Structures and Policies
The purple elements relate to structure and policy. Many times, changes to our educational system have begun with new structures or policies, only to fail because the core experience of the learner did not change.
We believe that changes to policy are the last phase of the change process since the strength and purpose of policy is to stabilize a system and practices. Only when districts begin to significantly “bump up” against existing structures such as schedule, calendar, or student groupings should they consider changes to these areas. Experience has shown us that those who start with structure and policy rather than at the core find it very difficult to move forward and effect real, lasting change to the educational experience.