At the District Level
At the district level, we are restructuring our leadership model to
build a broad base of support for fully implementing our curriculum ini-
tiatives. Our principals are assuming more responsibility for monitoring
the implementation of district curriculum, and we are fostering leadership
skills among our teachers and principals through professional develop-
ment institutes. Although we are pleased with our successes as measured
by test data, anecdotal information, and various recognitions, we realize
that there are pockets in our system where we do not yet have full imple-
mentation of our curriculum, including consistent development of the
Habits of Mind. Responsibility is shifting from the central office to the
schools for determining professional development initiatives. Our district
mission statement is “Every Child, Every Classroom, Every Day: Quality
Learning.” Glacier Park’s example helps us to understand the commit-
ment needed for building leadership, in partnership with teacher leader-
ship, to fully implement the Habits of Mind into the culture of a school.
Persistence to Stay the Course
In 1992 we were exploring different grade-level configurations at one of
our four elementary schools. The planning team met with John Goodlad,
author of A Place Called School(1984), to learn from his wisdom and
insights into what makes a successful program. Goodlad’s research on
multiaged learning, one option under consideration, confirmed the aca-
demic and social benefits for students. However, he shared with us that in
education, it can take 30 to 35 years for researched practices to become
commonplace in classrooms.
Without persistence, the best ideas are short-lived. Parents want
school to look and sound like their own experiences and have difficulty
accepting changes. Even when their workplace looks dramatically differ-
ent compared with years past, they want school curriculum and instruc-
tional practices to stay the same. To shift from a content-based curriculum
to a process-based curriculum is challenging at best. Parents need to know
that the students are still learning basic content and skills; however, par-
ents also need to understand that the processes of learning, including the
Habits of Mind, will serve students long after the content is forgotten.
376 Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind