Strong Foundation, Evolving Challenges: A Case Study to Support Leadership Transition in the Boston Public Schools

Abstract

Ten years ago, Thomas W. Payzant became superintendent of the Boston Public Schools and launched a reform program based on the idea that focusing on instruction, particularly in literacy and mathematics, would improve learning for all students. This case study examines the extent of instructional improvement a decade later and the complementary efforts that the district has made to improve the capacity of teachers, principals, and central office in support of continuously improving instruction. It also identifies some of the challenges now facing the Boston Public Schools. The purpose of the study is to inform the leadership transition that will occur as Payzant's superintendency comes to a close in June 2006. While the superintendent's departure is a landmark event in itself, it is likely to be accompanied by the departure of several key central office staff, and it coincides with the expected retirement of a greater-than-usual number of Boston teachers. Thus, the study is designed to inform not just a superintendent search, but a broader transition in leadership of the Boston Public Schools. Through its programs for urban superintendents, the Aspen Institute is acutely aware of how many city school systems will be experiencing transitions similar to the one in Boston. Aspen joined with the Annenberg Institute for School Reform to undertake the study. Aspen and Annenberg fielded a team of researchers to conduct the research and interviews on which the case is based. The research design was co-constructed by the Aspen- Annenberg team and a team from the Boston school district and its partners. The research was conducted from September through November. The process consisted of an extensive document review, a review of data on student outcomes, and interviews or focus groups with ninety-eight individuals -- students, educators, central office administrators, and community leaders. While this set of respondents is not a representative sample of the Boston community, it does typify a set of key roles within the district, its partners, and the community. The resulting interviews generated a remarkably consistent set of observations about what has been accomplished, what is under way that should be preserved, and what challenges Boston's next leadership team must address. A major purpose of this case study is to share these observations. The case has one additional, and crucial, purpose: to spark and support a conversation about how the city -- its educators, families, and communities -- searches for and identifies new leadership, engages that leadership in building on what has been accomplished, and formulates the remaining challenges that new leadership needs to address. This report is neither the final nor the only word on this important subject. Several local groups are also developing documents that will inform numerous discussions over leadership transition in the Boston schools. We hope that th