OUR MISSION IS TO . . . Improve learning and promote high levels of achievement of all students by building an inclusive community of learners among school staff, parents, the community, and support partners. We will . . ."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." (from Phase I application, April, 1998).

The central and guiding purpose behind our activities to reform our schools is this -- to meet the needs of diverse learners helping them to grow and achieve at high levels. To do this, we must attend to the whole child in the context of family and community. Most centrally, we must work together as a "Community of Learners". This means that we intend to transform the ways we teach and learn, making them more personally engaging, democratic, and powerful. Early on we decided to use the framework of "Whole Schooling" and its Five Principles as our guiding goals (see box). Whole Schooling is an inclusive model of education underlining our aim to educate all children well. It also acknowledges that to achieve this goal, all stakeholders must be teachers and learners -- families, children, teachers, administrators, and community partners are part of our school cluster. We have worked together effectively as a cluster and will continue.

We chose "Accelerated Schools" as the reform model for our cluster because it is ideally suited to the creation and maintenance of communities of learners. Participants in accelerated schools believe that all youngsters can learn at high levels and an increased pace. Acceleration of quality and pace is especially important in schools where numerous children are currently not achieving at grade level. In these cases, it is not enough to "remediate," because this strategy does not lessen the gap between low-achieving youngsters and their more successful peers. Moreover remediation can be experienced as "drill and kill," doing very little to enhance youngsters' motivation or sense of efficacy to achieve in school. It is necessary to re-engage struggling learners to help them feel empowered to learn in school.
Education is a social process in which a community's knowledge is both transmitted and transformed. Youngsters' achievement in school depends on the quality of the whole school environment: brick and mortar, books and other learning tools, and--most important --dialogue about knowledge with peers and adults. In this sense, we are all involved in the learning of our youngsters. We believe that there is no learning without community and that there is no community without learning.

Goal 1: Create new ways of learning in our schools.

We will engage in learning and implementing new strategies for learning among students with diverse abilities, cultures, and needs. To complement Accelerated Schools and respond to principle #2 above, we have chosen as our curriculum framework "Strategic Teaching" and "Multiple Intelligences". Strategic teaching is characterized by the acknowledgment of students' background knowledge and its links to learning new skills and concepts. Cognitive strategies for making meaning g are explicitly taught as part of language arts instruction as well as instruction in the other content areas (e.g. mathematics, science). Consistent with Accelerated Schools, this mode of teaching emphasizes the integration of skills, strategies, and concepts. Higher order reasoning and problem solving are stresses as learners set purposes, frame questions, read and write to learn, and reflect on that learning. Accelerated learning classrooms are places where youngsters work with peers and adults to frame and solve important learning problems. Class members cooperate to support the learning of each individual. Learning is accelerated as youngsters develop skills and concepts within engaging curriculum. Learning activities are purposeful and linked to authentic academic problems.
In this process we will seek to: create spaces within the schools and classrooms where literacy is of primary importance; develop strategies to utilize multiple intelligences to promote learning in all content areas; connect learning to opportunities and resources in the neighborhood and local community; ensure that reading, writing and oral language arts are learned and used by all students in rich, authentic, and complex ways; push literacy curriculum and into the content areas; learn to use technology as part of instruction; and engage teachers and parents together in dialogue about learning and literacy.

Develop cadre in each school and for the cluster to focus on best instructional practices; cadre facilitate sharing and dialogue.
Provide staff development in the use of Process Drama as a teaching tool that engages multiple intelligences.
Teach pilot units integrating principles of Whole Schooling, Accelerated Learning, Strategic Teaching, and Multiple Intelligences into the teaching of reading and writing within and across content areas
Use strategies to integrate art across the content areas to promote learning.
Develop strategies to link the curriculum and learning to community resources and opportunities. Pilot use of the Worldwide Web as a resource for teaching and an aid to professional development Pilot alternative assessments to track growth and learning and to evaluate curriculum and instruction
Link school personnel from the cluster with practitioners in other schools using technology and face-to-face sharing opportunities.

Goal 2: Build inclusive schools and provide in-class learning support for teachers and diverse students.

