Interesting study on community organizing and sustainable education reform

[Brad Smith]

This brief synopsis from Philanthropy News Digest describes an interesting study conducted by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform on the role of community organizing in sustaining long-term educational reform.http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=324300004  One of the challenges of measuring impact is the time frame: short term successes sometimes have little long-term impact.   Likewise, it is possible to win the policy battle but, in the absence of long-term implementation, loose the war.  This study, which is actually more of a literature review, attempts to look at the enabling environment of successful long-term education reform in terms of community support.

 

A quote from the Executive Summary:  "The research suggests that community organizing for school reform has thepotential to advance equity, create innovative solutions that reflect the interests and experiences of disenfranchised communities, and build the long-term social capital of under-represented communities both to support schools and districts and to hold them accountable for improving achievement."

 

I'd be interested to know what others think of this study and its findings.

 

Brad