Delivering on the Promise: The Education Revolution [Perfect Paperback]

Richard A. DeLorenzo (Author), Wendy J. Battino (Author), Rick M. Schreiber (Author), Barbara B. Gaddy Carrio (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 5, 2008

Delivering on the Promise is the story of one school district s journey to develop and implement the RISC (Re-Inventing Schools Coalition) Approach to Schooling a system that represents a dramatic shift for American education, a literal reinvention of what schooling looks like. In 2001, the members of the district won the coveted Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for their efforts in developing and implementing the program. The RISC Approach to Schooling is a standards-based approach to education designed to educate all students to the highest levels, empower them to own and lead the learning process, help them realize their dreams, and equip them with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to succeed in a rapidly changing world. Motivation, engagement, and shared leadership and clarity that every child can learn are foundational pillars of RISC s whole-child model. The RISC Approach to Schooling requires much more of students than the traditional approach to K 12 education both in terms of students academic performance and their ownership of the learning process but this approach makes much more possible for students as well. Very low-level, just-get-by achievement is no longer sufficient for advancement. Proficiency is the new bar for every student. There is a shared commitment to ensure that every student has a solid understanding, a facility with skills, and the ability to interact effectively with real-world situations in every content area. In addition, students no longer simply wait for teachers to tell them what to do next. Instead, students, even very young ones, are empowered to partner with their teachers, lead, and participate in their own educational experience. At the same time, students are provided with the teaching, coaching, support, and individualized learning experiences they need to succeed. The most fundamental difference between a traditional education system and a RISC system is that in a traditional system, time is the constant and learning is the variable. In a RISC system, the reverse is true: Learning is the constant and time is the variable. In a traditional system, students spend 13 years in school, kindergarten through grade 12, as they earn a certain amount of seat time each year by receiving a minimum grade, as low as a D , in each required course. Whether they learn and to what extent they learn, however, varies greatly from class to class, teacher to teacher, and school to school. Conversely, in a school or district implementing the RISC approach, students move at their own pace (as fast or as slow as needed) through developmental levels in standards, rather than age-based grade levels. In a RISC system, students also must meet an acceptable level of performance, but the bar is set higher. To move ahead to the next level in any standards area, a student must demonstrate proficient or better performance on end-of-level assessments the equivalent of a traditional B letter grade or higher.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard A. DeLorenzo is cofounder and consultant for the Re-Inventing Schools Coalition (RISC) and an internationally known leader in education and organization restructuring. DeLorenzo is best known for his uniquely comprehensive grassroots approach to reinventing school systems. DeLorenzo led the first K-12 district in the United States, Alaska's Chugach School District, as it moved from a time-based system to a performance-based system in which students must meet performance targets to graduate instead of earning credits. Under DeLorenzos leadership as assistant superintendent and later superintendent, this historically challenged rural district made remarkable strides in student achievement and became one of the first-ever education recipients of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. DeLorenzo has more than 24 years of experience working with high-risk youth and students with disabilities of all ages in a wide variety of settings, from urban classrooms of 30 multiage elementary students to rural school settings of at-risk secondary pupils. Wendy J. Battino is a cofounder and executive director of the Re-Inventing Schools Coalition (RISC). Battino began her formal education career working with students who did not fit in the traditional system. She soon realized that a focus on innovations was imperative to meeting the needs of all students. Through this recognition, she began a journey to improve school systems across all boundaries. Experience at the classroom, school, and district levels provided Battino with an extensive background in standards-based instruction and assessment, school improvement planning, and curriculum design. Battino seeks to solve educational problems through collaboration and research. As a testament to this commitment, she was integral in the initial development of the RISC Approach to Schooling through her grassroots efforts in team-building and continuous improvement. Battino is the author of one of the first award-winning applications in education for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for the Chugach School District. She has worked with numerous organizations, in the U.S. and abroad, that are committed to transforming their education systems based on the RISC Approach to Schooling. Rick M. Schreiber is cofounder and director of operations for the Re-Inventing Schools Coalition (RISC). Schreiber has spent many years guiding and facilitating systemic school reform as a head teacher, staff and curriculum developer, consultant, and executive. Schreiber has a passion for helping schools and districts build cohesion through systematic processes to accomplish common goals, and he is well-versed in using standards-based approaches to carry out these goals. Schreiber has consulted with schools and districts, both in the United States and abroad, that are committed to transforming their approach to education. Schreiber has extensive experience in using evaluative methods related to school improvement efforts. He has been the team leader for on-site evaluations of RISC implementation efforts since 2004. Schreiber cowrote the Chugach School District's award-winning application for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Schreiber was a head teacher with the district during the time that the district reinvented its education system. Barbara B. Gaddy Carrio is a writer with extensive experience in the field of education, specifically standards-based approaches to schooling. Gaddy Carrio was director of development communications at the University of Denver. She subsequently joined the staff of Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), where she worked closely with Robert Marzano and then was managing editor of publications with McREL.

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Solution Tree (December 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934009423
• ISBN-13: 978-1934009420
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiration for disenfranchised educators, June 15, 2011

By 

Ashley C - See all my reviews

This review is from: Delivering on the Promise: The Education Revolution (Perfect Paperback)

This book has reinspired my teaching practice. As a teacher in a district with no professional development and no coherent vision for our teachers, schools and students, Delivering on the Promise gave me the faith in what I am doing for kids and refocused my energy and efforts. I have recommended this book to teachers who have great ideas about becoming facilitators in their classrooms and refocusing the locus of control back to the students. This book has shown me how to do this, what it looks like across grade levels and examples of how to implement the structure into your classroom. A must have for any educator looking to expand their pedagogy and wanting to make a serious change in our system.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read!, June 7, 2010

By 

Sherry Hingley (Seldovia, Alaska) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Delivering on the Promise: The Education Revolution (Kindle Edition)

As the principal of a small K-12 school I am always looking for ways to improve myself and the achievement level of all students. After reading Delivering on the Promise, there was no way that I could not "not do" what the book instructs leaders to do. Being responsible for what happens in my building I now am accountable for what I have read. We are embarking on this revoluntionary, empowering method of schooling.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to change your school., January 18, 2010

By 

Ann-d Sørum Michaelsen (Oslo, Norway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Delivering on the Promise: The Education Revolution (Perfect Paperback)

I was fortunate to listen to one of the authors, Richard A. DeLorenzo at a conference in November. His story was so fascinating that I decided to read more about it in this book "Delivering on the promise". The book describes what he and others have done in some districts in Alaska. The book is easy to read and gives a perfect insight into how they implemented this new approach to schooling. The RISC Approach to Schooling is described in detail and this is a book I recommend both for teachers, school leaders and stakeholders. What I like most about the book is that some step-by step guidance is in place explaining how to make it happen, but not every detail is articulated, meaning that there is room for local ownership of the model. I think that is crucial for schools if they are to succeed in changing.

The book describes how one teacher started out wanting to help his own students and ended up changing the entire school system in many districts. As the authors suggest, my contribution will be to start thinking about ways to implement the system in my own school, and also pass this book on to a colleague. (I already have!)