It’s all about transformational change in service of excellent education for all children.  That’s the premise of Wendy Kopp’s new book, A Chance to Make History.  Kopp, founder and CEO of Teach for America, packed its 200 pages with powerful lessons, anecdotes and principles for transforming the educational system at every level.

Kopp’s second chapter, “No Shortcuts: Lessons from Transformational Schools,” includes lessons learned by Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School’s principal Brett Kimmel and his staff.  In one potent section of text, Kimmel describes the creation of WHEELS’ “culture of achievement:” “We’ve been really purposeful – very thoughtful about mapping out the structures, policies, and procedures that generate the school culture.”  To fully understand the culture they would need to create, the staff asked themselves the following question:  “At every moment … what about this moment of the day is or is not fostering college readiness in our students?”  Their analysis began with supporting students before the day ever started, encouraging a good breakfast and hygiene.  As they continued through the day, they applied a “college readiness” filter to every routine and expectation for every student at WHEELS.

While scaling up educational reform is incredibly difficult, Kopp reminds us that there is hope: “We can no longer claim that the obstacle to success is know-how.  Successful school leaders across the country are showing us what works.”  Hats off to Brett and his team for sharing a powerful and practical vision for whole school transformation!

By Scott Mengel