Accelerated Schools in Action

Preface - Edward P St John PART ONE: INQUIRY INTO ACCELERATED SCHOOLS Introduction - Edward P St John Accelerated Schools - Henry M Levin The Background Growth and Learning - Ilse Brunner and Wendy Hopfenberg Big Wheels and Little Wheels Interacting Accelerated Schools as Learning Organizations - Ilse Brunner and Brenda Le Tendre The Revitalization of Pioneer Schools Reflection - Edward P St John Learning to Facilitate, Reflect, and Inquire PART TWO: BUILDING CAPACITY Introduction - Christine Finnan Building Shared Meaning and Commitment during the Courtship Phase - James W Kushman and Thomas G Chenoweth Making Change Our Friend - Christine Finnan Building Communities of Inquiry - Edward P St John et al Linking Teacher Research and School Restructuring Reflection - Christine Finnan Creating an Environment to Sustain School Change PART THREE: THE ROLE OF THE PRINCIPAL IN ACCELERATED SCHOOLS Introduction - Simeon P Slovacek Building Initial Commitment to Accelerate - Thomas G Chenoweth and James W Kushman Principals' Changing Roles - Betty M Davidson and Edward P St John Analysis of Selected Case Studies Toward a New Leadership Paradigm - Georgia Christensen Behaviors of Accelerated School Principals Principals Speak Out on Their Evolving Leadership Roles - Joan Sabrina Mims Reflection - Simeon P Slovacek The Changing Role of Principals in Accelerated Schools PART FOUR: POWERFUL LEARNING THROUGH CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION Introduction - Jane McCarthy A Teacher's Voice - Cynthia J Olivier The First Year of the Accelerated Schools Project Full Inclusion in Accelerated Schools - Henry M Levin and Jane McCarthy Equal Access to Powerful Learning Teaching All Children to Read - Vicky Gonzalez and Carolyn Tucher Hoover Elementary School The Influence of Accelerated Schools Philosophy and Process on Classroom Practices - Beth M Keller and Pilar Soler Reflection - Jane McCarthy Making Learning Come Alive in Accelerated Schools

Christine Finnan holds a joint position as an associate professor in the Foundations, Secondary, and Special Education Department and the Anthropology Department at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC. Prior to assuming this position, she was an associate professor in the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Middle Grades Department. In this capacity, she helped develop curriculum for a BS in elementary education, preparing graduates to work in second- to sixth-grade classrooms. Since 1990, Finnan has been involved in school reform initiatives, particularly the Accelerated Schools Project and more recently Partners for Acceleration. Using her anthropological lens, she examines the interplay between school and classroom culture and reform models. She works closely with teachers, observing in classrooms and providing professional development. Finnan coauthored Accelerating the Learning of All Children: Cultivating School, Classroom and Individual Change (Westview Press, 2000) with Julie D. Swanson and co-edited Accelerated Schools in Action: Lessons from the Field (Corwin Press, 1996) with Ed St. John, Jane McCarthy, and Simeon Slovacek and has published extensively in edited volumes and journals. Finnan's joint appointment reflects her academic training and scholarship. She became interested in studying education through her research on children's play and folklore. She completed a Master of Arts degree from University of Texas, Austin in anthropology and folklore. Her research focused on the study of third-grade children's spontaneous play. Finnan completed a PhD in education at Stanford University in 1980, focusing on anthropology and education. While at Stanford, she continued to study children's play, examining how Vietnamese refugee children used play to assimilate into a new culture. Edward P. St. John is professor of educational leadership at Indiana University and was director of the Indiana Education Policy Center. His research focuses on policy issues in K-16 education (1998-2002). At the Policy Center, he has directed several studies of the impact of early read-ing programs and comprehensive school reform. His other collaborative books on topics related to school reform include Accelerated Schools in Action (Corwin), Families in Schools (Heinemann), and Reinterpreting Urban School Reform (SUNY Press).