We will shift our special education, Title I, and other resources to enrich the general education classroom, provide support, and teach students with special needs together with other students in general education. This effort will have the following characteristics: all students, including students with mild through severe disabilities, will learn together in general education classes; teaching will be done a multiple levels ranging from low to very high with each student being challenged at his or her own level; support services available through special education resources, Title I, and other resources will be reconfigured to provide support in general education through co-teaching, in-class consultation, paraprofessional assistance; staff providing support will function as a building-based support team to work in collaboration with the Resource Coordinating Team (RCT) and other external support resources; staff will provide support in general education in a way that both provides assistance for specific identified students and support for the classroom teacher in dealing with all children in the class.

We expect that this effort, based on outcomes in many other schools around the country, will have the following outcomes if implemented well in each of our schools: reduction of referral rates for special education; increased support for all students with resultant increases in learning; reduction in stress on the part of teachers. & enhanced teaching strategies using multi-level teaching, multiple intelligences, and other strategies that respond to diversity among students.

Task
Share and dialogue to plan for inclusive education in each building and across the cluster. Form cadre following Accelerated Schools training.
Develop plan for inclusion for all students and support staff to be implemented in the Fall of 2000. Plan would include: process to make placement decisions for students, support staff and teacher assignments, planning time strategies, etc.
Conduct workshops for parents about inclusive education.
Conduct site visits to inclusive schools.
Conduct in-service workshops to develop skills for teaching, adaptation, and support across multiple ability levels & intelligences.
Identify placement of all special education students in coming year classes. Special education and general education teacher develop initial plans for work together with these students. Incorporate such plans into student IEPs.
Schools develop plans to keep students with moderate to severe disabilities in our schools as they are identified.
Schools develop and provide information to parents and parent groups regarding the openness of schools to include students with severe disabilities.
Contact the special education administration of the Detroit Public Schools to discuss movement of supporting special education resources into our schools for these students.
Implement inclusive schooling with students and staff shifting special education students and teachers into general education classes.

Goal 3: Engage in substantive partnerships with parents and community resources.

Concerned and committed parents and grandparents have ben an integral part of the Cluster since its conception. Parents are a constant presence and are cable of fostering relationships among all stakeholders within our community of learners. Parents and grandparents have consistently attended meetings, symposiums, and the Whole Schooling Summer Institute, demonstrating their dedication to their children, community, and connection with our vision to educate all children. Our schools have in place several programs that encourage parents involvement ­ monthly feast and forum meetings, technology workshops, and informational programs for parents and staff together. We will continue these efforts and infuse several others into our project. We will work to make our schools more family and community friendly, identify resources within our neighborhoods and city that can be linked with our schools, and aid in connecting these resources to the school, children, and families. Specific outcomes for this goal include: strengthening and building social supports for children and families through the use of circles of support, mentorships, family support groups, and family to family mentoring; identification of assets and resources within the community; identifying needs of the school and its children and families and linking these to community resources.

Task
Form cadre for parent and community partnership in each school and for the cluster.
Recruit parents and community members for all cadres and decision-making groups.
Hire Parent & Community Coordinators
Conduct needs and priority assessments.
Conduct assets and gifts survey of local neighborhood and community.
Develop community resource program for each school based on match of school, child, and family needs and community resources and 'gifts'
Develop plan for a community center program.
Open schools in the evening with extended services and community programs: tutoring, fine arts, literacy circle, grandparents group, parent literacy program (some conducted by parents for parents), GED programs for parents, effective parenting skills training, access to library media. Parents use their skills to contribute to evening extended day programs to include: enrichment programs, rites of passage, fine arts, arts and crafts, etc.
Parent and student newsletters monthly.
Monthly 'feast and forum' and school bazaars to display talents of parents & community members.
Retreats for parents and children and parents and staff.
Begin circles of support for families and children in each school.
Establish family to family support groups and mentorships as part of evening program in each school.

Goal 4: Develop enduring partnerships for ongoing support to our schools.

Our cluster has formed Partnerships which will be strengthened by the 21st Century grant but will continue. This will be important and critical in insuring the ongoing improvement and strengthening of our schools. We will be contracting with Accelerated Schools to provide training and ongoing consultation. Through the Whole Schooling Consortium, of which our cluster is a part, we will obtain ongoing assistance and support for the Cluster steering team, assistance related to inclusive education, linking with faculty resources, networking with urban, rural, and suburban schools associated with the Consortium, support for additional grant writing and resource development, and involvement in the Whole Schooling Summer Institute. Through Michigan State University and its Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA) we have access to student interns, faculty for courses in the school, support for a Literacy Circle in one school, assistance in developing additional grants, and ongoing research capacity in literacy instruction. Through Wayne State University we will obtain faculty who will act as coaches in the Accelerated Schools process, student teachers, and access to faculty expertise in exemplary instruction. We are also developing partnerships with other schools in Michigan who are implementing Whole Schooling practices. Through Communities in Schools and the Building Community Circles program at Wayne State University we will be engaging in a partnership to identify and access resources within our local community that will strengthen our schools and provide direct assistance and support to children and their families. These partnerships form a solid foundation of support for staff, parents, and community members for the innovations and change efforts in which we plan to engage.

