Summer Vacation... “Our Work”
(continued from page 7)

The New Meaning of Educational Change

Summer Vacation... Assumptions
(continued from page 7)

parallel to ours. The overarching goal of the institute was most people wanted to collaborate. Now I know that to help with the transition of the five big Indianapolis High it’s not that simple – CFGs take time, commitment,
Schools into Small Learning Communities. It was a brave energy, and above all, work. They are not “easy”; they adventure, with high goals, but success was achieved in the don’t just “happen”. Buy-in is not instinctive for most very act of bringing all of these stakeholders together in a people, and collaboration can be scary. meaningful way for all of them, collaboration.
Another assumption that I held was that everyone
I am not sure if collaborative processes can be learned involved in CFGs, including all trained coaches, know without collaborating. I can see now why our facilitators set something about NSRF. During the course of this straight to work in building us into a learning community. You institute, it became clear that many of them do not, and have to model your goal. We were made responsible not only some CFG members and even coaches may have never for our own learning, but also for the learning of everyone even heard of NSRF. else. By sharing this responsibility, we were empowered to
The personal assumptions I came face to face work together in ways that are meaningful and welcoming, with are somewhat more difficult to articulate. I’d but not necessarily easy. If collaboration were easy, it would never really thought about what I assumed about other be the norm. “Our people and how work” of collaborathat affects my tion is hard and it interactions does not help unless with them, let we make it public alone what by sharing this work other people with others. may assume
I got a chance about me, and to share my work a each other. few weeks after the
The institute institute. I recently inspired me to attended a wedding reevaluate what where I ran into the we all bring to
The labyrinth at the Fatima Retreat House, site of Chris and Camellia’s Coaches Institute mother of a college our relationfriend, who has been teaching for years. In the standard catchships with other people, and to be more aware of my ing up, I told her what I do, and when I mentioned CFGs, she own assumptions about others. I try to really listen to lit up. She had been to a seminar the previous week and had people, to really hear what they are saying rather than heard about them. We started to gush. thinking about what I am going to say in response, so
What resulted was a debriefing for both of us. It was that I may better understand where they are coming done against the backdrop of the evergreen hills of Northern from. In this way, I hope to reduce the amount of misIdaho and after the contemplative silence of a Quaker wedcommunication in my life. ding. It gave me a chance to reflect on what I had done and
Now that I am back in the “real world” (outwhat “Our Work” really means. It is based on collaboration side the CFG institute utopia), I am striving to apply for student success, It is hard work because collaboration is the tools I gained. All staff at the Harmony School not easy, but powerful in its ability to focus multiple resources
Education Center (including NSRF staff, of course) are on our practice, dilemmas and students. “Our Work” is driven members of a CFG, and there is also a Coaches CFG.
I will be starting a CFG at Rhino’s within the next on making this collaboration possible for every educator who month or so, and will be joining the Coaches CFG. I’m cares about students. “Our Work” is as hard as changing the excited about this new stage in my professional develworld and as simple as asking other people what they think.
The scary part is that I am sure that I am not done changopment – I can’t wait to begin coaching. ing. It is a frightening prospect that one week can change
As I have heard so many times before without really believing it, this institute was life altering. It your life, so I am not sure if we should add that to the brochanged not only my approach to working with others, chures, but it would be honest. I still know what my work is, and my thoughts about teaching and learning, but also but I think I can add more of “Our Work” in my answer when my approach to human interaction, and my idea of my people ask me, “So, what do you do?” self and my place in the world.
Chris Jones can be reached via e-mail at cjones@harmonyschool.org 18

Fall 2003

connectionsFALL03 3
Process Cyan
Process Magenta Process Yellow

Camellia Cosgray can be reached via e-mail at camelliacosgray@hotmail.com Connections: a Journal of the National School Reform Faculty

