A-312 Systemic Reform in Urban School Districts and Schools
Thomas W. Payzant
This course is for students interested in urban school district, school, and teacher leadership roles. We will explore the unique opportunities and challenges these roles offer and what it takes to become successful leaders in these important positions. The framework for the course will be standards-based reform and a systematic approach to thinking about how leaders in urban school districts work together to improve a whole system of schools and refuse to settle for just a few more good schools as a result of their efforts. The context in urban settings demands that leaders must inspire those they lead with a sense of urgency and convince them to embrace the goal for all students to graduate from high school ready without remediation for some type of postsecondary education, which is essential to access opportunity in the workplace, to fulfill civic responsibilities in a democracy, and to have a good life. The focus of this course will be on the practice of leadership and the development and implementation of policies using the emerging literature on leadership and systemic reform, case studies, and interaction with practitioners. The course is strongly recommended for students in the Education Policy and Management master's program. This course fulfills one of the School Leadership Program's school development strand requirements.
Visit the course Web site
(Some resources on the course Web site may require a Harvard PIN number)