Goal 5: Govern schools using democratic decision-making and inquiry.

Cluster #41's governance and decision-making structure will be designed according to the Accelerated Schools framework. All key players in the school community will be engaged in consensus-based, collaborative inquiry and decision-making in order to create schools in which all children will achieve at high levels of success. Principles of Accelerated Schools include: (1) unity of purpose, (2) empowerment coupled with responsibility, and (3) building on strengths. The 'unity of purpose' for our cluster is to implement Whole Schooling. Input and decisions will be made within and across cluster schools regarding the best approach to achieving this goal. This shared vision provides the key focus for our work and demands creating powerful learning experiences for our students. Secondly, empowerment coupled with responsibility eliminates blaming others for outcomes of decisions and engages all stakeholders in designing and implementing strategies for developing the vision. Thirdly, 'building on strengths' includes current practices such as Site-based Management and Empowerment Councils. We expect that the Accelerated Schools process will aid us in strengthening and expanding participation of students, staff, and parents in setting goals and making decisions. Finally, as our cluster schools work collaboratively towards the shared vision, our collaborative network will provide support as we widen the participation of all stakeholders.

The Steering Committee of each school consists of cadre representatives and the school principal. The Steering Committee and Site-based Management Council will be the same and will meet at least once per month. For the Accelerated Schools process, this group serves as a clearinghouse of information, provides checks and balances to cadre activities, and has a major role in determining when and how strategies will be implemented.

Cadres. Opportunities for design, communication, and input will occur as persons work in focused cadres in each building. Groups are formulated for specific issues and have no set length of time to serve on a cadre. Cluster schools will create a structure that uses the inquiry process based on identified needs. Cadres of persons will research solutions to problems and make recommendations. Cadres will be composed of school staff members, parents, community members, and university support faculty. Cadres make frequent reports to the school steering committee.

The 'School as a Whole' involves all stakeholders at the school site. Periodic meetings of the all stakeholders will assist in insuring buy-in to all major school initiatives.

The Cluster will continue to incorporate these strategies into our cross-school support and decision-making. The Cluster Steering Committee will continue to be composed minimally of an administrator, teacher, parent, and university support faculty. This Steering Committee will meet at least monthly. Quarterly, all stakeholders in the cluster schools will be invited to participate in a meeting. The Cluster Steering Committee will facilitate planning among the cluster, collaborative implementation of project activities, and monitoring of progress across schools.

Cluster cadres. In addition, cadres dealing with similar issues will meet frequently based on their needs. We expect ongoing cadres across schools in the following areas: inclusive education, parents and community partnerships, and new teaching strategies. Specific tasks for implementing this decision-making process include the following:

Task
Select coaches for each school.
Accelerated Schools team training ­ 10 from each school including teachers, parents, coaches, and coordinating support faculty.
Principal's institute for Accelerated Schools.
Cluster Steering Committee Meetings.
Cluster cadre meetings
School-based cadre meetings.

Goal 6: Provide professional development for all stakeholders in the community of learners. We will provide ongoing opportunities for professional development where teachers, parents, community members, and other stakeholders are engaged together in learning. Professional development is imbedded in all of the goals identified above. Professional development strategies will be systematic and engage all in inquiry, dialogue, sharing, and discussion as a central component of learning and the improvement of practice. Key areas for professional development include: multiple intelligences, inclusive educatoin, multi-age teaching, computer and internet training, teaching diverse learners, strategies for community connections and working with parents, circles of support and person-centered planning, multi-cultural sensitivity training.

Task
Develop cadre for professional development for the Cluster.
Cadres engage in inquiry and develop recommendations for staff professional development in particular issues.
Conduct literacy circles in each school.
Conduct site visits and mini-internships in partnership schools.
Coaches and support faculty provide in school support and consultation to teachers and staff. Access community resources for professional development.
Provide in-service workshops in key areas.
Participate in workshops of the Technical Support Consortium.
Participate in the Whole Schooling Summer Institute

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