| AISR Home > Resources > District Transition Review |
 |
Planning for Successful Change
Prepared by District Redesign and Leadership
The 5-step review process
There are five major steps in a District Transition Review:
Note: * Asterisks indicate that supporting materials are provided for this activity.
Step 1. Establishment of guidelines and selection of review personnel.
The individuals or groups commissioning the transition review establish the overall purpose for the review and a timeline for its completion.
The commissioning group also identifies and invites an External Review Team and, in consultation with the team, selects the Research Staff and the District Liaison Team.
Top
Step 2. Review of Existing Information
It is important to have a strong understanding of both reform implementation and reform outcomes within the district. The External Review Team, along with the District Liaison Team, collaborate to compile a "briefing book" with key documents that can inform the review. These documents can include key district policies, research reports done by external organizations, and additional information gathered by the External Review Team (contextual information about the district, a reform timeline, budget summary, etc.).
All the documents are reviewed and summarized systematically by the Research Staff and loaded into a qualitative data analysis program (such as NVivo or AtlasTI). This database will be used to develop lists of informants and interview and focus-group questions.
Top
Step 3. Research Design and Data Collection
Focus areas for the review are developed through consultation among the District Liaison Team, the External Review Team, and the Review Manager. Once the focus areas have been agreed upon, the Review Manager works with 
the District Liaison Team to develop lists of additional relevant documents to review and informants to interview.
Individual and focus-group interviews* are carried out by the External Review Team, with support from the Research Staff. Informants should be granted confidentiality and should not be identified in the resulting report. Typically, informants are asked to reflect on the district's accomplishments and challenges during the period under study (e.g. the tenure of the exiting superintendent or after the implementation of a major policy change), as well as on the key issues to be addressed in the future (e.g. under a new superintendent or under a modified policy). Additionally, individuals with knowledge in particular areas (special education, literacy, family/community partnerships, etc.) can be asked questions specific to their expertise. All notes from interviews and focus groups are then categorized by question or topic and loaded into the qualitative data program for further analysis.
* Supporting Materials:
Top
Step 4. Analysis and Writing
Following each day of data collection, the External Review Team debrief their thoughts and questions.* These debriefs serve as an initial guide to analysis. Research Staff read and analyze* notes from each of the focus areas to generate an early set of findings to be reviewed by the External Review Team. These findings can be altered or modified based on the External Review Team's comments and questions. A draft is also shared with the District Liaison Team (and the outgoing superintendent, if appropriate) for review and comment.
* Supporting Materials:
Top
Step 5. Public Release of Findings
Once the District Transition Review has been finalized,* it does not sit on a shelf. Rather it is shared with key groups throughout the city, particularly the school board, the superintendent selection committee, and community groups. Ideally, the External Review Team plays a part in facilitating discussions with such groups to help them think through their role in the next phase of reform. Additionally, local media outlets are apprised of the District Transition Review and are likely to use it as source material for daily stories and editorials. Local leaders who commissioned the review may want to use its release as an opportunity to meet with newspaper editorial boards to discuss the future of the district, to hold community meetings to discuss the findings or to revisit the mission and vision of the district with key stakeholders.
* Supporting Materials:
Description, findings, downloadable pdf [Boston Review]
Top