This qualitative case study used General Systems Theory and social network analysis to explore the relationships between the members of a district central office and principals of elementary schools within an urban school district in the Midwest. Findings revealed sparse relationships between members of the district central office and principals, more opportunities for higher performing schools to participate in decision making, and few opportunities for all schools to provide feedback to the district, resulting in a centralized network structure that may inhibit the transfer of knowledge and communication, and ultimately, hinder school-level improvement efforts.Keywords: systems theory, social network analysis, district central office, reform he past two decades have been marked by large-scale federal education reforms aimed at eliminating the achievement gap between subgroups and improving academic outcomes in the nation's lowest performing schools. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), the Race to the Top Fund, and the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA) Flexibility waiver increased accountability of districts and schools by instituting rigorous achievement targets, implementing high stakes testing in multiple subject areas, establishing sanctions as incentives for improvement, and in some states, ushering in sweeping legislative changes tying teacher evaluations to student performance and establishing steeper consequences for persistently failing schools (Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 2011; NCLB, 2001; Race to the Top Fund, 2009). In most cases, these reforms relied heavily on prescribed efforts related to curriculum, leadership, and personnel focused at the school level, placing increased pressure and urgency on principals and teachers working in already challenging conditions (Finnigan, 2010;Finnigan, 2012).Ultimately, these efforts did not result in the intended outcomes. Arne Duncan highlighted these failures in a 2011 testimony before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, admitting that "four out of five schools in American may not meet their goals under NCLB." Results of the NAEP Trends in Academic Progress (2012) show that although progress has been made in both reading and math for nine and 13 year olds since the first assessments were given in the 1970s, there has been no significant change T A SYSTEMS THEORY APPROACH TO THE DISTRICT CENTRAL OFFICE'S ROLE 70 MANIA-SINGER / DOI: 10.5929/2017.7.1.6 in scores for 17 year olds, and scores for all grades in reading and math decreased or showed no significant change between 2013 and 2015 (The Nation's Report Card, 2015). Additionally, research on the effects of large-scale reform has found that schools that do exit the failing list are often doomed to return within a few years, and sanctions and other high-stakes incentives can have far reaching negative effects on students' academic experiences (Darling-Hammond, 2006;Mintrop & Sunderman, 2009; Scott, 2008;Selwyn, 2007;Sunderman, 2006). School improvement is a...

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This qualitative case study utilized distributed leadership theory and Capobianco and Feldman's (2006) conceptualization of conditions for collaborative action research (CAR) to describe the implementation of CAR as professional development (PD) and school improvement strategy in two educational contexts, one alternative school and one rural, in a Midwestern state. Findings indicate that distributed leadership facilitates CAR as a powerful PD tool and results in development of action plans for school improvement; however, conditions are necessary for CAR to effect professional practice.

This case was written for use in educational leadership programs preparing superintendents, central office leaders, and school principals. This case requires students to draw from knowledge of successful school turnaround, effective school leadership, and system-wide reform strategies to consider how a first year superintendent and a newly hired principal implement turnaround strategies in a persistently low-performing school amid increasing pressure and scrutiny from the surrounding business and civic community. The case begins with the history and context of the community and school district and then explores the significant events and challenges during the first year of implementation.

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