Cluster Coordinating Team Meetings (Monthly ). Our Cluster Coordinating Team meetings will continue monthly. Presentations, dialogue, and planning will occur at these meetings. We will conduct additional investigation of whole school reform best practices with particular focus on Accelerated Schools, Strategic Teaching and Reading, Project Zero, and Inclusive Education.

Study Groups (bi-weekly meetings of the entire study group and working sessions of sub-groups ongoing). Our cluster will develop three Study Groups to investigate best practices in their areas of focus and to make recommendations. Study Groups will be composed of (1) staff from each of the three cluster schools, (2) parents and community members from each of the schools.

• Study Group 1: Build a caring school community and partner with families & the community. This group will study exemplary strategies for supporting families, involving them in innovative ways in helping their children learn, and connecting with community resources.
• Study Group 2: Design and adapt teaching for diverse learners. This group will focus on instructional strategies designed for diverse learners. We will particularly explore Strategic Teaching and Reading Program and Project Zero.
• Study Group 3: Inclusive Education and Supports for Teachers and Students. This group will focus on strategies for including all students ­ those with disabilities, bilingual, at risk, and gifted ­ in regular classes with support resources (special education teachers, Title I, etc.) are restructured to support both teachers and students.

Training Conference (March, 1999 ASCD conference). A cross-Study Group team will participate in the annual conference of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) with specific targets for searching out needed information identified by Study Groups and the Cluster Coordinating Team.

Site Visits to Exemplary Schools (Timeline: 3 site visits to exemplary urban schools between February and June, 1999). The Cluster Coordinating Team and Study Groups will identify exemplary urban schools to visit to explore approaches. We have begun to identify potential schools in Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh, San Diego, and San Francisco as potential sites. In addition, teams will visit schools in Michigan that are engaging in various exemplary practices.

Whole Schooling Planning Institute (Timeline: June 17-20, 1999). We will conduct a 3 day Planning Institute facilitated by faculty at Wayne State University in which the work of all groups will come together. We will bring in key presentors in each of the school reform efforts in which we are interested and will engage in focussed dialogue and planning. We will use Open Space Technology as a way of structuring the time and will end up with a planning document that can be used for developing the proposal for Phase IV.

Our cluster has come together to form a dynamic partnership to engage parents and the community and our school staff in building on the strengths of our schools to make dramatic improvements in the learning and development of the children we serve. Below we describe our schools, our partners, and our approach to planning for comprehensive school renewal in Phase III of the 21st Century Initiative. We start with a chart that illustrates best practices used in our schools presently.

1. Bellevue Elementary
Bellevue Elementary School has a population of approximately 660 students with classes from Head Start through grade five. It also houses three special needs classes. It is a school wide Title I building offering technological training and skills development; Project Share; after school programs; OmniArts ; and history study at the Detroit Historical Museum. Partnerships include Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity ­ Iota Boule Adopt-A- School Program; Michigan State University; Detroit Institute of Arts; NBD In School Program; and Kappa Delta Pi Eastern Michigan University tutoring program. Parental and community involvement includes the Site-Based Decision - Making Council, the Local School Community Organization, chaperones and classroom tutors.

2. Howe Elementary
Howe Elementary School has a population of 626 students. This includes five classrooms for students receiving specialized services. Special features and programs at Howe include After School Tutorial Program,; Family Math and Science; Kwanzaa Garden; Starbase; technology projects; and WyTriad. Each classroom is equipped with computers and telephones. Howe School houses a community health center in conjunction with Mercy Hospital. The Southeast Optimist Club has been a long time partner. The Howe School family works collaboratively to create a caring, nurturing and challenging environment for all students. It is also a place where teachers, students, parents, and the community form learning partnerships to help ensure that students flourish in the information age.

3. Hutchinson Elementary
Hutchinson Elementary School has an enrollment of 750 students. The population includes students from the Preschool level through grade five. Hutchinson also has two classrooms for students receiving specialized services. It incorporates a strong and diverse General Education Program that engages parents and students in homework initiatives. There is a full time M.E.A.P. Instructional Specialist; a counselor and social worker as well as a functional Resource Recovery Team. Hutchinson also has instituted a School-to-Work Program to inform students about the employment process, and an After-School tutorial Program in which high school students assist instructional staff and students.

