Project ASSIST: Comprehensive, Systemic Change Initiative Impacts School Culture, Climate, Leadership and Instruction

Abstract

ASSIST, an acronym for Achieving Success through School Improvement Site Teams, is grounded in the premise that professional development and support provided to a school leadership team comprised of a nucleus of teacher-leaders and the principal can translate into school-wide improvement. The conceptual design of ASSIST is based upon two “frameworks” for comprehensive, systemic school improvement. The first is a “student-centered, content” framework that includes the major components of school culture, school climate, pedagogy, leadership, and organizational structure. The second is a “vision-driven, change process” framework that includes defining faculty values/beliefs/commitments, designing a school vision with goals and strategies for accomplishing the vision, and utilizing data to inform the goals and progress toward the goals.