. Neither party seems to take the
initiative, but agree more involvement would be good. The city managers assume the
schools will ask or invite them to participate when they are needed. The school
leaders expect the city to take the initiative and attend events and take leadership

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through committees and their vision. There is a gap of communication in who should
contact who first. It makes sense to this researcher that there is an expectation that
civic leaders are regularly invited to all events and that civic leaders expect to attend at
least some of them. This opens communication. Through questioning and surveying
was found many different activities that both groups of the city managers and the
mayors listed as well as events that they partner with the district on or offer as a
service to the community. The superintendent and principals listed many of the same
activities, but included more activities specifically involving the school only. All
groups thought they could do better and more to connect with the schools. The Colton
Fire Department has hosted the annual Make a Child Smile program for the past
eleven years. Their program supports sixty children from six elementary schools with
a $100 shopping spree at Wal-Mart. The children started with a tour of the fire
station, followed by a visit from Santa Claus, and then the trip to Wal-Mart. It is a
highlight for the children and their families as they can choose toys, clothes, and other
needed items. This is a great partnership. There are several promising connections
such as the Bridge Committee in Colton, which connects the council and school board
members to discuss issues of interest to both bodies. As this committee is fairly new,
it will be interesting to see if it has as big of an impact as it could. This group has the
potential to think broadly and act on new or different policies in partnering (Parrish,
2007). Fontana has quarterly meetings scheduled with their city council and the
Fontana Unified School District and the city manager shared:
One is we meet quarterly with the school district so their board and our city
council in a public meeting discuss issues of interest. For example, the elected
can put on the agenda anything from school location to after school programs

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to policing activities to the condition of the roads. We collectively get together
and air issues.

The city manager of Fontana expressed the importance of these meetings as he
has several other school districts to work with. Meetings between the sets of leaders
are important because all parties become aware of issues and can begin working on
solutions together. The meetings don’t always happen as they should with all groups
and that is a breakdown in communication and relationship building. A meeting with
Colton happened a few years ago, but none recently. Both Fontana and Colton city
managers expressed the notion that the students are constituents, too, and whatever
they can do to improve the lives of all people in the city is beneficial. The value of
providing services will support families who cannot necessarily provide for
themselves. The city manager of Grand Terrace mentioned several projects that the
city has initiated and completed. In front of Terrace Hills Middle School, the city put
a new sign, water fountain, and rest station as part of a bike lane grant. The city also
erected a new block wall to replace the chain link fence at the elementary school for
both safety and aesthetic reasons. It protects the children and it looks better. He said
the city takes the lead because the district says they do not have the money for those
upgrades (Schwab, 2007). These beautification projects make the schools have better
curb appeal and show the community that children do have a place in their plans. This
is also a communication piece the principals can put in their newsletter and the city
can share the completed projects in council meetings. All the managers value
supporting the parents so they can work and know their children are safe. The city has
a broader focus than the district of supporting all constituents. This is definitely an

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area where both sides can improve. Both sides acknowledge a desire to deepen their
relationships here. Having their own children in the local school systems has made
several of the city managers more keenly aware of the potential impact they as city
managers can have on or with the school district. “…having children in the district
makes a difference because you have a certain level of commitment that goes beyond
just being a vocal civic leader” (Schwab, 2007). The input that seems to work the best
is when a city manager just takes care of an issue, whether it is beautifying an area or
starting a support committee. The city managers have direct access to what makes
things work whereas the school district has deeper layers of bureaucracy.
Outreach
Outreaching comes from the district leaders reaching out to the community for
partnering and support. The superintendent is aware of the importance of outreaching
to the community. He also knows when the community groups and civic leaders are
returning the support. As the key leadership position in the district, he is in charge of
promoting his district in a positive light. Keeping in touch with Colton High School
graduates as they branch out into the community brings support to the schools and
recognition in the community. Dr. Byas gets emails from many graduates with
updates of their lives and in fact, even during one interview, read a few out loud.
Colton High School has a strong following:
Colton is 108 years old. I’ve never gone anywhere…my wife and I were in
South Carolina and ran into a Colton High School graduate. I was in
Philadelphia and ran into a Colton High School graduate. You wear a Colton
High anything…I was wearing a Colton High School baseball hat in
Sacramento, and ran into some. They’re all over the darn place… A couple of
these are Yale Law School professors, a couple are secret servicemen…four
minority girls, all M.D.s. It’s almost impossible to go anywhere without

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running into a Colton High grad. If the football team starts winning, getting
closer to a championship, they show up, 20,000 of them at the last
championship game… they come out of the woodwork. We even have the
same colors and fight song as USC (Byas, 2006).

Reaching out involves public relations and he does that through attending many
community events such as Kiwanis, Lion’s Club, Rotary Club, and other community
groups. He adjusts the message each time he goes out as the focus and demographics
of each group are different. His staff gives him bullet points from which to speak so
he can adjust as he goes as he stated:
You can no longer just deliver a message saying we’re here to educate kids.
That doesn’t get anyone to buy anything….You have to find a way to relate
that message to them as an individual.

There is also the Interactive Agency Committee which outreaches as
representatives of the district. The members present information to the public for the
district through forums and town hall meetings. Reaching out includes inviting
parental participation. Having parents participate in committees through the schools
such as school site council, parent teacher associations, and parent collaborative
groups help train the parents in what the children are learning as well as giving them a
voice in the education of their children. This inclusion of other stakeholders, including
parents, staff, and community members, is part of communication to the community
about school improvement (Principal #1).
Leadership role
This section discusses the question of whether the city leaders should have a
leadership role in the schools and district in the promotion of excellence and
supporting reform and improvement. This refers back to whether civic leaders can

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work with school leaders to build capacity for improvement. The city managers are
the leaders who actually ensure the smooth day to day operation of the city. The
mayor, for the most part, is a ceremonial role with one vote on the council. The city
manager does much of the behind the scenes work to keep the city functioning
effectively. The city managers’ perspective was mixed on whether city government
should have a leadership role in the schools when asked in the interviews whether the
cities should have a leadership role in supporting reforms and promoting excellence in
the schools. While they agree there should be a partnership, the depth of the
relationship differs. One city manager said schools and cities are two separate entities
and each has their own leaders:
They are separate entities created by the State of California with separate
funding. We often compete for funding. So for me, I don’t believe the cities
have a role in setting policies and determining policies for education.

This separation of entities is a grey area that is still being figured out by the civic
leaders and district leaders. City managers and superintendents are trained separately
in how to run their respective organizations. Running a city and running a district are
both administrative functions and they can and often do support each other. This is an
area where although both leaders, they are trained differently and therefore have little
knowledge how each organization is run.
City view
Four city managers agreed that their role should not be one to set or affect
policy in regards to the district and schools. If the district leaders are not doing their
job, the school board should replace them. They are very clear in their roles and their

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role is not to take over the schools. They do not even want to set policy for the
schools as revealed by City Manager #4:
To me, I wouldn’t want to be telling Dennis how he should run his school
district anymore than I would welcome him telling me how I should run this
city. I think our role should be very limited on issues we have no training on.
I would hope he would take any input I would have and we could work
together, but I do not see our roles or the council of the mayor as one to affect
policy. If they want that, run for the school board.

Only one manager said to give the schools back to the city, more in jest than reality,
but acknowledged he would have to figure out how to run them (City Manager #3).
The important part of their role is to work cooperatively, symbiotically, and in concert
with the educational leaders because they both serve the same constituencies. This was
repeated several times by the city managers and summarized by City Manager #1:
Without being an expert on that in any way, there definitely should be a role,
because the students in the community are residents in the community and if
they become educated, they are more competitive in the job market, income
capacity rises, that reaps benefits to the community as well which helps the
local government.

While these organizations are political in nature, if the politics get in the way, no
change will happen (Ouchi, 2003). The city managers are watching how Mayor
Villaraigosa’s challenge to take over the Los Angeles Unified School District and their
bureaucracy is unfolding, but with no intentions of their communities taking over the
schools. Four of them were adamant in not wanting to take over the schools. “A la
Villaraigosa…cities do not get involved in public education in the state of California”
(City Manager #5). The city managers see their role as one to support the district and
working collaboratively as stated by City Manager #2:
I think it’s a support role. I agree there’s a leadership effort in a supporting
role. I don’t think cities should be running school districts. I think the

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Villaraigosa model is a silly model – in any sense whatsoever. I see the cities
as a supportive role using the leadership together collaboratively as a support
role.

Things that are put in place to benefit the city ultimately benefit the children as well
and things that benefit the schools in turn benefit the children who ultimately become
the adults of the community.
While not part of any written policy, most city managers realize the importance
of the councils and mayors participating in the “gingerbread stuff” such as back to
school nights, open houses, ceremonial events, and other school events. Those are the
visual things the public sees. This is where the partnering is most visible.
Participation between groups also builds trust and connects the community and
schools (Evans, 1996; Putnam, 2000; Reese, 2004). There is an acknowledgement by
several city managers of wanting to get beyond the surface or gingerbread (City
Managers #1, 3, 4) and building some deeper partnerships. They need to do just that
as brought forth by City Manager #3:
I think the issues of economics are going to be harder for us to overcome …
We’re at a point where we have to be cognizant of painting the
corners…Dennis is more cognizant of that and has an interest in helping, quite
frankly. He has property here and has been interested in swapping.

Several city managers expressed suggestions for projects and ideas they would
like to take on or meet with the school leadership on (City Managers #1, 3). The
opportunity and enthusiasm is there, the barriers seem to be time and the realities of
daily work on both sides. This is an area ripe for further study. The city managers are
interested in deepening their roles without being intrusive on the district leadership.
The players are in the right position to do that as they have built trusting relationships.

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It still seems to be on the surface. So, why aren’t more and deeper relationships and
partnerships happening? This researcher wants to know why more and true
partnerships do not happen. It could be just time. It could be passivity, not being the
aggressive leader needed to make things happen. It could be the history of two
separate entities gets in the way or the history of animosity gets in the way.
School view
The principals were unanimous in their opinion that the city leaders should
have a role in supporting their reforms and promoting excellence within the schools.
Then, given the chance to expand, several mentioned programs such as Mayor for the
Day, reading buddies, and adopting a school (Principals #1, 6). The principals look to
the civic leaders as being role models to the students and staff by personal and
professional excellence (Principals #3, 6). Role modeling makes lasting impressions
on children. It is a positive way to partner with the schools. Since most civic leaders
do not have a background in education, it is up to them to visit the schools, gather
observed and printed information, and develop an “informed awareness because the
schools are part of the culture of the city” (Principal #2) as these children are
constituents as well. Decisions that may be made on youth programs or policies that
directly or indirectly affect the youth should only be made after meeting with
principals and district leaders and gathering enough knowledge to make informed
decisions. This is how a community “can stand united as one” (Principal #5). There
is a desire for a unified community and that it is imperative to involve all stakeholders
in the process of student achievement.

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Civic leaders should work with district leaders to continue building trust and
relationships that will support improvement and participation from both groups.
While the perspective of amount of participation varies, the notion of actual physical
participation is there. City leaders want to support the schools and the schools want to
be supported. City managers do not want to be part of the policy making, but do want
to get beyond the “gingerbread” events. They want to help and there are certainly
plenty of opportunities to do so to support the schools.
Partnerships
Partnerships occur when both groups have established a working relationship
and trust each other enough that working together is a positive experience. Once
relationships have been established, it becomes easier to work together. One example
of partnership between the superintendent and the city manger of Colton is the Delhi
Sands Flower Loving Fly issue. They have been meeting about and working on plans
for several years. This directly affects development as certain areas are protected and
cannot be built upon. Lack of development means less housing for families to occupy
and less commercial and retail space for new businesses. There are studies and reports
about this particular issue. It has cost the city an estimated $175 million in potential
economic development since 1993, when the fly was officially designated as an
endangered species (Abrams, 2007). With a proposed bargain with the U. S. Fish and
Wildlife Service of allowing development above the I-10 freeway in exchange for a
protected conservation habitat south of the freeway around the Arrowhead Regional
Medical Center, a proposed housing development and medical parcel can be
developed. That means more families moving in and increased enrollment for the

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school district. Other outreach partnering examples include the Rotary Club of Colton
donating dictionaries to all third graders in the district for the second year. They are
personal gifts so the students get to take them home. Literacy is one of the top
priorities of Rotary International. Another partnering is connecting with the city for
joint information mailings where both logos are on the information as it is mailed to
the community. That partnering would be a good public relations piece as well as a
good communication piece for both the cities and the district. The district currently is
allowed to put informational bulletins and newsletters on the city information desk,
but it would have more of an impact if their information were truly produced jointly
(Byas, 2006). Partnering seems to be a good idea, but often cannot get off the ground.
The city managers have an attitude of “get the job done” and take the lead on projects
they know they can get done without stepping on the district’s toes. Joint publications
is an easy partnering, but just doesn’t seem to happen. The direct reasons are
unknown. Further research into communication between cities and schools may
uncover specific reasons, but it seems to this researcher that more should be happening
between the civic and district leaders to increase communication.
School Support
School support happens when civic leaders participate in or attend a school
activity or event. One of the collaborative efforts civic leaders can make involves
connection with the schools. The principals enjoy and value the visits from city
officials, whether it is for a ribbon-cutting ceremony, reading to a classroom, or just
touring the school (Principal #6). They see that as supportive and connecting with the
civic leaders. This participation, even through events such as a pancake breakfast

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fund-raiser, builds social capital by developing relationships between leaders. This
prompts “civic virtue” or networking which benefits society as a whole (Putnam,
2005), in this case, the schools. Principal #3, who runs a high school, partners with
several local amusement parks for tickets for student incentives. Not only does it
support the students, but it is public relations for the businesses. Not to mention the
fact that the students love the rewards. The schools also hold job fairs and invite the
local businesses to present information to the students as well as invite speakers from
throughout the community. This encourages further connections as both sides get
benefits from this type of connection. This is a great way for community members to
see the schools up close and for the students to see what other business people do.
Another school hosts community forums which give people a chance to hear from city
leaders and a chance to speak their mind on topics of city relevance (Principal #4).
Civic leaders, school leaders, and community members value that connection as
shared by the city manager of Grand Terrace, who is a parent and a civic leader:
Our mayor has been on the council for six years and was the principal for
Grand Terrace Elementary School for fourteen years before she retired so there
is a huge connection between the school and the city because of that link. My
daughter went from kindergarten to sixth grade while she was there. I knew
her as a principal first and she knew me as a parent.

Since the Grand Terrace mayor was the principal and proud of the program she
built at the school, she visits them often. This example of connectedness between city
and school is ideal. She not only is an academic leader, but a role model to the
students of civic-mindedness. With her knowledge, she can guide the city on
appropriate decisions that will benefit the schools and she is probably a part of the
reason Grand Terrace was so supportive of the high school being placed in their

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community. She also is a Colton High School graduate and apparently so is her father,
which connects her even more deeply to the community.
Other partnerships include the high school government classes participating in
the Mayor for the Day program where they tour the city hall and get to see local
government in action. They finish with a mock council meeting. The idea behind
hosting this is two-fold. One is to get the students engaged in local government
through hands-on experience and the other is to encourage students to join committees
as non-voting members. They produce reports and get to ask questions (City Manager
#4). One previous student participant in the Colton program actually came through
the commissioner program and became a planning commissioner at a very young age
and stayed in that position for a long time before he moved to the city council of
Colton. That is considered a success story for their program. Again, this partnership
between school and city is an ideal one and more of those should be encouraged.
Several city managers mentioned that they would like to partner with the schools and
particularly the students through student government days because the students need to
learn about local government (City Managers #1, 4). They try to get the students
interested in the commissioner program during the high school visits to increase their
knowledge as well as participation in their own local government. For example, the
students often don’t know that the mayor has one vote, just like the rest of the council.
I think the one thing lacking in high school is they talk about federal things,
maybe state government, but they don’t talk about local government and local
government is where they could have the potential to have the most change….
We would like to do more of that. We’d like to be involved in those things, but
are usually not the initiator (Schwab, 2007).

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City Support
City support is what the city can do or already does to support the district and
the schools and community members through projects it sponsors which indirectly
support the schools. The city managers listed many programs that have been
developed to partner with and reach out to the schools. The most used and possibly
one of the most valuable programs is the day care. Each city is a little different in how
they provide services but the general idea is to provide a safe place for children to be
after school or when they are off track so their parents can continue to work. Most
operate on the school sites. Grand Terrace has a separate off site day care center
which is an important part of their community as shared by their city manager:
We provide day care. We’ve had a comprehensive day care program. In fact,
we just celebrated our 15
th
anniversary. We’ve provided before and after
school day care on their facilities so parents can drop them off before school
starts and they can stay late and we’ve done that for a long time. The one thing
that happened sixteen years ago is the district decided to go year round. It
caused quite a negative reaction in our community because back then nobody
was doing that. It was the first attempt to go year round and the parents
reacted very negatively. For my kids, we’ve never known anything but year
round so it worked for us… There were a lot of programs geared toward taking
your kids from June through August and entertain them or provide some sort
of program to keep them busy in the summer. Well, when you create year
round schools, all of the sudden your kid was off in October and March or
whatever and created a crisis for the parents. What in the world are we going
to do for day care because it’s not really summer anymore? It’s off track care.
We had always envisioned building our own child care facility and when year
round school came around, it accelerated that process by a year…. So in order
to offset the problem, we created the offset program and it is still working
today…. If you have a kindergartner, we’ll go get them.

This is an opportune way to support the whole community from when the
children are very young through elementary school. Having your child safe and
actually knowing he is somewhere being watched by adults is comforting for the

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parents and helps guide early socialization skills for the children. In our current
world, the majority of parents hold one or more jobs, so child care is a necessity.
Other support includes the after school care, parks and recreation, sports programs,
cops and jocks, PAL (police activity league), school resource officers, crossing guards,
and Clean Sweep truancy program, all valued and used, but as one manager
continually called them, gingerbread (City Manager #3). One of the nice things the
cops and jocks program (high school students) did was clean an elderly lady’s home.
She had continual code violations with trash and things stashed in her house. The
cops and jocks group hauled away all the trash, cleaned the windows, mopped the
floors, and made her house nice for her. This builds civic-mindedness and a sense of
accomplishment for these boys. This is a prime example of how community members
can work together to support someone in need. This group also picks up trash dumped
in the empty lots, works on graffiti abatement, and acts as ambassadors to the city and
to younger children. It’s a great way to keep students focused on being a good citizen
as they do their community service. The police department in turn supports the high
school by attending their games. Dr. Byas said they have escorted the team to away
football games with sirens blaring and lights flashing as they head down the freeway.
This is a fun and positive relationship and one of the better partnerships between the
school and a community service group. These programs only scratch the surface of
what the district and cities could do together.
Youth programs overall came across as part of the mission of each city.
Sports, especially football, are the most popular youth activity. But, there is a desire

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to expand beyond sports to possibly include music and art as shared by the city
manager of Colton:
Every child in town isn’t interested in sports, you know. Someone may want
to play a piano or a violin or take voice lessons, go to science camp or space
camp or something like that. More academically or artistically oriented. I’d
like to branch out more on that…Those activities aren’t so loudly represented
in town where the youth football, Little League, and soccer – they’re just very
vocal. There are some opportunities that we can provide to kids other than
sports. We’ve got that covered.

It is refreshing to hear someone acknowledge the over-importance some families and
communities place on sports, often to the detriment of other activities, usually the arts.
While sports are important for building teamwork and social relationships, the arts
develop other skills. The mayors and the city managers acknowledged the abundance
of sports and the draw for families, especially since there are many young families in
most of the cities. Again, the city managers said their commitment is to the whole
community and the focus is broader while the district focuses on the schools and the
students which is only a piece of the community (City Managers #3, 4).
One of the strongest support mechanisms the cities have to offer is their
websites. While the city managers brought up programs listed or available on the
web, they did not mention the accessibility to them via the web. Colton has an in-
depth, very detailed web page through the Colton Chronicle On-line with a tagline of
Creating Community through People, Parks, and Programs. The Luque Community
Center hosts senior activities while the Gonzales Community Center hosts the youth
activities. They are split into two groups; ages 5-12 and 13-17. There are sports,
theme events, and dances for the teens. Each participant has to have an emergency
card on file and sign in and out for monitoring purposes. There are trained supervisors

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and healthy snacks available. There are also classes available for tots to seniors. The
abundance of classes include parent education, anger management, computers,
English, cheerleading, and African dance, to name a few. Their site is quite
impressive and easy to use. Grand Terrace has online access to their sports programs
and various clubs and organizations, but not as much detail. Rialto had information
only and a blurb that said the brochures are mailed to every resident. Also, there is a
schedule for the free mobile recreation programs that both Fontana and Colton have
called “Rec. on the Road”. These large, brightly colored vans have stereos, sinks,
sports cabinet, arts cabinet, books, and city information. They are also available to
rent for parties. What a fun way for kids to spend an afternoon. These websites are
easy to access and seem to almost be a secret as they were not mentioned as a
resource. This researcher was surprised that in the age of technology and kid
connectedness to the internet that no-one mentioned their websites.
The most useful connections come with meetings between the councils and the
school board to look at the broader issues (City Manager #2). Dr. Byas has worked on
connecting these groups through his tenure as superintendent. There are future options
of shared budgets, shared purchasing, shared offices, but the city managers want to see
the district improve its image. The district has a reputation as a sub-par district as
many students are not scoring proficient on the state standardized tests as published on
the California Department of Education website and locally in the newspapers. There
needs to be some out of the box thinking. The city manager of Rialto talked about
how they need to stabilize test scores:

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I don’t want to hear we’ve got a rotating environment. I don’t want to hear
how a blue collar community is very different than a white collar community.
I’m tired of listening to social justice issues and environment and questions of
color. I need test scores high for people who want to live here. What are you
going to do to get them and how are you going to hold the school district
accountable?