All three schools are committed to the district's initiatives for achieving student success through the implementation of Exit Skills; the establishment of a Resource Coordinating Team; and Site-Based Management. Everyone within the Cluster is responsible for the learning and the continuous growth of all its members.

2. COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS & COMMITMENTS

Following is a description of our collaborative partners.

2.1 Collaborative members & stakeholder representation.
Higher Education: Drs, Michael Peterson, George Ntiri, Rich Gibson, Kathy Tarrant and Ms. Sharon Murphy, Wayne State University; Susan Florio-Ruane, Michigan State University.
Businesses: PVS Chemicals; Wonders Market; Harding Market; Jays Flowers.
Churches and faith-based groups: Pastor McCoy; Reverend Bennett: Reverend Vann.
Health: Mercy Hospital.
Government: Judge Margie Braxton.
Community organizations: Detroit Historical Museum, Storyliving Program; Mr. Allen Spiller of Warren-Conner Development Coalition (work project); Head Start; Southeast Optimist Club.
Educational Organizations: Whole Schooling Consortium; Wayne County Regional Education Service Agency; Wayne County Community College.

The above listed stakeholders have all committed to being active participants with our Cluster to apply best practices in our mission to increase student achievement of all students; increase public confidence; increase school-community collaboration; and increase parental participation.

2.2 Process for buy-in and collaborative agreements.
The cluster has had frequent meetings in each of the school's buildings. Cluster representatives were consistent in their attendance and actively involved in the meetings. Leadership was shared with a representative from each school chairing the meeting when held at their location. Agreements were made as to the composition of the group. Each group was to include: principal, administrator(s), 3 parents; 1 special education teacher, 2 regular education teachers, and community partners. In addition, several external partners were ongoing members of the cluster team. Each meeting had a chairperson, recorder, and timekeeper. Decisions were made by consensus of the group. The group disseminated the results of each meeting back to colleagues, parents, and other stakeholders in their respective schools to obtain feedback which would be brought back to the cluster team for the decision-making process.

We have used a range of strategies to attract unengaged parents, community leaders and local organizations into a partnership in our efforts to renew our schools. These have included: attendance at a conference "Building Community Circles; Randi Douglas of the Storyliving program of the Detroit Historical Museum's facilitated a visioning session and provided training of facilitators for the parent forum. Carole Ann Beaman of Head Start of the Detroit Public Schools co-led an in-service on multiple intelligences and provided input regarding early childhood. Warren Conner Development Corporation provided surveys of the community and assisted in advertising for the parent awareness, provided tee shirts and hats for the parent visioning forum. Patsy Stewart of Wayne County RESA has been involved as a consultant to the group.

Information was distributed via the following mechanisms: staff newsletters, PA 25 annual report meeting, and school open houses. Several ministers shared information with their churches: Reverend Bennett of the House of Praise and Worship; Reverend McCoy from Harmony Missionary Baptist Church. Mr. Nickens, a parent of the cluster group, was active in facilitating outreach into the community. Several parent facilitators did substantial community outreach to provide information and obtain input. Letters were sent to all parents and information was shared in school newsletters. Strategies also included sharing information and obtaining input at open houses, parent-teacher conferences, and other ongoing school events. Personal contacts were made with the parents at one school's summer learning academy.

A key event and strategy was the Parent and Community Visioning Seminar held on September 29, 1998 at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Schools spent much effort encouraging parents and children to attend this event. More than 200 people attended the Parent and Community Visioning Seminar. For almost an hour groups energetically wrote down their images looking back on a better community and better schools. At the end people were given a few minutes to look at what other groups had written and then recorders came to the front to share one item from their group. We obtained important input from our community at this energized event.

2.3 Relationships with reform efforts.
From the beginning, our cluster committed to a partnership with university faculty of Wayne State University and the Whole Schooling Consortium to work towards implementation of the Whole Schooling approach in our schools. Dr. Michael Peterson has been a liaison and facilitator in this regard. As Co-founder of the Whole Schooling Consortium he presented its framework to school staff, provided facilities, refreshments, guidance, and consultation, and facilitated connections with resource people and training opportunities at no cost to our schools.

