A PANASONIC FOUNDATION PROTOCOL

System Change for 'All Means All'

Since 1987, the Panasonic Foundation has worked in long-term partnership with large urban school districts in the United States to help them become what would be, in essence, new systems of equity and quality in which all students are educated to high levels - in every school, in every classroom, and regardless of background.

The task is enormously difficult and complex, for those working in, as well as for those working with, school systems. As part of the Foundation's ongoing efforts to make this work less haphazard we have designed the Essential School System Purpose and Responsibilities Protocol as a tool for assessing progress on systemic education reform. It is hoped that school systems and their external partners will use this tool to continuously interrogate the gap between the current reality and the desired state, and, more importantly, to use the findings to guide their efforts towards achieving ALL MEANS ALL.

THE PROTOCOL

1. Essential System Purpose and Responsibilities

   The statements of "essential purpose" and "core value" in the protocol reflect the Panasonic Foundation's abiding belief and value that every child can and will learn at high levels. The belief and value are also fundamental to the school systems we partner with. The other "essential responsibilities" derive from our 15-year experience of working with districts. A brief statement of the essential purpose and responsibilities follows:

   The essential purpose of school systems is to educate all students to high levels through quality teaching and learning. Quality teaching and learning requires effective leadership at all levels of the system.

   Therefore, the essential responsibilities of school system leaders are:

   1. To clarify and promote the core value that all students can and will learn at high levels.
   2. To ensure a culture and climate of care, commitment, and continuous improvement.
   3. To establish and promote rigorous learning standards for all students based on the core value of ALL MEANS ALL.
   4. To establish clear and rigorous expectations for, and to monitor the performance of, all system personnel toward all students achieving rigorous learning standards.
   5. To ensure that all system personnel have the ongoing professional learning necessary to meet the high performance expectations.
   6. To ensure that fiscal and other resources are provided to all schools so that they have what they need to help all students achieve standards.
   7. To implement a shared-accountability system that holds students, staff, and the system itself accountable for all students meeting rigorous standards.
   8. To engage in advocacy, coalitions, and other significant relationships at the local, state, and national levels so that the system can achieve All MEANS All.
      
      The sections in the Protocol are sequenced according to our current best understanding of the "scaffolding" of a successful system change process. We believe, in other words, that Core Value (#1, above) drives Culture and Climate (#2); that Learning Standards (#3) drive Performance Expectations for Personnel (#4) and Professional Learning (#5); and so on. The Protocol, therefore, should be useful not only in assessing progress in various "responsibilities" of the system, but also in assessing progress along a continuum of reform.

      This is not to suggest that the work on one essential responsibility must be completed before work on the next one can begin. We know that system reform is not a linear process, and that school system leaders will need to be working on several fronts simultaneously. However, we believe that there is a "first things first" validity to the sequencing, and that only so much progress can be made on, for example, the implementation of standards unless significant attention has been given to organizational culture or climate.

      The sequencing can be "tested" by looking at them in reverse order as well. Efforts at advocacy (#8), for example, might well fall on deaf ears if the system is perceived as not being accountable. The system cannot hold its personnel accountable (#7) for results without first providing the resources (#6) and professional learning (#5) needed to achieve those results. And so on.

2. The Investigative Questions
   
   The Foundation is now developing "investigative questions" for each section that are meant to help users probe more deeply as they gauge progress in relation to the essential purpose and responsibilities.
   
   
3. Invitation for Feedback
   
   The Protocol is currently being piloted with our partnership districts, and perhaps a few others, to test its validity and usefulness. We will post it here when that process is complete. Meanwhile, we would welcome your thoughts, observations, and questions on what we've posted so far.