Anthony S. Bryk, Penny Bender Sebring, Elaine Allenlsworth, Stuart Luppescu, John Q. Easton (2010) Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 328pp.
OVERVIEW
“In
1988, the Chicago public school system decentralized, granting
parents and communities significant resources and authority to
reform their schools in dramatic ways. To track the effects of this
bold experiment, the authors of Organizing Schools for Improvement
collected a wealth of data on elementary schools in Chicago. Over a
seven-year-period they identified one hundred elementary schools that
had substantially improved—and one hundred that had not. What did
the successful schools do to accelerate student learning?
“The authors of this illuminating book identify a comprehensive set of practices and conditions that were key factors for improvement, including school leadership, the professional capacity of faculty and staff, and a student-centered learning climate. In addition they analyze the impact of social dynamics, including crime, critically examining the inextricable link between schools and communities. Putting their data onto a more human scale, they also chronicle the stories of two neighboring schools with very different trajectories.” (Amazon Product Description)
Looking at what schools The researchers looked at Chicago schools improved and which did not, these researchers found that some schools with what seemed the same demographics had differing out-comes. Schools that didn't improve had some different identifiable reasons for the lack of improvement. They called these schools truly disadvantaged schools—described as having the following measurable traits:
Low Bonding Social Capital, or low occurrence of sustainable links within the community that encourage trust and enforce norms. (Resident Church attendance was a key metric)
Low Bridging Social Capital, or few connections between individuals and groups outside the community.
High percentage of neighborhood violence
High percentage of Foster Care Students
Greater poverty than is reflected in school lunch data
This book is not so much about the internal, technical aspects of schools as about their context and the importance of trusting, collaborative relationships.
I (Chris Troy) believe developmental youth ministry, if done well, provides the “bridging social capital.” In fact it is what I've called vision casting and positive peer group experiences. In training youth workers/ministers, I think it's critical that youth ministers understand this as part of their role—and intentionally provide this much needed social capital so that our young people can succeed in life.
The capacity for providing students with necessary social capital does not necessarily come naturally. Youth workers need to be so trained. Such training and capacity gives youth development and ministry a language to describe how they impact educational out-comes. You could argue, I think, that Jesus was engaged in vision casting that provided the bridging and bonding social capital for the disciples to engage in the ministry of the church.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION
1. Do you think schools that have done poorly for years can be improved?
2. Does the radical Chicago experiment and this book offer any hope?
3. What obstacles hinder the accomplishment of this vision?
4. Can youth work increase the social capital of students who have few social contacts and resources?
5. Can
youth work improve it development of capacity for such work in youth
leaders and thereby sell their efforts more effectively to donors?
IMPLICATIONS
1. Behind much of the rising violence in some cities are drop-outs and those attending ineffective schools where they are neither challenged nor developed.
2. Developmental youth work moves beyond remediation and even prevention to developing personal assets and social capital among young people.
3. Youthful crime, violence, drugs and suicide (including death through risky behaviors) must be declared public health issues and faced with the same determination we would use in terms of a deadly plague.
Chris Troy and Dean Borgman cCYS