Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / A high school administrator writes a history of a Boston urban high school of 1000 students. The educational history looks back through 50 years of neighborhood changes, civil rights, school desegregation, busing, bilingual and special education legislation, standards-based reform, and school restructuring.
In 1950, Dilmotte High School was an acceptable secondary school; in 2000, the school was on the critical list with the Department ofEducation with low MCAS scores (the state-wide exit test) and the highest dropout rate of any large comprehensive high school in the Commonwealth.
The history is reconstructed from document and record searches, alumni surveys, and interviews; the author was a participant-observer in the school for the last 5 years.
The history traces six major themes:
1. School demography - changes in enrollments of various racial and ethnic groups, bilingual and special education students, and the struggle for equal education.
2. Buildings and budgets- facilities conditions, improvements,
3. Teaching and learning - including teaching, curriculum, tracking, ability grouping, mainstreaming and inclusion, vocational education, standards, dropout rates, and graduation rates
4. Leadership- changes in educational administration, leadership style, responsibilities and size of the administrative team; professional development, impact of central administration, superintendent, school committee, and state department of education.
5. Partnerships - the evolving nature of partnerships; how partnerships shaped the agenda of the school; government school relationships; parent school relationships. 6. School Culture- changes in school climate, character, ethos, and culture.
Analysis is based in part on the conceptual frameworks of Michael Fullan, Karen Seashore Louis and Matthew Miles, and Frederick Hess.
Conclusions address the paucity of educational history, the failure to learn from history, changes in educational administration at the secondary school level, the growing engagement of school partners, the value of teamwork and teacher leadership, policy chum, conflicting educational objectives, and the failure of professional development. Effects on school climate and culture are addressed; Dilmotte never reached a culture of achievement. The failure to define core values in education is targeted as a fundamental problem. / 2031-01-01
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/33505 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Leonard, John Ellyson |
| Publisher | Boston University |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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