A Book Review – Carol Nejman, Pennsylvania

M

ichael Fullan’s latest book,
The New Meaning of
Educational Change, reads much like a college text or required reading. The storyline is not full of personal accounts, but the message is outstanding. In this edition, Fullan clearly identifies that educational reform is based on the improvement of relationships. “Reform is not just putting into place the latest policy.
It means changing the culture of the classrooms, the schools, the districts, the universities and so on.” Changing culture is paramount to introducing, developing and growing reform. The heart of any school is the people and the relationships between the people.
These relationships dictate how work is done or not done. Making and growing relationships at all levels and creating cultures to support inquiry, reflection, trust and innovation is essential for school reform to occur. As I read this edition, I saw my own school,
C.W. Henry, emerge with all of the struggles and triumphs we encountered as we moved toward making teaching and learning better for everyone.
As principal of C.W. Henry
School I quickly discovered that students, as well as teachers, passively or aggressively resisted any new initiative that did not make sense or have meaning in the context of their lives. In order to introduce the work of CFGs we first created a school vision that

NSRF Mission Statement
The mission of the
National School Reform Faculty is to foster educational and social equity by empowering all people involved with schools to work collaboratively in reflective democratic communities that create and support powerful learning experiences for everyone.

gave context to the work and used the Coalition of Essential Schools 10
Common Principles as a framework to align directives from local, state, and federal levels. Taking the time to develop meaning and achieve this coherence reduced or nullified resistance to our educational reform and change endeavors. The Critical Friends
Groups at C.W. Henry
School depended on each other to help implement mandated changes in the District’s curriculum and resource materials. The groups examined the proposed changes and determined if they made sense and how and if they aligned to our guiding principles.
After much discussion, review, moaning, inquiry and creating understanding, we discovered that the effort was worth it and embraced the mandated changes by planning how we would support each other, give feedback to each other and monitor the change implementation. This became the focus of our CFG work for the school year.
The criteria that Fullan says an organization should apply to determine if a particular change is worth the effort can be used by learning communities as they reflect on their

progress and refine their planning. These criteria can be stated as questions: “Does the change address an unmet need? Is it a priority in relation to other unmet needs? Is it informed by some desirable sense of vision?
Are there adequate resources committed to support implementation?” These questions help guide our information-gathering process to determine if we have developed enough meaning to implement the change effectively or whether to reject it.
Fullan also shares some “do and don’t” assumptions, the final one being, do not assume there is a “silver bullet.”
Implementing change is really reculturing a school to develop habits of mind that foster reflective practice, collaboration, and informed decision making.
These skills help practitioners embrace educational reform and change in ways that make sense to their organization and add to the coherence of a shared vision. Once a school or organization has begun the change process it is important to share in a collaborative way with other schools. Just as teachers begin to open their practice up to
(continued on page 16)

ONNECTIONS

is a journal of the National School Reform Faculty. Published three times per year by the Harmony School Education Center, it provides a forum for CFG coaches and other reflective educators to share their practice. Editors— Debbie Bambino & Katy Kelly
Production Coordinator— Sarah Childers
Layout & Design— Camellia Cosgray
Our special thanks goes to the Foundation for Educational Renewal for its support of this journal.
If you have any feedback or are interested in contributing to
Connections contact us at 812/330.2702, kkelly@harmonyschool.org, dbambino@earthlink.net Connections: a Journal of the National School Reform Faculty

3

Fall 2003

9/29/03, 1:49:17 PM
Process Black

Eulogy for Nancy Mohr

Naming the Elephants

Book Review

(continued from page 9)

(continued from page 3)

can work through this successfully.
Our facilitators opened the morning standing outside the group facing inward, forming almost a protective circle around us. They then skillfully created an environment over the course of the morning – using affinity groups, small groups, and dyads – for all of us to reflect upon our experience of the previous day and what it meant to us as coaches for equity. From my journal later that day … the knot is out of my heart. Reflecting on this one example, and the power that one statement, said with the best of intentions, had on a group, deepens my resolve to keep looking for elephants. I was fortunate to be in a place where we were able to identify one and put a name to it. And yet, in this group that had the desire to take part in hard discussions and where the norm of speaking personal truths had been established - it was still hard to name the elephant! So how much harder is it in a school where there is distrust, dislike, and fear?
Wearing the lens of our mission statement has forced me to look for, acknowledge, and name conditions that are inequitable, unjust or contrary to what I believe is good for kids. I’m not going to give all kids the same advantages that mine have overnight. But I can take action. I can take the time to work with the parent who I considered difficult and I can unpack the reasons I found her difficult in the first place. I can bring up the topic of
‘who is doing the talking’ during a discussion of group norms. I can be willing to take the risk of saying the
‘wrong’ thing. Naming elephants is just one step for me towards achieving our mission.

each other, it is important for schools and districts to do the same. It is the only way to achieve real large-scale reform. This past spring the faculty of
Henry School went through an affirmation process with the Coalition of Essential Schools. Visitors from schools across the country and across the neighborhood came to share, reflect and give feedback on Henry’s efforts to implement the 10 common principles.
Over a two-day period, visitors talked to teachers, parents, support staff and students. They visited classrooms and participated in focus group discussions.

Katy Kelly can be reached at kkelly@harmonyschool.org connectionsFALL03 5
Process Cyan
Process Magenta Process Yellow

Gender Equity Lit ...
(continued from page 12)

away from their emotional lives at a young age? Questions like these are addressed by Kindlon and Thompson in ways that I found pushed my thinking. Queen Bees
& Wannabes:
Helping Your
Daughters
Survive Cliques,
Gossip,
Boyfriends &
Other Realities of Adolescence,
Rosalind
Wiseman
The media had a field day in 2002 when there seemed to be new sound bites every day about the inherent meanness of girls. Queen Bees offers some sound advice for parents and educators without falling into the trap of seeing a predisposition for evil in all females.

Connections invites its readers to share other resources and learning experiences around equity issues. Please contact us at nsrf@harmonyschool.org 16

Fall 2003

Joe McDonald

A modified Tuning Protocol was used at the end of the two days to share feedback and discuss future work. All participants deepened their understanding of our mission as they examined the relationship between academic and intellectual rigor. One specific recommendation was the need for the staff to revive their commitment to the use of Essential Questions to drive instruction. Having the fresh and trusted eyes of outside colleagues helped us renew our purpose for the coming year.
Finally, Fullan spends an entire chapter addressing the role of student voice in the school change process.
Even though we live in a democratic society, schools tend to be not so democratic. Our students are one of our greatest under-utilized resources.
Student views can often give clarity and point toward the solutions to many school reform issues and concerns. In highlighting the role of students Fullan demonstrates that true school reform is about improving relationships at all levels.
Last year at Henry we instituted weekly Classroom Meetings as a way to regularly facilitate our increased inclusion of student voice in the way we did business. Making space for all voices has improved our relationships and we believe it has further solidified our reform efforts.
The New Meaning of Educational
Change is a must read for anyone involved in school reform. The structure of the book lends itself to be read entirely or in pieces, according to the reader’s area of interest. Fullan states that the most pressing reason we need school reform is because we “need citizens who can learn continuously and work with diversity locally and internationally.” Reading this book renewed my understandings of the complexity of change and helped me plan more effectively as I move into a new leadership position in the upcoming school year.
Carol Nejman can be reached via e-mail at cnejman@aol.com