He doesn’t want to hear excuses for not getting the job of improved
performance done. Challenges are important to the managers as they work to improve
the community. They are frustrated by the low scores and the seeming inability to
raise them. This is endemic to the current state of schools, especially in California,
where we have low socio-economic schools, high standards, expectations, and
mandates, low community support, and numerous barriers to wend around. It is
frustrating to the school leaders as well.
Summary of findings for Research Question Two:
This section showed the many ways the cities are supporting the schools and
the ways the schools and district are partnering with the leaders for various events.
There is a general acknowledgment that more could be done. The school leaders are
asking for more participation and the city leaders would like to partner beyond what
they are currently doing. Researchers have suggested that it is important to get people
involved in schools before they fail (Ouchi, 2003). This being the case, the district
needs to reach out for the support needed to ensure success of its schools before they
get worse and fail. While it is a broad sweeping statement to say all schools are
failing, there are stars and success stories among them. That being said, why aren’t
more civic leaders pushing for more involvement? There must be deeper issues that

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prevent people from taking over at an earlier stage. Failure determines it to be a crisis.
There is not the same depth of urgency when things are status quo or progressing.

Research Question Three: What does the future look like for the partnerships
between the local communities and the school district as cities continue
their plans of urban revitalization?
Findings for Research Question Three
One of the most important questions of the surveys and interviews asked what
the future looked like for partnerships between the leaders of the local communities
and the leaders of the local school district and further, how will city leaders play a role
in the future. This question turned the focus of the interviews from what is in place
currently to possibilities for the future as shared by the city manager of Colton:
I am hopeful that there will be more interaction, more official interaction. I
think both sides want it, but for some reason there’s a history… Government is
undermanned. There has to be a more of a conscious outreach between the two
agencies. I think we can have a positive relationship and we both stand to
gain.

The city managers had positive answers and sounded hopeful about the opportunities
to further partner with the district (City Managers #1, 2, 4). “What I find is the
political leaders are very in-tune to wanting to partner” (City Manager #2). This is an
acknowledgement that can lead to future partnering opportunities. Both the cities and
the schools have to take the lead as leaders and not wait for someone else to take it on.
It is an optimistic view and a positive one in that there need to be more models of
successful partnering so communities that struggle with leadership can have examples
with which to work.

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More Communication
One of the suggestions that came from several city managers and the
superintendent is the need to have more communication with other city managers and
councils as well as regular meetings with the school board (City Managers #2, 4).
Usually the staffs work out issues or answer questions for other staffs, but actual
scheduled meetings with issues on the agenda will increase awareness and build social
capital as they begin to work together. The superintendent says the meetings between
his school board and various councils have proven fruitful, but they are not regular or
frequent enough (Byas, 2006). A suggested goal is to turn these meetings into
quarterly meetings that produce something viable and quantifiable.
I think we need to step it up a bit and maybe pour a lot of energy into the
quarterly meeting and make sure that assignments, tasks, and things that
connect the two bodies actually come out of that so there’s always something
going on, so it’s not just a meeting where people talk, but there are goals
established and plans created and there’s more drive toward something rather
than just talking about things. I’m hopeful (Parrish, 2007).

The city managers do have a monthly gathering, but the same city managers don’t
show up each time so there is inconsistency in communication about who hears what
each time. City managers said they should interact more often with each other (City
Manager #2). The city manager of Grand Terrace said city leaders should respect the
role of the superintendent and be knowledgeable about the district, his job, and the
schools, but not interfere in the policies of the district. Four city managers indicated
willingness to do more with the district, but don’t feel like they should initiate the
actions. They acknowledged they should also be familiar with the principals as they
are closer to the day-to-day operations of events in the community and the community

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itself (City Manager #4). City managers should be cognizant of how city decisions
affect the schools, like not allowing a liquor store to open by a school. One city
manager felt a seminar or forum to connect the superintendents with city managers
would be helpful. “They serve a constituency that we share, but there is not a lot of
overlap between the two” (Schwab, 2007). This is a perfect opportunity to develop a
seminar on best practices of councils and boards, comparing styles, large cities and
small towns, and different socio-economic levels. This would develop more
communication, stronger relationships, and social capital as teams from the cities and
their schools attend something like this together. This is an area worth following.
Budget
One area the city managers are responsible for and an area that is very closely
watched is the budget. Groups, including schools, are always asking for financial
support. Since the state takes money from the local communities, cities have to be
more self-reliant per City Manager #3. They are concerned with what the state is
doing with the budget. The cities also do not have the budget to support the schools.
“I’m telling you, a heavily indebted state doesn’t translate into good things for local
governments and school districts” (Garcia, 2007). As a group, the city managers
acknowledged the surface partnering that is taking place with the crossing guards,
school resource officers, and police groups, but City Manager #2 hopes that combined
discussions can result in shared resources. The joint partnerships currently in place
define the working together for facilities, but they don’t go any deeper. Working
relationships take time to develop as people learn to collaborate on the issues of
concern. The process always seems to be in flux and never settled.

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The financial issue is dealt with a little differently in each city. The
superintendent said right away that they didn’t have any financial support from the
cities. Several of the city managers stated they provide crossing guards and school
resource officers (City Managers #1, 2, 4). Several cities have joint use facilities
agreements with the district (City Managers #1, 2, 5). Some work with Colton JUSD
and some work with other districts. These seem to be the most common partnerships
as they are easy to put into place. While it is not actual cash, it is a sharing of
resources. For the after school programs, the schools provide the facilities for the city
programs to use and the money to run the programs comes 100% from the cities. The
mayors all said yes, there is funding earmarked for youth programs. Most cities have
Parks and Recreation Departments (except Loma Linda), and while not directly
connected to the schools, they serve the same students. The city managers had a
different view of the role of the city in supporting the district financially as
summarized by City Manager #4:
I don’t think we are there to support the district financially other than some of
the projects I mentioned, park walls and infrastructure and things that we did
benefit the whole community and the school district as well.

City Manager #3 said they allot some money for programs, but not specifically for the
school district or schools. The cities do not have specific dollars set aside for the
schools, but they do have some for programs. It would be helpful if the councils and
boards could have the conversation of the allocation of money. Sometimes businesses
will offer scholarships or grants for programs. Another city provides a stipend to the
Chamber of Commerce to provide money for schools or programs. That way it is
through the Chamber, not directly from the city. The city of Fontana actually put

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$250,000 into new lights and track and field at Fontana Middle School so the school
benefits from the renovation and the community benefits from upgraded facilities.
People exercise, walk their dogs, and play soccer on Saturdays. The city manager of
Fontana explained:
We said that would be a really nice facility for us to be able to do things with
so we put a quarter million dollars into new lights and a new track and new
field, and for doing that we have the right to use the facility. And then it
becomes for the community. It becomes an amenity and there’s always people
using the track. So we have a number of those shared, where we actually put
money into school sites to bring improvements like lights and things like that.
We use them on Saturday for soccer and things like that. And we don’t have to
go build a new park.

This is an ideal partnership for the community. It becomes a win-win situation. The
community wants this kind of partnership as they see the results. The city managers as
a whole agreed that they are not there to support the district financially, but rather they
support the programs that benefit the whole community of which the students are a
part. One city manager called school districts ‘professional beggars’ (City Manager
#3) in that they are always asking for money. School district budgets are many times
larger than city budgets, but as one city manager said, “it’s all in how you manage it.”
City Manager #2 said the future should include shared budgets, shared
facilities, and blurring the lines of government and schools as there are internal
connections and similar constituencies. The lines of communication need to improve
with the prime component being education. The sharing of facilities will continue to
be a way to partner. It is important to partner so everybody has the best opportunities
to share ideas, facilities, and human resources.
What I find is the political leaders are very in-tune to wanting to partner. We
have a joint partnership with Fontana and Etiwanda Unified. I’m not sure if I

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have one with Colton or not. It defines working together and joint use of
facilities so we don’t charge each other fees. We do these types of things. I
think the future is bright. It has to be. I can’t afford to build a $20 million
center. Well, you have effectively every school a potential community center
after hours and rather than me trying to go out and build a $20 million center, it
might be better to find a way to help the school out by giving them $2 million
and put programs into the schools in the evenings. They make money and we
save money and those are the types of pressures that I think are going to be
more acute as land gets more expensive (Hunt, 2007).

This sums up the possibilities for budgetary and financial partnerships. The
opportunities are there if the leaders can work together in planning for what looks to
be a very tight future. The desire is there, they need to jump on it before it fades.
Economic and Image Issues
Each community has something that defines the ability to grow economically.
The job market and the economy indirectly affect the schools. If the job market is not
healthy and the economy is lagging, people will choose not to live there or not be able
to afford to live in that community. The importance of education is acknowledged,
but the actions are slower to follow. “I think a successful future will require all
agencies to work together for the common good of all community members”
(Principal #5). The cities have to work with the schools in order to support each other,
because they are intertwined with each other. Fontana and Rialto are growing and
their economies are healthy according to their city managers. Loma Linda has Loma
Linda University and Hospital which provides a base for their economy. The jobs
provided by the university and the hospital keep many employed as the school is
vibrant and expanding. Grand Terrace has a wealthier clientele who provide stability
to the city. San Bernardino and Colton both have lower socio-economic constituents.
Colton has the Delhi Sands Flower Loving Fly issue which has stymied development.