The Whole Schooling Consortium acts as a networking facilitator and broker of multiple specific reform and best practices resources that fit within the Five Principles outlined in the model. Each of the Five Principles of the Whole Schooling model draws on extensive research conducted by many school improvement and reform efforts. However, the model combines elements not present in other models to ultimately build an expanded effort. Whole Schooling incorporates best practices and research in inclusive education of student with disabilities and de-tracking to create schools where no children are segregated and where all have their needs met at their own level of learning. (See Attachment 4 for a description of the Five Principles.)

The following table describes the relationship of the FIVE PRINCIPLES of Whole Schooling to national school reform models which we will be exploring in greater depth in Phase III. We have studied these efforts to date including reviewing materials and videotapes, obtaining training (Accelerated Schools, Strategic Teaching and Reading, Multiple Intelligences, Inclusive Education). In the table in section 1 above, we also have provided a summary of the existing relationships in each of our buildings with nationally recognized best practices.

3. CLUSTER MISSION

3.1 Mission statement.

Our mission is to . . .
implement a comprehensive model of schools reform which we call "Whole Schooling". We seek to merge best practices of a range of school reform efforts which include: de-tracking and supporting inclusion of all students in regular education classes, curriculum reform that incorporates active learning designed for diverse students, restructuring of the use of support resources available through special projects funding and special education, and efforts to engage parents and the larger community."

We have worked hard over the last few months to develop an effective collaborative cluster team and to listen carefully to the staff, parents, and community of each school. to insure that this mission is connected to their vision of the school and community. We have used numerous methods of engaging dialogue and obtaining input: (1) cluster meetings and a Cluster Visioning Forum on June 21, 1998. (2) the Parent and Community Visioning Seminar on September 29, 1998 in which we obtained excellent input from over 200 parents and children. (3) A staff needs assessment in each building regarding how best we might implement the Five Principles of Whole Schooling.

Following are additional essential elements that we have articulated as A VISION for our work. These ideas were developed through the work of our cluster group . They embody a synthesis of the multiple sources of input we obtained. They articulate a vision of schools built on the foundation of connection with parents and the community, where we teach in innovative ways designed to engage students of diverse cultures, abilities, and intelligences, where all students are included, and where collaborative leadership facilitates empowerment of parents, students, and teachers. This model is represented in Figure 1 below.

Goal 1: Model Urban Schools Known Throughout The World
Our schools are recognized as MODEL URBAN SCHOOLS. They are SCHOOLS OF HOPE.
People from throughout the country and other countries are COMING TO VISIT OUR SCHOOLS to learn from what we are doing.
Our staff, along with parents and the community, have REDEDICATED THEIR HEARTS to support learning of the children and help one another.
Our staff, students, parents, and community members are RECOGNIZED AS EXPERTS people who can help others. They travel to other schools and communities talking about what we have learned. We are writing books and articles to tell others about what we have learned so that they can also improve their schools.
Our schools are helping to turn around the image of Detroit. Our students, staff, parents, and community members are INTERNATIONAL AMBASSADORS OF ACHIEVEMENT.

Goal 2: Success For ALL Our Students
In our schools, ALL children learn together, ALL children are successful.
We are giving our students and each other tools to GROW TO OUR FULL POTENTIAL.
All of our students are READING.
75% of all of our students PASS STANDARDIZED EXAMS, more every year.
Most importantly, all of our students along with their parents and school staff are growing intellectually, emotionally, and as people.

Goal 3: Connections and excitement with parents
Our school is GENERATING EXCITEMENT among parents and members of the community. We are CONNECTED to all parents in the school so that distance from school is not a barrier.

Goal 4: Reaching out to strengthen the community
Our schools are helping to build a COMMUNITY WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE, where people are working in the neighborhood. People are moving back into the city.
Our schools REACH OUT making connection with businesses, community resources.
People in Detroit SEE and value what we are doing.

Goal 5: Become a model teaching and training resource for other schools.
Our schools will become models of excellence and sponsor site visitations and ongoing teacher and administrator training in collaboration with universities and school reform organizations including the Whole Schooling Consortium.
We will conduct research into best practices and expand develop enhanced strategies for teaching that building on existing best practices.

3.2 Mission & 21st Century Initiative goals.

3.21 Improve teaching and learning by personalizing relationships. Our mission centers on the teaching and learning process. We seek to develop enhanced strategies of learning that engages and empowers students using active learning that draws on multiple intelligences and teaches at multiple ability levels in the same classroom (Whole Schooling Principles 1 & 2). Central to this is building a sense of community, care, and support for children, families, and teachers in the school (Whole Schooling Principle 4). Moreover, all children are welcomed into these schools. No students are segregated in special classes or special schools. This helps to create an atmosphere of culture and support for students, families, and teachers in the building.

3.22 Meet learning needs by enhancing the relationship between school staff, parents and community members. We are seeking to create schools which function as centers of our neighborhoods, where parents are welcomed and supported in multiple ways, where we see the family holistically. Each of our schools has many efforts to date to create welcome and support for families. In our planning process to date we have provided creative ways to involve families. This will be strengthened as we engage families in Phase III. We will particularly focus on developing ways to collaborate with community organizations to strengthen and support families and provide innovative methods to help parents be involved in their child's education in ways that fits into their family life.

3.23 Free schools to reshape themselves to meet diverse needs of students by redefining the relationship with district administration. We will seek to be a model cluster of schools within Detroit where we can act as a center of training and technical assistance for other schools. We will further seek ways to extend our learning and partnership to feeder middle and high schools who receive children from our schools. This commitment is at the center of our mission. Towards that end, our mission incorporates a commitment to plan locally in our own school and in collaboration with the other schools in our cluster. We will develop innovative strategies to use our funding sources including Title I and special education resources to support students with disabilities and those who are at risk while also strengthening the whole school and our capacity to serve all children. We are also developing collaborative partnerships with community agencies and two major universities, Wayne State University and Michigan State University, to bring research, training, technical assistance, and partnerships in teacher training to our schools. This will insure the continuance of ongoing innovation far beyond any short-term funding.

4. PLANNING PROCESS

4.1 Activities to be conducted.
Following is a description of key activities to be conducted by the Cluster to develop a comprehensive school renewal plan in Phase III.

4.11 Cluster Coordinating Team Meetings (Timeline: monthly meetings). Our Cluster Coordinating Team meetings will continue monthly. These team meetings in Phase III will involve: presentations by study groups, discussions of information regarding best practice strategies, development of cross-study group plans for site visitations and attendance at key trainign events by staff and parents, and planning of the Whole Schooling Planning Institute.

4.12 Study Groups (Timeline: bi-weekly meetings of the entire study group and working sessions of sub-groups ongoing). Our cluster will develop three Study Groups that incorporate the Five Principles of Whole Schooling. These groups will meet to engage in study and dialogue to investigate best practices in their areas of focus and to make recommendations to the Cluster Coordinating Team regarding (1) practices to implement in the cluster schools and (2) methods of creating change and innovation in the schools to implement these practices. Research has shown clearly that effective change in schools occurs only if teachers and parents are together involved, with support from external partners, in dialogue, learning, planning, and experimentation. This process builds on the experience of cluster schools in training through Accelerated Schools and incorporates similar processes established by the Whole Schooling Consortium.

Study Groups will be composed of (1) staff from each of the three cluster schools, (2) parents and community members from each of the schools. This will provide an opportunity for expanded involvement of parents, community members, and additional staff within our schools in directly developing our plans for school reform. In addition, three consultants from Wayne State University with expertise in these areas will provide facilitation and external resources. One consultant will be assigned to each Study Group as a Resource Expert. Study groups will:
Dialogue and discussion ongoing regarding best practice strategies.
Taking stock: gathering information and analyzing this information regarding effective practices being used in the school and needs for improvement.
Analysis of information gathered in Phase II ­ the Staff Needs Assessments and the Parent and Community Visioning Forum in the area of each study group.
Use of the Internet, written materials, and videos to study and analyze best practice strategies. Faculty from Wayne State University will facilitate use of the new Undergraduate Library at that university to provide access to the internet with support of library staff and faculty.
Speakers will be identified who can provide expertise and assistance to Study Groups.

