The Career Ladder Program as a Catalyst for Reform

This report describes the Career Ladder Program at Ganado Unified School District 20, which serves approximately 2,000 students in grades K-12 in the Navajo Nation in rural northeastern Arizona. A committee of teachers and principals developed a model that influenced the evolution of the district and school system from conventional management to a quality-school management model. Program components include outcome-based education, teacher reflective practice, performance-based teacher evaluation and compensation, and a teacher evaluation model based on student outcomes. As a result of the program, positive changes have occurred in teacher empowerment, program planning and management, communication, teacher evaluation, student assessment, curriculum alignment, and professional development. A comparison between the career ladder program model and a conventional management model indicates that the career ladder program approach has led to reform at the local level, teacher empowerment, and improvement of student and teacher performance. Graphics illustrate the career ladder program model. (LP)