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Colton also has the train-yard which has given the city an image of industrial noise
and pollution. Straddling freeways is difficult because there a divide which often
becomes a socio-economic divide, too. South Colton, below the freeway, is almost
99% Hispanic and has the projects. The bottom line is that cities have a broader
environment to maintain and a broader constituency to serve with less money, but
more control. The school district has a smaller, more specific constituency, but a
broader budget to spend on the people and the programs to serve that specific group.
The city managers do not feel as though they should financially support the district
directly. The principals said there is a need for stronger relationships and financial
support as summarized by Principal #1:
Partnerships between local communities and school districts will be needed for
school financial support. Any and all monetary donations will be needed.
Civic leaders will need to be positive role models for students and connect
personally with students even at the elementary level.

Financial need seems to be a common lament from schools, so it is not surprising to
hear that from the principals. The partnerships are shaped by the people involved and
as civic leaders become more involved their roles will be formed by the needs at the
various schools. Principal #3 would like to use financial donations for student
incentives, which is more of a collaboration than just asking for money. The staff
solicits community assistance for various programs and awards as incentives for
student improvement. This shows initiative as they are not just waiting for someone
to give the school money as stated by Principal #3:
I would hope the future partnerships between the District and the community
will continue to grow. I do feel there is a need for stronger relationships, with
the civic and business leaders becoming more involved in an advisor role for
the District and more open to donations for student incentives.

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Demographics
The change in demographics as it affects the housing market will have an
impact on what services are needed, space in school, and revenue for the city. More
African-Americans are moving to the Inland Empire, which has been and still is
traditionally heavily Latino. According to City Manager #2 the larger Hispanic
families are slowly moving north to the high desert and east to Texas and Arizona.
With less larger families moving in, enrollment will fluctuate. The high occupancy
units with six or more living in one space are now housing approximately 3.5 people,
according to the Fontana city manager. Colton still remains impacted enough to need
the third high school. This will ease the crowding at Colton High School and make
teaching and learning easier. Theoretically the test scores would go up and the school
district would have a better reputation. This could drive the local economies up as the
area becomes more desirable. This new high school is scheduled to be completed
within the next five years. This will present some opportunities for some new jobs,
more facilities available for public use with the pool, gym, and stadium, and a chance
for the City of Grand Terrace and Colton JUSD leaders to continue working together
to ensure the success of the school in best serving the students. It presents an
opportunity to do things right in an era of struggling or failing schools in our urban
areas as presented in numerous reports. It will take more than just money to fix the
problems. It will take true partnerships between leaders.

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Future Leaders
The city managers have suggestions about who they are looking for in future
employees as they will eventually be the leaders of the cities. They need to have great
social skills, great adaptability skills, technical skills, ability to reach out to the
community, and ability to work with other leaders (City Manager #3). There is also a
concern of the lack of talent coming out of the universities. This generation has a
different work ethic and view of what it is to have a job. City Manager #3 who has
done some mentoring has found that people do not want his job:
I’ve done mentoring throughout the county and they’re saying they don’t want
my job. And I say they are so smart, but there’s nobody out there. And their
answer is I have balance in my life and I’m not ruining my damn life for a job.
And there’s a lot of truth to that.

The smaller cities have less talent from within to draw upon. Colton seems to
have competent and willing assistants, but that doesn’t mean they will actually step up
in five years. Another part of that is the discussion of when is it time to leave. The
leaders look at effectiveness and freshness of ideas as explained by City Manager #3:
My definition of effective is: are we being effective enough to do the job well.
When is it time to exit? When do you know? Like the professional athletes –
I’m retired. I’m back. I’m retired. I’m back. We have the same problem.
When is the time to say enough?… Thinking about that very leadership
question.

Another city manager asked can we do the job and make things happen. It is good that
leaders are thinking about when it is time to retire because it shows an awareness of
effectiveness. Leaders want the system to succeed and it can only succeed if there are
successful, efficient leaders. The leaders are concerned about who will follow them
and will they be up to the challenges of the job. Only the city manager of Loma Linda

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answered differently and said “I think it is pretty smug to assume that the whole
system is going to fail because we’re going to retire. I’m not worried” (Halloway,
2007). That city runs at a different level because everything is driven by Loma Linda
University and the focus is on the future direction of the university and hospital. The
city governance here had the least contact with the local schools, either Redlands or
Colton districts.
The district leaders and the civic leaders are aware of the need for education to
be part of the cities plans. Leaders also need to be part of the development of that
future. Communities would benefit from joint plans or partnerships and people look
to their civic leaders to include education as part of urban revitalization (Henig, et al.,
2004; Kirst & Bulkley, 2000; Ouchi, 2003). The superintendent said the partnerships
will be increasing and that the leadership will come from the district (Byas, 2006.)
One step the district is taking is the aspiring administrator’s academy. This academy
helps train future academic leaders, usually for the assistant principals and principals.
They are getting the next group of leaders ready to step into the job. The mayors did
not have very many details in their answers about the future. This may be due to the
part time aspect of their jobs. They do not work with the departments or the schools
on a regular basis. But the mayor of Colton said that since the census survey showed
that almost 40% of their population was under the age of 27, they did have to focus on
the youth and the programs that affect them and they made it part of their vision
statement (Chastain, 2007). Maybe the cities could host an aspiring city leader
academy or even partner with a local university to develop some classes, much like the
aspiring administrators. The opportunities abound.

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The ones who are going to make partnerships work are the leaders themselves,
such as City Manager #1 who said:
It would be a good leadership exercise to step up and take that ball and run
with it. It’s not going to happen by itself and it’s not going to happen
naturally. We can stay in our corners. I think Dennis and I have a very good
working relationship. You know we are so busy, so it’s hard to engage. It
comes down to that. So I think the exercise comes down to can we do that and
make it happen? Or will it just drift away as it has done historically?

This last question in the interviews about what the future looks like made the city
managers contemplative about the future. Some think about the future more than
others, but ideally this will get them to at least be more conscious of what civic leaders
are capable of accomplishing just because of their position of leadership. Why is it
not happening more often? So far, many good examples of possible partnerships have
been exhibited, but not much action in the process of collaboration. This study did not
reveal any definitive reasons why this partnering is not happening at a deeper rate. It
is frustrating to see all the players with the qualities and desire, but no firm action.
Again, the opportunities are endless, but it takes time, effort, and building successful
working relationships. Most of the city managers are within ten years of retirement,
some less. They need to start thinking about what can they accomplish in partnering
within that time and who will come next to pick up the lead. It goes back to what is
best for the children.
Summary of findings for Research Question Three
The future holds some positive possibilities as civic leaders continue to work
with school leaders. The city managers are hopeful as they see the benefit to having a
happier, healthier community. The district leaders recognize the support that can

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come with participation in mutual events. Watching the changing demographics,
housing patterns, and how they affect the cities and the schools is part of the
partnering that can come with sharing resources. Communication is at the root of all
these areas. More joint meetings and planned agendas will keep the city and district
informed of each other as they build their relationships and subsequently the social
capital needed to grow and improve the schools and communities.
Discussion
This section is organized by the three research questions: the characteristics of
leadership, input/outreach, and future opportunities and these are related to the
findings in the literature review of chapter two. This case study and survey research
revealed the possibilities for partnerships and the apparent desire of the city managers
to work with the district for the betterment of the schools. This study also brought out
that the city managers who were interviewed do not have any desire to take over the
schools. Civic leader take-over or involvement was reviewed in chapter two and
seems to be a trend in the larger urban districts, but not in this study.
Research Question One: Characteristics of effective civic leaders
The research revealed that several different characteristics of leadership are
important to building relationships. Not surprisingly, communication is the most
important characteristic and is an umbrella to all the other characteristics. Good
communication skills are connected through and evident in every area of an effective
civic leader’s persona. Effective communication is necessary to build relationships
throughout the community and schools (Kirst, 2002). In looking at what civic leaders
do for the youth in the community, an important characteristic is the tendency to have

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a strong commitment to healthy youth and family development (Jehl, 2002). With
current labels of being at-risk, and having unhealthy and unsafe home environments,
the more support a child can get, the better chance of success in life he has. Part of the
communication a civic leader can provide to the community is access to and
promotion of healthy programs and social services (Silverman, 2005). One of the
goals of healthy programs is to start awareness of healthy lifestyles at a young age and
keep them participating throughout their elementary and middle school years. There
are programs for adults and seniors as well. There tends to be a gap or lack of
programs at the high school and college age level. The assumption is they are too
busy with school, sports, and jobs. As explored in the literature, the idea behind city
sponsored programs is that they are provided for free as that provides services to those
who cannot afford them and this is a predominantly lower socio-economic area.
Grants and other public funding are important to the survival of these programs (Hill,
et al., 2000; Hovat, et al., 2003). The cities for the most part are providing appropriate
and plentiful programs for their youth. Colton and Fontana seem to have especially
well developed programs and accessibility is evident through their websites.
Part of the leadership role in schools involves networking, which underscores
the importance of good communication skills. Networking begins the building of
relationships. Research suggests several theories or strategies for building
relationships such as collaboration, which is working together toward solutions with
input from many and distributed leadership (Elmore, 2000; Lashway, 2003; Spillane,
2001) where more than one leader blends their solutions as they work toward a
common cause. This particular strategy is still young and doesn’t seem to have much

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support or evidence yet. As reviewed in the literature, social capital is an outcome of
relationship building. The community provides many opportunities for participation
in intentional organizations (Coleman, 1990) with committees and events. The civic
leaders have a myriad of subtle ways to develop social capital through communication
alone. Through publications, committees, and visibility at school and district events
they are out with the public bringing a presence, being a supporter, and networking
with others as they share their vision. Usually the public relations part of the
connections with schools is done with the mayor and council members as the city
managers tend to build their relationships behind the scenes with the superintendents.
While the amount of literature relating to social capital has increased within
the past decade, the original concepts have been stretched. Concrete definitions of
social capital often do not quite fit what people are calling social capital today.
Without a specific way to measure social capital, building positive working
relationships can be looked at as a way to monitor social capital. When there are
positive relationships, more work can get done and reform and improvements can
happen at a better pace. The providing of specific opportunities for councils and
boards to work together supports the opportunity of building relationships. This
goodwill can filter into the partnerships needed to implement appropriate programs.
What this study revealed were the many opportunities available for civic leaders to
partner and show they are interested in supporting the schools. There is an abundance
of gingerbread events, which is a start. The next step desired is a deepening of those
partnerships. The role of leadership is worth further study.

