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Abstract

School districts around the country are in the process of initiating projects to restructure their schools. A small but growing number of these projects have been initiated by teachers, but, as yet, little has been written documenting the experience of classroom practitioners involved in such efforts. This article examines the experience of a group of teachers at the Edward Devotion School in Brookline, Massachusetts during the first year of a school restructuring project. Initiated by two teachers in 1987, the Teaching Project restructured a portion of this public elementary school, altered the work of a team of thirdand fourth-grade teachers, and introduced a preservice teacher training collaborative with Wheelock College. This article highlights both the opportunities and the difficulties encountered in a teacher-initiated project. It also provides insights into the potential complexity of altering teachers' job responsibilities and describes the numerous benefits that can accrue when teachers are the initiators of school reform.

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School Restructuring by Teachers

Abstract

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