Study Group 1: Build a caring school community and partner with families & the community. This group will study exemplary strategies for supporting families, involving them in innovative ways in helping their children learn, and connecting with community resources. Resource Expert Consultant: Sharon Murphy.

Study Group 2: Design and adapt teaching for diverse learners. This group will focus on instructional strategies designed for diverse learners. We will particularly explore Strategic Teaching and Reading Program and Project Zero's multiple intelligence and authentic assessment. Resource Expert Consultant: Kathy Tarrant.

Study Group 3: Inclusive Education and Supports for Teachers and Students. This group will focus on strategies for including all students ­ those with disabilities, bilingual, at risk, and gifted ­ in regular classes where support resources (special education teachers, Title I, etc.) are restructured to support both teachers and students. Resource Expert Consultant: Michael Peterson.

4.13 Training Conferences (Timeline: March, 1999 ASCD conference). A cross-Study Group team will participate in the annual conference of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) with specific targets for searching out needed information identified by Study Groups and the Cluster Coordinating Team.

4.14 Site Visits to Exemplary Schools (Timeline: 3 site visits to exemplary urban schools between February and June, 1999). The Cluster Coordinating Team and Study Groups will identify exemplary urban schools to visit to explore approaches. We have begun to identify potential schools in Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh, San Diego, and San Francisco as potential sites. In addition, teams will visit schools in Michigan that are engaging in various exemplary practices including identified schools in Detroit. We have identified potential sites in Southfield, Troy, Wyoming, and Ann Arbor that are implementing components of exemplary educational practices.

4.15 Whole Schooling Planning Institute (Timeline: June 17-20, 1999). We will conduct a 3 day Planning Institute facilitated by faculty at Wayne State University in which the work of all groups will come together. We will bring in key presentors in each of the school reform efforts in which we are interested and will engage in focussed dialogue and planning. We anticipate having an interactive forum involving Drs. Peterson, Beloin, and Gibson, co-developers of the Whole Schooling framework, with consultants from Strategic Teaching and Reading, Accelerated Schools, Project Zero, and Inclusive Education (Consortium for Inclusive Schooling). These consultants will provide presentations and consultation to work groups related to use of these strategies. We will use Open Space Technology as a way of structuring the time. We will have computers available for work groups and will develop the outlines for our proposal for Phase IV.

4.2 How governance and decision-making will lead to goals of the 21st Century Initiative.
Collaborative decision-making via the Cluster Coordinating Team will continue in Phase III as it had in the two previous Phases. This team has had good involvement and participation of key stakeholders across schools, parents, community, and supporting partners. The Cluster Coordinating Team acts as the collaborative decision-making body. Study Groups will provide presentations of information and recommendations in their areas to the Team. The Site-based Management Teams of each of the involved schools will consider any decisions and recommendations developed by the Cluster Team.

We will engage parents in Phase III in multiple ways: (1) participation in the Cluster Coordinating Team; (2) participation in Study Groups discussed above; and (3) as involved participants in the Whole Schooling Planning Institute. These processes will expand the number of parents actively involved in the cluster planning process. A major focus of our study group #1 will be to identify best practices that have been successful with urban families regarding building partnerships with schools and collaborative supports for these families. We have already taken important steps in this direction. In the summer of 1998, staff of all three schools attended a two day training on Building Community Circles that described strategies for building social supports for both families and children. Staff of Wayne State University who are collaborating members of our cluster are leading efforts in the city to utilize a range of strategies to provide supports for families and individuals with substantial life challenges. We expect that these and related strategies may be incorporated into our implementation planning in Phase IV.