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Research Question Two: Input or outreach between the cities and the schools
This study finds that having leadership qualities doesn’t necessarily translate
into action. Past history and distrust issues take a long time to get over and for the
rebuilding of trust to begin. Both civic leaders and school leaders have the capacity
for collaboration. Research suggests that civic leaders need to be visible and
accessible in that it develops human relations (Bolman & Deal, 2003; Fiore, 2006).
Attending these events and activities builds the relationships as the principals are glad
when the leaders come to their schools because it is a chance to show off their schools.
It is a connection with the other public entity in town. The visibility is done mostly at
the ceremonial level, but the city managers did indicate the partnership needs to
deepen beyond that. What this study revealed is the interest in partnering and
collaboration. The city managers listed many programs which they consider
partnering or support to the children in the community. Sports and the day care
program being the two with the largest impact.
Collaboration as a strategy for relationship building allows for differences as
people work together toward solutions (Vander Ark & Klock, 2002). Effective leaders
work with other people, not against them. This was evident in the answers from all
groups. The intention is to work together. If that could happen on a regular basis, this
district and these towns would have an extraordinary opportunity to develop the ideal
partnership. The superintendent and the civic leaders could further partner on the
issues and projects of importance beyond the surface (Stone, et al., 2003). The city
managers also realize that the public schools are not necessarily performing at the
proficient level. They expressed frustration in trying to attract businesses to their

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respective towns without attractive schools as part of the package. The question
remains – how are the schools going to improve and who is responsible for the
improvement? Research has shown that communities that are involved in their
schools have better schools (Silverman, 2005). It is common sense that this statement
holds true. When people participate in and support a project or reform, it has a better
chance at success. Does that take into account the language barriers, poverty, and
other home environment struggles? Further research here would be interesting and is
actually necessary as California has an abundance of students who need additional
support, financially, in language acquisition, or socio-emotionally.
While there are many civic leaders who have tried to make a difference in the
public schools, and often times it is the mayor of larger urban districts, this study
revealed an adamant response against civic leaders taking over the schools. Part of the
difference is that these are part time wherein larger cities, the mayors are fulltime and
often the actual CEO of the city. City Manager #1 said:
There is a distinct difference between administration and policy. We have to
listen to their point of view, but Los Angeles is a charter city so it is different
where the mayor is actually the CEO in the organization.

Studies are continuing of the urban districts with mayoral involvement as to whether
this type of input has made an impact on the progress of the schools or whether this is
just another trend (Putnam, 2000).
Research Question Three: Future
This question gave the managers and responders of the surveys the opportunity
to look at what the possibilities are for the future. Everyone was fairly positive in their
assessment and suggestions for the future. More committees and regular joint

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meetings should play a part as this broadens all the stakeholders’ awareness and
knowledge of the community connections and school events. Committees and
meetings give people the chance to build relationships, hear other opinions, give their
opinions, and participate in the process of progress. The role of these leaders in
directing the future of school improvement is worth further study. Several studies
looked into the question of can they work together, be accountable (Hill, et al., 2000),
and can they improve the schools (Chong, 1991)? In other words, should this be the
direction of education? Trusting, positive working relationships have to be in place
for any change to happen and be successful (Evans, 1996; Putnam, 2000; Stone, et al.,
2003). Whether cities and districts can further partner on budgetary items remains to
be seen. The state monies are lessening and the needs are increasing. This is an area
ripe for creative thinking. Can there be shared office spaces? Will unions be a
barrier? Will successful cities be able to help struggling schools improve? Can
resources be shared and maximized for effectiveness? There are many questions to
drive the budget process. It is frustrating to see waste on a corporate level when we
need to teach the children basic instruction.
In a leadership role in the community, the city managers shared what
characteristics they felt future employees should have; great social skills, adaptability,
strong technical skills, and the ability to deal with the community and city
departments. This translates to being able to communicate and build relationships,
two of the most important characteristics. The area of future employees is of interest
because it could be part of a long term plan. High school students could do internships
or apprenticeships within the city government setting. Depending on the department,

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it could be tied to politics, human resources, public relations, web design, etc. City
managers, mayors, and their councils could be true role models as students would
interact with them on a regular basis (Principal #3). Leadership for the city managers
is a passion. They are able to make things happen. They like what they are doing and
are open to sharing what they do with others and partner with others to get a job done
or plan activities. As City Manager #1 said, “You have to make a conscious effort.
Both sides have to be pushing and be trusting. It has to be more than just a quarterly
meeting.” Civic leaders are expected to include schools as part of the urban
revitalization that is currently taking place in many communities (Hill, et al., 2000;
Stone, et al., 2001). It was exciting to hear the thoughts of the city managers as they
pondered the possibilities. The realization of the possibilities is there, now to make it
a reality is the challenge. “There’s a piece of me that needs that excitement. I just
need that adrenaline rush” (City Manager #3).
Summary of Chapter Four
This chapter reviewed the findings and interpretation of the qualitative data for
this study. As part of the findings, the researcher included data from interviews,
surveys, and readings. The data collected and analyzed showed evidence in answering
the research questions of this study. A description of each community and governance
system as well as a description of the school district was included. This was followed
by the characteristics of leaders, the input and outreach between the communities and
schools, and the future opportunities for connections. The discussion linked the
findings to current research as presented in chapter two. The next chapter presents a
summary, conclusions, and future recommendations.

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CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS,

AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduction
This chapter contains a review of the purpose of the study along with a
summary of the findings by research question. This is followed by the implications,
recommendations for practice, and future research suggestions that came about from
this study. There are many areas tied to this topic that present themselves for further
research. Relationship building is an ongoing area of research. The conclusion
follows.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study was to describe and examine the roles of civic leaders
and their relationships with the communities and local schools looking at the strengths
and weaknesses of these roles and the relationships developed through interviews,
surveys, and observations. In order to do this, the researcher studied a district with
non-contiguous boundaries with the communities it serves and interviewed the city
managers of each of those communities and the superintendent of the district. Surveys
were administered to the mayors of those communities and the principals of the
district. This gave a broad representation of the issues related to the leadership needed
to improve these schools.
Summary of Findings
Data was collected and analyzed throughout this study that led to the findings
of Chapter Four and is summarized in each of the research questions. Through

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interviews and surveys, several similarities in the style of leadership needed to
successfully manage a city and develop effective relationships with other leaders were
identified. A school district is usually one of the larger businesses in a community so
there is a commonality with the leaders that as employees they work with the district
leaders and as residents they are served by the civic leaders as leaders of their
community. The public has seen and heard enough of the woes of public education.
They are demanding that our schools be reformed, improved, and fixed. With the No
Child Left Behind Act focusing accountability on the schools and districts, the
teachers and principals feel the pressure the most. The school leaders are expected to
have a vision that will ensure student achievement through the California State
Standards while providing professional development for the teachers, ensuring a safe
and healthy environment as they do the everyday work of running their sites. It is
magnified for the superintendent based on the size of the district and their current
scores. Civic leaders are having to answer the bigger questions of “what are you
going to do about our schools?”
Research Question One:
What qualities and characteristics of leadership do the civic leaders use in
order to work together with school leaders to build the relationships and social
capital within the school and community needed to improve the schools?
Findings for Research Question One:
Understanding the role of leadership was important as it formed the base of the
study. These are people who can and will take on new challenges and work hard to
make sure they succeed. As stated in the research, there is no one way to be a leader

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(Evans, 1996), but there are characteristics that are suggested that are found in strong
leaders and strong leaders are needed. These leaders can ensure success in business or
educational situations as they know how to be in charge and what type of leadership
style is needed in different situations. Leaders often take the unconventional route
which may have different outcomes than expected (Stone, et al., 2003). Leaders know
how to work with others by building relationships. This relationship building is the
base of building social capital (Bourdieu, 1986; Coleman, 1990; Hawkins, 2005;
Karner, 2000; Putnam, 2000.) Relationship building is important as leaders have to
work with many different people throughout the community. The literature suggests
that social capital is the most important item in developing relationships and having
success in reform. What is clear is that the research is not clear. Leaders with the
characteristics for success may not build a lot of social capital or build deep
relationships. When social capital is lacking, schools and communities have a harder
time with reform and positive growth. Leaders are confident and usually outgoing as
they work to convince others to buy into their vision or listen to input and adapt and
improve to get the desired results. In the literature there were certain qualities or
characteristics that most civic leaders seemed to have. While there were other
characteristics mentioned, this study focused on communication skills, commitment to
healthy youth and families, vision, access to and promotion of social services,
flexibility and adaptability, and relationship building. In reviewing the roles of the
various civic leaders, similarities of characteristics emerged. In the findings,
communication came out as the predominant characteristic as it can cover a lot of
areas. Leaders have to be open in order to build the trust and relationships needed for

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working with others leaders. Effective communication is the overarching
characteristic used in a variety of ways by all the leaders in this study. Civic leaders in
particular have a large constituency to cover and they are accountable for their actions
as related to the community they serve. The cities in this study have populations
ranging from 12,000 (Grand Terrace) to over 201,000 (San Bernardino). The
community members look to the leaders to have information about programs and
solutions to problems.
Under communication alone, there were multiple ways civic leaders and
district leaders could and do communicate with the public such as publications,
committees, and policies. Part of the communication piece is also the access to and
promotion of healthy programs and social services. Many of the cities include safety
and healthy families as part of their mission and hold health fairs and have programs
available to the public. This is connected to education as healthier children attend
school more regularly. After school care is an important and much needed program
that parents use so they can continue working while their children are in a safe place.
This is one of the more common partnerships between cities and districts. The most
important part of communication is that the leaders are building relationships as they
work with the district leaders and community members. Leaders sometimes do not
take no for an answer or make the expected decision because they are focused on their
vision. The city managers are focused on the improvement of their respective cities.
Revitalization of the downtown areas is one of the main components of city visions.
There have to be active effective relationships in place for the vision to progress. The
schools should be part of that vision. While the city managers acknowledged the

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importance of education, it was not a direct part of the visions or plans. This
researcher believes education should be part of the plan as the students are the future
leaders and constituents of the next generation. What was clear was the complexity of
characteristics needed and used to work effectively with other leaders. What was also
clear was the amount of effort and time needed to build those relationships in order to
be successful and be able to move forward on projects. What this study found was
even if the characteristics are present, relationships may or may not be built, programs
or reform may or may not happen. This literature has a gap between what is suggested
as appropriate leadership qualities and actual implementation of progressive
relationships that drive reform. The characteristics are important for leaders, but so is
implementation and they are not fully connected. What the literature did not say was if
a leader has these qualities, but doesn’t build successful partnerships, is he still
effective? The partnerships in the research seem to take place in larger urban areas. It
seems that only when the schools are struggling visibly that political pressure and
pressure from the community forces the partnerships. Connection to the community is
important and that is the area the civic leader should focus on first. The studies do
suggest that with the appropriate qualities, leaders can create positive relationships and
implement successful reform. If the leaders share their vision with the community and
are visible, they are moving toward building social capital. Putnam (2000) defined
social capital as the connections between individuals and the networking that comes
from those relationships. This study found the attempts at relationship building and
building of social capital were there, but the follow through and banking of social
capital as a resource did not happen. This researcher found the willingness to partner,

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but not high trust levels which would allow that deeper relationship to happen. If this
is the recipe for success, what is the missing piece?
Research Question Two:
What do collaborative efforts between civic leadership (input) and school
leadership (outreach) look like?
Findings for Research Question Two:
There are many areas where the civic leaders and district leaders work together
or partner for the best interests of the community. This study found many examples of
coordination of events, but not many examples of deep collaboration. If leadership is
about bringing various people or groups together to problem solve or plan for reform
or the future, then the literature is still incomplete. What is needed is a study on next
steps for follow through on partnerships. In an ideal world, true collaboration would
happen because the leaders would be aware of and more in-tune with what the next
steps for partnering should be. It apparently isn’t enough to just have the qualities of
good leaders. Although many of the programs are considered surface level or
gingerbread, they are a starting point in building relationships and social capital
needed to continue the partnering to a deeper level. The newer and more promising
programs include the Bridge Committee in Colton and the Interactive Agency
Committee through the school district. Both have the potential to bring partnering to a
level of fuller, richer exchange of ideas and issues as they incorporate city council
members and school board members. These deserve support and true partnership and
will be a good area to follow. The city council and the school board have different
lenses with which to look at the issues. This researcher recommends a deepening of

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these relationships and a broadening of these committees as the need for effective
partnerships is there. Getting people engaged and focused on school improvement are
the building blocks of relationship development. If people got more engaged, the
social capital could happen. Both the city managers and the superintendent
acknowledge a need for deepening the relationships in these areas. The leaders are
aware of the ability to have more of an impact on the programs most affecting the
students. The depth has to go beyond just meetings. Collaboration and participation
are effective strategies in both building relationships and connecting the schools and
community therefore building trust (Putnam, 2000, Reese, 2004). This researcher
found that the desire is there, the ability and capability are there, but there just seems
to be barriers, possibly of time and initiation. Time is precious and everyone
acknowledged how busy they all are. Initiation is harder to overcome as this is a
leadership step, but the city managers don’t want to overstep their bounds. Maybe
there are other invisible barriers. What is clear here is that civic leaders have vision
and in that are some outreach and input activities, but there is definitely room for more
as these partnerships could be deeper. The social capital that seems to be so badly
needed is not being built. This is where creative thinking is important. This is where
the missing piece is.
Research Question Three:
What does the future look like for the partnerships between the local
communities and the district as the cities continue their plans for urban
revitalization?

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Findings for Research Question Three:
This is the area that was most introspective as the focus turned from the current
reality to the possibilities of the future in partnerships between civic and district
leaders. This question was open for big picture ideas as well as how the civic leaders
could best partner with the district to get the job done. The main similarity was the
desire of all the city managers to further partner with the school district leaders
through regular meetings with each other as well as getting the city councils and
school boards together regularly. This would build better working relationships, more
trust on both sides, and the social capital for getting the work accomplished as they
move toward betterment of the schools. Being visible at events and activities and
sharing the availability of programs is one suggestion to increased partnering. Other
possible shared areas include the budget, facilities, joint publications, and keeping
education on the forefront of agendas and visions for the cities. The city managers
were united in saying they are not there to support the schools financially, while the
superintendent and principals asked for more financial support. The main area of
difference was in how involved they would get with the district leaders. Most were
open to more partnering. Only one was not interested as he preferred to keep the
entities separate. Areas that will impact future decisions revolve around future
leaders, housing trends, demographic shifts, and the job market.
Implications
One of the biggest implications a study of leadership has is in knowing the
characteristics and traits in leaders. The most important role boards and councils have
is in the actual hiring of the leaders themselves. School boards and city councils often

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are part-time positions and the people sitting in those positions aren’t necessarily as
knowledgeable as they could be in governance. There are many pieces that go into a
correct match. Education and background knowledge is probably the first qualifier.
An impressive resume may not tell all though. The ability to communicate and the
ability to share a vision are two qualities that need to be closely analyzed. This is
where a match can be determined. A leader needs to be able to articulate that
direction. And lastly, can this leader build relationships? That’s how progress will
happen.
After the person is hired, there should be ongoing measurement of indicators to
ensure progress, growth, and the ability to adapt, compromise, and improve the
direction. Education hires differently than the business sector. The superintendent
hiring process tends to look for quick fixes while the business sector searches for long
time commitments and turn around leaders.
The extensive CEO search process that ensues is characterized by unusual
secrecy; anxious attention to the expectations of outsiders…a focus on an
extremely small number of candidates, people who are already high-profile
leaders; and an emphasis on the elusive, culturally-based qualities of
“leadership” and “charisma” at the expense of concrete knowledge of a firm
and its problems (Khurana, 2002 as cited in Fullan, 2006).

The implications of hiring the right leader are huge. In the case of a city manager,
being a more behind the scenes position, the process is not as publicly known. The
public often doesn’t see a direct connection with the city manager, although the
influence could change if they did. The perception is that the mayor and council are in
charge. They have very public elections with signs, mailers, phone messages, and
meet and greet events. The implication here is that while we take elections of leaders

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seriously enough to make them a big production, we don’t look at appointed leaders
and their influence on running a city. Maybe appointed leaders need more fanfare.
Another implication for growth and change is actually two areas tied together,
that is professional development and leadership development programs. If effective
leaders are needed, then logic would be to have leadership development programs both
through the university level and in the regular professional development offerings
available for the working professionals. The need seems to be there and the dearth of
impending leaders has been mentioned by many. Professional development should be
a main focus in both the cities and the district’s plans for improvement with strategies
and skills to achieve that improvement (Elmore, 2002). The outcome of properly
training leaders would have a positive effect on both civic leadership and the
governance of cities and district leadership as they operate schools and the district.
Part of the training should include the awareness of the concept of social capital.
Maybe these leaders need to know what social capital is in order to actively pursue the
development of it. This researcher sees a growing gap in proper training and effective
leadership in the near future. The vision is there and the desire is there, but then the
invisible barriers prevent the actual or deeper partnering from taking place. Part of the
invisible barrier could be due the lack of social capital as it plays a part in the
relationship building and networking that is part of government both through the cities
and the schools. The training could include characteristics of leaders, communication
skills, relationship building skills, and strategies for partnering between cities and
districts with background knowledge on the roles and responsibilities of both entities.
The piece that could possibly enhance the partnership is the actual implementation of

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these skills. It takes further knowledge of how partnerships work to know how to
jump in and have them be successful.
A possible professional development could be a strategy building seminar
where leaders look at what their vision is and are guided to determine what strategies
are needed to move toward that vision. What are the reform issues and what resources
are needed to guide that reform? One strategy could be the development of a
leadership team to take on the different pieces of the reform, much like in the
distributed leadership model (Lashway, 2003). They could in turn develop strategies
to take and share ownership of the process. This could be a model of how to
continuously improve where leaders use strategies to work toward reform and build
relationships along the way as they involve others in the process.
While politics are not a direct focus of this study, they are a part of both civic
and school governance, and civic leaders must be able to deal with the relationships
connected with the politics of communities, school boards, district leaders, and their
own city councils. Allies and adversaries change depending on the issues. The
political issues could also be part of the barrier to further partnering. The positive
implication of building relationships is that the civic leader can work through
adversarial times because there is trust built into that relationship. The deeper
implication though is that there actually needs to be these relationships in place ahead
of time. In this particular study, this researcher found the desire to build relationships
is there and the leaders have the appropriate characteristics, but the deep partnering is
not happening as would be expected based on the expectation that with those

158

characteristics and desire, change would happen more readily. This causes a barrier to
further partnering.
As shown in the research, the implication of knowing Bolman and Deal’s
(2003) four frames for leadership could make for more successful leaders. It is
connected to self-knowledge and focus on the vision one needs to have to lead (Hill, et
al., 2000). Most civic leaders and superintendents or district leaders tend to use the
political frame well. The political frame involves the networking, negotiating, and
allocation of power. Since these leaders know who the players are, they usually know
how to get the community to buy into their vision. This is powerful in getting the
players and stakeholders on the same page. If more leaders understood how to harness
their power, their role would be clearer and more effective. The structural frame
includes the rules and policies set in place. The human resources frame is the people
person frame and at where the relationships between people are looked. Leaders
should use this frame more often as this could be where relationships are built through
encouragement of participation and empowerment of others (Welch, 2006). Through
the symbolic frame, people use the rituals and celebrations needed to keep morale up.
This is often a frame used when mayors and other visitors participate in the schools.
There is a comfort in doing a visitation or ribbon cutting or just attending an event
where one is the guest and not particularly the leader. The mayors use the symbolic
frame as they attend events. In this study, the city managers and the superintendent
use the political and structural frames well, but what is interesting is that the
collaboration, cooperation, or participation seems to be symbolic. Maybe the leaders
don’t realize the difference and cannot blend the frames. If there was more training or

159

awareness of these frames, maybe leaders could determine when to best use each one
as each one has a particular advantage. The question remains what makes the civic
leaders take that next step into real partnerships? If the research says partnering is
good, the leaders have the capacity, and the relationships are built, what is the missing
piece? Is it a type of leadership style? Is it not accessing the appropriate frames at the
appropriate times? Is it the lack of social capital? This researcher believes not enough
social capital is being developed to bank up for future projects. Since the relationships
are acknowledged as being on the surface, it is apparent that more depth would
parallel the development of social capital.
This study showed an actual gap in the follow through of partnering. The
implication here is that if the leaders are capable, have the capacity, and the desire to
deepen their relationships, there is a piece missing because it is not working. It is
possible that piece is social capital, but this study did not determine what that piece is
because everyone was so positive about partnering. They were proud of the partnering
between cities and schools that is currently in place. They were hopeful for the future
opportunities, especially with the incoming high school in Grand Terrace. The leaders
from both the cities and schools acknowledged the current partnerships, but continue
to be hopeful for more. That’s where the missing piece is. What is more? What is
deeper and how do we get there?
Recommendations for Practice
There are several areas that could be improved by some adjustments in current
practice. The first area is knowledge. If both the civic leaders and school leaders had
more knowledge on each other’s practice and roles and responsibilities, some of the

