Professional Development and School Restructuring: Mutual Processes of Reform

For five years the authors have facilitated professional development leading to restructuring and reform at Ravine Junior High (RJH). As they present their work with colleagues from RJH, people ask them how did they get teacher buy-in. They answered that they don't get teachers to buy-in, they get teachers to drive the process. At RJH, they facilitate collective action for critical leadership by creating spaces in which teachers can lead by sharing ideas, garnering peer involvement, and moving reforms forward. In this article, the authors discuss several factors essential to success of teacher-driven reform. The authors conclude that teacher professional development can serve as a tool in school restructuring when it is teacher driven. (Contains 1 figure.)