Sustainability Crisis - Time for Resolution

Oct 15, 2026

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This article addresses why school reform efforts in public education often fail to remain sustainable, reframing “sustainability” through an urban case study. Using perceptual data from principals across 36 schools within one district, the study identifies differences in leadership skill-set rankings across elementary, middle, and high school levels. Results suggest further study on vertical continuity of leadership skills and their impact. The article also outlines how leadership preparation programs can develop the needed competencies to sustain reforms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Sustainability crisis in school reform

Achievement gaps and persistent inequities

Reform efforts, implementation models, and time limits

Why reforms fail to sustain impact

Leadership and reframing sustainability

Leadership preparation for sustaining reforms

Sustainability Crisis: Time for Resolution Ray Garcia California State University, East Bay Abstract: This article addresses the failure of sustainability of reform efforts in public school systems by reconceptualizing the perplexing notion of sustainability through a case study to discern the skill sets needed of principals to sustain reforms in urban settings. This study draws on perceptual data gathered from principals in 36 schools in one urban district. Findings show a difference in the ranking of skill sets among elementary, middle, and high school principals, suggesting the need for further investigation into the role of vertical continuity of leadership skill and its impact on sustainability. The article examines how leadership preparation programs can develop skill sets needed for leaders to sustain reforms in schools. Introduction Despite countless school reform efforts during the last two decades of the 20th century, there are prevailing gaps in academic achievement among different groups of students. While isolated cases where reforms Volume 17, Fall 2005 33 have impacted student achievement can be identified in the literature, these scenarios, appear tobe the exception and not the rule. A body of research points to the pervasive struggle to close the student achievement gap in schools. Two traditionally held values for public schooling, equity and excellence, have yet tobe simultaneously realized ina widespread fashion in public school systems in this country. Children of poverty as well as children of color have experienced significantly lower levelsofschool success thantheirWhiteandmoreeconomicallyadvantaged peers, regardless of how that success has been defined (Banks, 1997; Ogbu, 1992). The U.S. public education system continues tobe daunted by the chronic problem that children experience differential levels of academic success distributed along race and social class (Hatch, 1998). The student achievement gaps reflect income, race and ethnicity. Large percentages of low-income, African American, Latino, and Native American students are at the lower end of the achievement continuum. Large percentages of middle and high-income White and Asian students are atthe other extreme of the continuum (Johnson, 2002). Acting as catalysts to the school reform movement, practitioners, scholars and politicians alike have advocated statewide standards, benchmark testing, high school exit exams, increased principal and teacher accountability, as well as the realignment of teacher performance systems with student performance. Intervention after intervention, neither individually nor collectively, has done much to close the gap in student achievement. Inarguably, the public education system is faced with a sustainability crisis whose resolution time has come. For decades, educators have concentrated on improvement of the perceived weaknesses of public schools through a number of reform efforts targeting school and classroom factors. In their zeal to improve conditions of learning for all students, schools often adopt a variety of reform efforts (Knight & Erlandson, 2003). A longitudinal study of the implementation of six reform models in thirteen schools in one urban district concluded that after three years, reforms had expired in six of the thirteen schools; two other schools continued implementing thereforms at very low levels. The remaining five of the thirteen schools were continuing to implement thereform designs at moderate to high levels (Datnow, 2005). Aperusalofthe literature on sustainability of large-scale educational reform, with study of specific case examples, offers a disconcerting picture. There are limited examples of reforms that have been sustained over a period of time. The research reflects little evidence of sustained improvement in measures of children’s academic achievement and sobering evidence of reforms pulling back from their initial intents (Earl, Watson & Katz, 2003). Furthe

FAQs

What problem does the article focus on regarding public school reform?

It focuses on how many public school reform efforts fail to sustain themselves long enough to produce lasting improvements in student achievement.

How was the study conducted and what data were used?

The study used perceptual data gathered from principals in 36 schools in one urban district.

What do the findings suggest about leadership and sustainability?

Findings show different rankings of required skill sets among elementary, middle, and high school principals, indicating a need to examine vertical continuity of leadership skills and its effect on sustainability.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by moss~