160

partnering might be easier as familiarity would make working together easier. This
could be accomplished by attending seminars together or even hiring a consultant to
work with both the city group and the school group of leaders on strategies to work
together and develop social capital needed in partnerships. Another piece of that is
hosting an aspiring leadership academy or cohort. The schools are currently doing this
for their aspiring administrators. The city could host an intern program for high
school and college students to increase awareness of and participation in city
leadership. This may help with some of the future leader needs.
The second area this researcher recommends changes in is increased
communication between the city and schools. This includes putting education and the
schools in the city plans. If education is really important to a community, then it
should be part of the mission statements of each city and supported through actual
inclusion in urban revitalization. These plans need to be current and in progress with
five year and ten year goals. Another piece to increased communication is having
regularly scheduled meetings between city leaders and school leaders, three to four
times a year with actual working agendas and ongoing plans. This researcher thinks it
is very important for each entity to know what the other is doing. This opens the
avenue for support, partnerships, and overall improvement of both entities. This
would make the joint publications and other areas of communication smoother.
The third area this researcher recommends improvement in involves the
healthy families. Part of this involves the communication piece as the awareness of
these programs needs to increase. The websites are great and show the programs are
there, especially in Colton. What is not apparent is how the information gets to all

161

residents, including those without computers. Connect the city programs such as
Mission Nutrition to the schools and include the parents so the knowledge can
continue into the homes. These programs could be truly intertwined between the cities
and the schools. By improving these areas through communication and knowledge,
both the communities and the students would benefit.
This section reviewed several ways current practice could be affected:
increased knowledge, increased communication, and improvement in the awareness
piece of healthy programs. These areas could be included in school presentations and
seminars for parents at the school sites. Increased communication would help increase
the knowledge and awareness factors. This researcher thinks these are important areas
to act upon now.
Future Research
There are many opportunities for future and further research. As questions
were answered, others arose. The area around leadership is ever-changing as new
people arrive in the leadership roles and new strategies are developed for the
implementation of collaboration. Developing and implementing the next step is a big
piece of future research because this particular study did not reveal how to implement
partnering when it was not fully developed. Listed below are some areas that are
connected to this study and of interest to this researcher.
Other areas for further research include:
• The recruitment and selection process of superintendents and the
matching with the district vision as well as principals who support the
vision of partnering for school improvement. Research in this area

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would give a more in-depth view of the process of hiring as it pertains
to the districts of today. Many, if not all, superintendents use
headhunting firms to shop their resume to open positions. Doing a
parallel study of principals and how they match to a district vision and
a school community would be of further interest as it determines
direction, whether it is continued or diverted. It is important to know
the visions of the leaders. What does a five year plan look like? Are
they inclusive leaders or unilateral? Since so many schools need to
improve, it is of utmost urgency to find effective leaders who can guide
reform.
• The connectivity of city councils and school boards. There was interest
in this area from the city managers as they would like to further the
relationships between the two groups. Further study on the connections
between and what works best with these leaders could be where
consultant services could be developed. This is an area of ongoing
research as there is always the ability to partner and the leaders change
with some regularity. The current research here is thin.
• A study of successful leadership programs or academies in order to best
meld the leadership roles of civic leader and school leader so there is a
mutual understanding about the various issues and concerns and how to
support each other in the best interests of the community and the
schools. Leadership development programs are necessary as the
proposed turn-over over the next ten years is going to be huge, both in

163

city governance and district and site leaders. One of the topics could
include how to best implement strategies for best partnerships. Once
there is a vision, coupled with desire, there needs to be the next step
suggestion session.
• Awareness of educational issues such as how standards-based reforms
are affecting school improvement and what the leadership role is in
that. Standards are talked about constantly throughout all aspects of
education. The students have to meet standards. The teachers have to
teach to the standards. The curriculum is standards-based. The
principals are responsible for ensuring the teachers are compliant. The
study could look at whether all this has made any improvement in the
educational crisis. Are the students learning? This area has actual
numbers and definitive data that could be disaggregated and analyzed
to see if standards-based teaching and learning are working and where.
• The charter schools concept and how civic leaders are stepping up to
create schools in order to ensure success for at least some of the
impacted students in densely populated and highly impacted urban
settings is ripe for research and an area this researcher is following.
This is an interesting area as charter schools are springing up all over
southern California especially in the impacted urban areas where the
students are struggling and the schools are low-performing. Both
Green Dot and Los Angeles Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools
are two charter companies that are opening schools around some of the

164

lowest performing Los Angeles Unified School District schools. There
are also six to seven independent charter schools that have opened in
the Pasadena Unified School District area in the last two years. The
results are still young, but research could be done on test scores,
graduation rates, drop-out rates, and attendance. The added interesting
piece that is connected to this study is that civic leaders are the ones
opening some of these charter schools because they see a need and
have the entrepreneurial spirit to make these schools happen.
• An investigative study on how to make the leadership roles more
attractive as there is a need for leaders. The civic leaders expressed
concern about who was coming up the ranks from the schools and that
there will be a high turnover of top school and district leaders within
the next five years. Some put the number at almost fifty percent. The
universities have to adapt their leadership programs through the
business and education departments to fit the needs of the current and
future careers in city government and district leadership. Looking at
current positions and determining how students will want those jobs to
look could be two different directions. A piece of that is how to
encourage students to take on leadership roles as cities, schools, and
even state level leaders will be needed.
• It would be interesting to do a study specifically on the use of Bolman
and Deal’s four frames and look into whether using the human
resources and symbolic frames more often could drive the relationships

165

to a deeper level therefore possibly enabling the partnerships to
flourish. Leaders should know what their strengths and weaknesses are
and how to use them.
Conclusions
The data analyzed in this study allowed the researcher to draw conclusions
about leadership strategies and how they are implemented to build successful working
relationships between civic and district leaders as well as to see the tremendous
opportunities for further and future partnering between cities and districts, between
civic leaders and district leaders, and between civic leaders and individual schools
themselves. The abundance of questions developed from this study can drive various
studies on effective and efficient use of people, money, and other resources.
This study looked at how and if social capital is developed, how and if it is
implemented, and how just having social capital is not enough. Putting the pieces that
build social capital together does not necessarily result in a successful partnership or a
deeper relationship. The characteristics are a building block. The relationships are
another building block. The research states the ideal arguments of building social
capital and partnerships will develop and follow. Building relationships is hard
enough work due to human nature and different personalities, let alone all the other
possible barriers and issues that come with public service. These barriers along with
strategies for implementation of partnerships are two important pieces in the next level
of research on this topic.
The future is ripe for further research and analysis of the characteristics needed
and strategies to be employed by leaders as communities realize the dire need to

166

ensure academic and even social success of the students. The relationships between
civic and district leaders need to grow and be open in order to build the necessary
social capital that would allow movement toward the betterment of the schools. The
results of this study revealed that certain characteristics are evident in leaders with
communication being the most important characteristic of civic leaders, and actually
all leaders. A positive step would be a future training session in how to use effective
communication skills to develop those needed relationships. Civic leaders need to
know what school leaders do and vis-à-vis. City managers tend to come with financial
and business training and a background in political science while educators tend to
come up through the ranks of education. There was a suggestion from one city
manager to have seminars reviewing the different roles and how to partner. This
provides an opportunity for a consultant to work with cities and districts in leadership
traits. Through the unfolding saga of the Los Angeles Unified School District and
Mayor Villaraigosa, further information will be gathered on what works and what
doesn’t with their partnership. As the two sides continue to work through the courts,
nothing of any consequence is being developed or implemented for or with the
schools. The end result should be about what is best for children. The interesting
piece in Los Angeles is that the city manager is not directing this plan. The city
managers interviewed for this study are watching with interest, but did not think it was
a good idea as the mayor has too many other issues that demand his attention. A
mayor is responsible for the community-at-large. By the civic leaders making sure the
community is running effectively and efficiently, the school leaders can focus on
making sure the schools are running effectively. The partnering with city managers is

167

a more appropriate role and although more behind the scenes, it needs to be and
actually tends to be more consistent and effective. Urban districts have a lot of
additional barriers that smaller, more suburban districts may not. Language learners,
socio-economic issues, and poor family environments all contribute to the barriers of
learning and they need the focus of leaders. The other barriers to full partnership
implementation are not as visible or apparent, which makes more definitive answers
harder to come by.
Being that relationship building is about personal relationships and networking
and the working together that comes from that, one of the difficult challenges that
occur in relationship building is the changing of the players. The relationships have
been built and the leaders know each other for the most part. In this case, as this study
was drawing to a close, Dr. Byas, Superintendent of Colton Unified School District,
resigned after eight years. Eight years is longer than many superintendents stay in
urban school districts. The time frame is usually two to three years. The point here is
that with leadership change, many new possibilities and opportunities open, and the
partnership can go either way; improve or disappear. The process in this particular
district has to start over. There is already an interim superintendent in place and the
website picture of the superintendent has been changed. The district is moving on.
This sets the stage for a dance of leadership. The interim is one of the assistant
superintendents so there is a familiarity in who the person is, but his style may be
completely different. Although the research questions were answered, many questions
return as a new district leader comes on board. This starts the process over.
How are his communication skills?

168

Is he willing to work with the civic leaders?
Are they willing to work with him?
Will the vision remain the same?
Will he continue to build relationships?
Who will reach out first?
Will those relationships build trust and social capital?
What does this mean for the direction of the city plans and will education be a
part?
This could be part of a future or ongoing study of transfer of leadership and the
reworking of relationships, but is in the conclusion section because it transpired at the
end of this study. The interesting piece here is Dr. Byas is using this as a growing
experience for himself. His input into the district has diminished tremendously, but he
commented:
…you really get to see who your friends are and who really cared about you as
a person versus you as a Boss. I have to say I love this period right now, I am
learning so much about myself and others (Byas, personal communication,
2007).

Leaders learn about themselves and grow from experiences, good or bad. While
change can be difficult, it is good for self-awareness. The fluidity of change of leaders
makes this study able to be replicated in the same setting with different players. One
of the most important decisions this board will make is the hiring of the next
superintendent. The person has to match the vision and direction of the district, be the
overall instructional leader, be the connection between the schools and the community,
and, of course, improve the test scores. Continuous study of civic leaders who have

169

experienced success in partnering with school districts needs to occur in order to
determine how best to implement relationship building and successful partnerships.
Although studying more does not guarantee implementation, it at least raises the
awareness of what constitutes successful partnering and as this study and the research
connected to it have shown, partnerships between civic leaders and school leaders
have potential benefits for all parties involved if the final step of implementation can
be taken.
While the current efforts made by the civic leader are positive, this researcher
wants to see true partnering happen. The time is ripe and the desire is there. There is
plenty of opportunity for that to happen, the leaders just need to be trained and made
aware of strategies for implementation. The implementation should be part of both the
city and district plans.