4.3 Issues or barriers to overcome.
Changing schools is hard work. Many barriers exist to both developing an effective and comprehensive plan and implementing it. Some key barriers include the following:
Multiple and interacting time demands on teachers, administrators, and parents make it difficult to have time to creatively and energetically think and dialogue regarding how to improve our schools.
Mental mindsets that limit possibilities of new approaches to learning and schooling exist for parents, community members, school staff, and .
Schools may receive conflicting messages ­ some encouraging creativity, flexibility, local decision-making and others requiring responses to system needs.
Partners may not provide support that is both desired and anticipated.
Staff of schools may not respond adequately and engage in Study Teams and the Whole Schooling Planning Institute.

These barriers have existed to date and we have worked hard as a cluster to engage new ways of thinking, to provide support and time during the school day as well as after school meetings, and use of innovative strategies in meetings to stimulate creativity.

4.4 Examining best practice whole school reform models.
We have already engaged in initial investigation of best practice whole school reform models. The Whole Schooling model is a newly formed model which we have used as a framework for our discussions and deliberation. It is based on a combination of established and research-based best practices. In addition, we have identified Accelerated Schools as an approach to whole school reform that fits with our philosophies and related efforts: Strategic Teaching and Reading Program, Project Zero, and Inclusive Education.

During Phase III, we will conduct more in-depth investigations of these areas. This will be done via the following strategies:
Reading and analyzing information regarding our selected approaches as well as reviewing other related school reform models.
Viewing videotapes regarding key whole school reform models. Interviewing consultants from key whole school reform models by a team from our cluster.
Bringing consultants from Accelerated Schools, Strategic Teaching and Reading, and Project Zero or other consultants that may be identified during Phase III to the Whole Schooling Planning Institute to provide training, consultation to Study Groups, and collaborative assistance in developing and comprehensive school reform plan to submit in Phase IV.

4.5 Strengthening the relationship between cluster schools.
Our process for Phase III will substantially strengthen the relationship of schools in our cluster. We will continue to meet as a Cluster Coordinating Team. In addition, however, the three Study Groups will provide substantial opportunity for staff and parents of each school to be involved. Based on our experience to date, this will facilitate relationship development and sharing across schools of innovative strategies.

4.6 Leading to a clean, safe, and non-violent environment for all students.
Building schools that are more caring, where all are included and welcome will assist our schools internally in reducing the threat of violence. Our planning process will include a focus on developing our schools as places of safety and security. A key strategy will involve methods by which the school is part of rebuilding community in the neighborhoods in which they are located.

5. PLANNING RESOURCES

5.1 Financial, human, and technological resources.
The schools in the cluster will use Title I funds contributing equal amounts in Phase III to support these efforts. In addition, significant resources have been identified that will support the work of our cluster at no fiscal cost. These include:

Time of faculty from Wayne State University and consultants from the Whole Schooling Consortium ­ Drs. Michael Peterson, Rich Gibson, and Kathy Tarrant.
Involvement of faculty from Michigan State University in providing support in addressing literacy.
Involvement of other community resources ­ Carole Ann Beaman from Head Start, Randi Douglas of the Storyliving program of the Detroit Historical Society, and others listed in the section describing collaborators above.
Creative and innovative efforts of a committed group of staff in each of our schools over and above their typical school duties.

5.2 Alignment of resources to achieve cluster mission.
Schools have committed Title I funds for Phase III. Commitments from staff, community partners, and educational partners are in place.

6. STAFFING, MANAGEMENT, & SUSTAINABILITY

6.1 Fiduciary school.
Bellevue Elementary School will be the fiscal agent for Phase III for the Eastside Detroit Whole Schooling Cluster.

6.2 Sustenance of plan in absence of 21st Century Initiative Funding.
From the beginning the cluster committed to work towards the mission in collaboration with one another, faculty from Wayne State University, and representatives of the Whole Schooling Consortium in Michigan and in Wisconsin. As an evidence of this commitment, two federal grants were submitted towards obtaining additional federal funding. We have been clear that our commitment is less to seeking an Annenberg grant per se than engaging in collaboration for the improvement of our schools to which we commit regardless of the outcomes of funding in the 21st Century Schools process. Consequently, our cluster schools and partners with Wayne State University faculty and the Whole Schooling Consortium are committed to ongoing collaborative work. In the absence of 21st Century we will continue to seek resources from other sources that include the federal government, state government, foundations, and local partners such as businesses.