Connections: a Journal of the National School Reform Faculty

E

veryone here has his or her own image of it, but
Sherry King and I discovered the other day as we talked on the phone – giving up for the moment our pretending to work – that for us the image was situated in the hallway of the 10th floor – opposite the elevators - of a building on Park Avenue South. There she’d be. Something about the arms slung wide, about the smile, about the elegance of her clothes and her stance that signaled all of us who are intuitively less open, less optimistic, and less elegant that she would give over to us some of these qualities without our even asking, just because we were special to her.
But others will situate the image differently – at the front door of a school in the Bronx, at the opening or close of a workshop for school leaders, or in coming upon her suddenly at the movies or at the market – to name just four of her many favorite places in the world.
But what is this an image of? What shall we call it? I want to address this question, having the honor of speaking today on behalf of the legion of Nancy
Mohr’s colleagues and friends. Nancy had what may have seemed to us an uncanny ability to make friends feel like family and colleagues feel like friends.
But I don’t think it was after all uncanny. It was care and craft, not magic.
She was a connector. The vitality of any society and its capacity to embrace
Nancy Mohr novelty and to undergo real change, and in this case, to improve, depend on those few people who can do what
Nancy could do. Malcolm Gladwell points out that along the route that William Dawes took to warn that the British were marching toward Lexington and Concord, hardly any of the colonial militias turned out, whereas they did wherever Paul
Revere, the connector, delivered the message. . . . I know it’s absurd, but I thought Nancy would have gotten a kick out of being compared to Paul Revere.
If Nancy had planned this event today, she would certainly, as Pat Wasley mentioned to me, want someone to point out that she died at the height of Fashion Week in New
York. I think she’d also want someone to offer a recipe.
That’s not just because of her love of recipes – you know, she actually kept a locket with two pictures – of Alan and of Julia
Child. But it’s because recipes pass on wisdom – not just wisdom of cooking, but of other things too.
So, here’s the recipe for being a connector, as taught to me in Nancy’s kitchen – and I mean the word kitchen to stand in for all the contexts in which she worked.
First, you have to take a genuine interest in people as people. Connections: a Journal of the National School Reform Faculty

Second, you have to reach well beyond the people you would ordinarily take an interest in if you were just letting life pass by without seizing it.
Third, you have to base your work on what people need, but you have to press them to need a better world, and you have to offer them a glimpse of one.
Fourth, you have to dare to transgress in your connecting work– to violate the rules, cut across ordinary expectations, step out of bounds, change the protocol. I saw a lovely, gentle example of this when I read the other night the answers Nancy had written to Questions for Grandma
– a children’s book that her granddaughter, Jenna Emily, had given her through her parents, Graham and Michelle. One of the questions was, “What kind of garden would we plant together, Grandma?” And Nancy, transgressing the bounds of the question, wrote, “We’d plant a garden with some plants that were easy to care for, so that we’d have more time for cooking together. I’d prefer that.”
Fifth and finally, you have to give people a context for coming together, and you have to understand that at the heart of any context is a text – something invested with meaning and beauty.
Nancy worked with many texts: protocols, old postcards, student work samples, her own extraordinary photographs.
Her home is a text, and, of course, her meals were texts.
Remember that Nancy started off as an English teacher, and she never lost the touch. I was an English teacher too, and I want to end this talk by inviting us all – in, I suppose, an English teacherkind-of-way, to think about a poem. It is entitled “for
Nancy,” and was written just in the last few days by one of her friends, Carole Saltz (see page 4). It’s the fate of connectors to inspire poetry, but this is a better poem than the one Longfellow wrote about Paul Revere.
Inspiring poetry is just one way that connectors live on beyond the present. Though Carole’s poem is sad,
I hope you’ll hear the hope in it too. Emily Dickenson wrote, “Hope is the thing with feathers/ that flutters in the soul/ and sings the tune without the words/ and never stops at all.” This is the kind of hope that the connector leaves behind. The tune without the words. It’s what Rick
Lear meant yesterday in the context of his and Nancy’s work together in helping redesign the high schools of
Washington State. He said, “I feel like I have her voice inside me.” Many of you here would say we know her by heart.
Delivered at Nancy’s Service on September 21, 2003, at
Riverside Chapel, New York City.
5

Fall 2003

9/29/03, 1:49:50 PM
Process Black