170

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181

APPENDIX A
INTERVIEW PROTOCOL FOR CITY MANAGERS
1. Research has shown that civic leaders have certain qualities or
characteristics that make them leaders – vision, communication skills,
access to social services, commitment to healthy youth and families, ability
to build relationships, and the ability to cultivate local leadership – to name
a few. What qualities of civic leadership do you see as your strength and
why? What qualities do you use in working with the school district
leaders?
2. What is the vision for education for your community? Is education
included in the mission statement? How have you articulated it? Who is
or should be a stakeholder or participant in this process?
3. Should the cities have a leadership role in supporting reform efforts and
promoting excellence in the schools? What does that role look like?
4. What outreach efforts do the district and schools make into the
communities? What input efforts do the communities make into the
schools? What has the city done to promote civic engagement or
involvement?
5. What financial participation does the city provide to the district? How
much of the city budget is geared to the district or education? Are business
partnerships encouraged?

182

6. What city initiatives will or do demonstrate commitment to the promotion
of educational excellence? What can the city do to support or implement
them?
7. How does the city partner social services such as transportation, health,
housing, and youth programs with the district? How are these programs
funded and is there capacity to sustain them?
8. Are there written policies on family and community involvement? Are they
stand alone or embedded in the city plan? How do the youth factor into
community policy decisions?
9. How does enrollment data factor into your policy decisions?
10. What does the future look like for the partnerships between the local
communities and the district? How will the civic leaders play a role in the
future?

183

APPENDIX B
INTERVIEW PROTOCOL FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT
1. Research has shown that civic leaders have certain qualities or characteristics
that make them leaders – vision, communication skills, access to social
services, commitment to healthy youth and families, ability to build
relationships, and the ability to cultivate local leadership – to name a few.
What qualities of civic leadership do you see as your strength and why? What
qualities do you use in working with the city leaders?
2. What is the vision for reform for your district? How have you articulated it?
Is it aligned with the cities plans for revitalization and urban reform?
3. Do the cities have a leadership or partnership role in supporting reform efforts
and promoting excellence in the schools? What does that role look like?
4. What outreach efforts do the district and schools make into the communities?
What input efforts do the communities make into the schools? What has the
district done to promote civic engagement or involvement?
5. What city initiatives will or do demonstrate commitment to the promotion of
educational excellence? What can the city do to support or implement them?
6. What financial partnerships does the district have with the local businesses or
the communities? What expectations does the district have for financial
support from the cities? Are business partnerships encouraged?
7. What problems or challenges do the non-contiguous boundaries cause? Do
these problems factor into your discussions with the civic leaders? Do these
problems factor into your reform effort decisions?

184

8. How does enrollment data factor into your reform efforts decisions?
9. Does the ethnic and cultural make-up of the communities have any direct
effect on the district? Is there a difference and do the communities
acknowledge it?
10. What does the future look like for the district and their partnerships with the
local communities? How will the civic leaders play a role in the future?

185

APPENDIX C

SURVEY PROTOCOL FOR MAYORS

1. Research has shown that civic leaders have certain qualities or characteristics
that make them leaders – vision, communication skills, access to social
services, commitment to healthy youth and families, ability to build
relationships, and the ability to cultivate local leadership – to name a few.
What qualities of leadership are most important in your position to the
building of relationships between the civic leaders and the district leaders?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

2. What is the vision for education for your community?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

3. Who is responsible for cultivating the relationship between civic leaders and
district leaders?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

4. What outreach efforts do the district and schools make into the communities?
What input efforts do the communities make into the schools?
Does the city leadership promote community involvement? ___Yes ___No
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

5. What partnerships are there between the district and the city?
Are business and other civic groups encouraged or recruited to partner with
the district? ___Yes ___No
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

186

6. How does the city partner social services such as transportation, health,
housing, and youth programs with the district?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

7. Are there city initiatives that demonstrate commitment to the youth programs
in the community? ___Yes ___No
What can the city do to support or implement them?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

8. Are children and youth programs part of the community plan or mission?
___Yes___No
Are there written policies on family and community involvement?
___Yes ___No
Is funding for these policies or programs included in the budget?
___Yes ___No
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

9. Does the ethnic and cultural make-up of the community have any direct effect
on the programs? ___Yes ___No
If yes, does the city government have a plan to address it or acknowledge it?
___Yes ___No
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

10. What does the future look like for partnerships between the local
communities and the district? How will the civic leaders and district leaders
play a role in the future? What do you see as your role in the future?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

187

APPENDIX D

SURVEY PROTOCOL FOR THE PRINCIPALS OF

COLTON JOINT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

1. Research has shown that civic leaders have certain qualities or characteristics
that make them leaders – vision, communication skills, access to social
services, commitment to healthy youth and families, ability to build
relationships, and the ability to cultivate local leadership – to name a few.
What qualities of civic leadership have you found most important as you
implement reform or improvement efforts in your school and why?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

2. What is the vision for your school? How have you articulated it? Who are
the stakeholders or participants in this process?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

3. Should the city leaders have a role in supporting reform efforts and promoting
excellence in the schools? ___Yes ___No What does that role look like?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

4. Does your school (or district) have a written policy for community and family
involvement? If so, what are the main components and it is shared with the
public?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

188

5. Does your school have a person specifically designated to work with the
community (such as a community liaison/assistant)? ___Yes ___No
What are their responsibilities?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

6. What has your school done to promote civic/community engagement or
involvement?
Do you invite city leaders to participate in school events? ___Yes ___No
Does your school have any business or community partnerships?
___Yes ___No
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

7. Are you aware of the social services available to the families in your
community?
What access do you have to those services?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

8. What problems or challenges do the non-contiguous boundaries of the cities
and school district cause, if any?
Do these problems factor into your discussions with the civic leaders?
___Yes ___No
Do these problems factor into your reform effort decisions? ___Yes ___No
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

189

9. Does the ethnic and cultural make-up of the communities have any direct
effect on the district or your school? ___Yes ___No
Do the city leaders acknowledge it? ___Yes ___No
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

10. What does the future look like for district partnerships with the local
communities? How will the civic leaders play a role in the future?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

190

APPENDIX E

DATA ANALYSIS CODES

Codes

Environment
Demographics/population
Diversity of leaders
History (of each city and CJUSD)

Characteristics of leadership (managers)
Communication
Adaptability
Technical skills
Working with people
Effectiveness

Characteristics of leadership (perceived by mayors/principals)
Vision
Communication
Know culture/history
Flexibility
Listening

Expectations of students (principals and supt.)
Expected academic success
Responsibility
Healthy youth
Focus on vision of academic importance
Communication

Expectations of civic leaders
Working relationships
Communication
Partnerships (facilities, parks, etc.)
Informed awareness, know vision
Know community
Financial support

Outreach/input
Parks, joint facilities, sports
Townhall mtgs.

191

Before/after school care
Bridge committee
Shared expenses – SROs, crossing guards, etc.
Shared communication, events

District needs
Joint use of facilities
Same constituency
Events support
Budget items
Relationships
Communication/P.R.

Cities needs
Self-reliance (from state)
Partnerships
Same constituency
Joint use of facilities
Ceremonies
Relationships

Barriers
Lack of communication
Past history
Lack of consistency
Varying laws – affects policies
Declining enrollment
Financial participation
Housing, job market, economy (indirect)

Future
Financial support/donations/partnerships
Connections with students
Leadership
Build stronger relationships
All agencies work together
Common goal/common constituency
Healthy families
Hopeful

192

APPENDIX F

CHARACTERISITICS OF LEADERS

Manager 1 Manager 2 Manager 3 Manager 4 Manager 5
Relationship
building
Big ego Adaptive/
Adaptable
skills
Commitment Financial
knowledge
People
oriented
Flexible Competency Partnership Strong team
Joint partners Communication Character Cooperative Ceremonial
Youth
intervention
perspective
Generalist Appreciation
for ambiguity
Problem
solver
Cooperate
Includes
broader
community
Learn and change Tolerance for
a broad
spectrum
Participate Meet and
confer
Public service Coaching/speaking Trust Same
constituency

Communicate
with other
leaders
Strong
relationships
Values Relationship
Social skills communicate
Technical
skills

Communicate
with
community

193

APPENDIX G

Chart of Input/Outreach

Manager 1 Manager 2 Manager 3 Manager 4 Manager 5

Teen center Boys and Girls
Club
Joint facilities Work with
district on
improvement
projects
Could do
more
Boxing
activities
Partner with
higher
education
Town hall
meetings
Hire new
deputy/
School
Resource
Officer
Joint use
agreement
PAL (police
activity league)
After school
programs
PAL New track and
lights at m.s.
Crossing
guards
Intervention
programs
School resource
officer
Transportation Ceremonial
events
Land swap
for schools
Bridge
committee
Crossing guards Housing
program
Clean sweep Drug
education
Joint use of
facilities
Refurbish fields Health fairs Day at City Hall Ceremonial
Child care Community
assistance
program
Job
opportunity
fair
Work with
communications
person at district
Government
day with h.s.
Parks and rec. School
accountability
board
Citizen’s
Advisory
Committee
Land sale for
new school

Cops and jocks Partner with
police
Literacy
programs
Joint meetings
with council and
district

Reading
buddies
Sports programs Attend events Day care center
Student
commissioners
Communication
pieces

Discover Our
City Night

194

Superintendent

Interactive Agency Committee Crossing guards
School Site Councils School resource officers
Parent collaborative group Rotarians, Kiwanis, Lion’s club
PESA Volunteers
Shared facilities Relationships with city leaders
After school programs Communicate with city managers
Sports Communicate with parents
AVID
Joint meetings with council/board

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The purpose of this study was to describe and examine the roles of civic leaders and their relationships with the communities and local school district leaders, looking at the strengths and weaknesses of these roles and relationships. This study was guided by the overarching question: How do civic leaders work with school leaders to build the capacity needed to implement reform and improve underachieving urban schools? The following specific sub-questions were developed to guide the study and were addressed through data collection and analysis: 1. What qualities and characteristics of leadership do the civic leaders use in order to work together with the school leaders to build the relationships and social capital within the school and community needed to improve the schools? 2. What do collaborative efforts between civic leadership (input) and school leadership (outreach) look like? 3. What does the future look like for the partnerships between the local communities and the district as the cities continue their plans for urban revitalization?

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