A Handbook for High Reliability Schools. Robert J. Marzano

a principal (of four different elementary schools) for twenty years, and executive director of elementary education for the Cherry Creek School District in Colorado for eight years. David has also been coordinator for the Western States Benchmarking Consortium, an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Denver, and a member of the board of trustees for Stanley British Primary School (also in Denver). David holds a doctorate in history and philosophy of education from the University of Colorado Boulder and a master’s degree in urban education from Roosevelt University. He began teaching with the Teacher Corps in 1968 after graduating from Wheaton College with a bachelor’s degree in literature.

      Pam Livingston, MA, has fourteen years of experience as a classroom teacher and staff developer and seventeen years as a building administrator. Before becoming a principal, she was a professional development specialist in early childhood education at Cherry Creek Schools in Colorado, where she facilitated the study and development of curriculum and assessments for young children and guided professional development for primary teachers. Her elementary school received the 2011 Colorado Commissioner’s Choice Award for Teacher Leadership. Pam’s leadership experiences include principalships at a large suburban school district and a small mountain community, as well as in schools serving low- to high-socioeconomic neighborhoods. Pam received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in early childhood education from the University of Northern Colorado and completed an educational administration program at the University of Colorado Denver.

      Fred Pleis, EdM, has worked in K–12 education as a classroom teacher, leadership team member, and athletic coach. Fred has presented at multiple conferences and has been a school leader for professional learning communities and response to intervention. Fred received his bachelor’s degree in early childhood and elementary education from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and his master’s degree in educational leadership from Regis University in Denver, Colorado.

      Tammy Heflebower, EdD, is a highly sought-after school leader and consultant with vast experience in urban, rural, and suburban districts throughout the United States, Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, and the Netherlands. Dr. Heflebower has served as an award-winning classroom teacher, building leader, district leader, regional professional development director, and national and international trainer. She has also been an adjunct professor of curriculum, instruction, and assessment at several universities, and a prominent member and leader of numerous statewide and national educational organizations. Dr. Heflebower was the vice president and then senior scholar at Marzano Research (since renamed Marzano Resources) prior to becoming the CEO of her own company, !nspire Inc: Education and Business Solutions. She also specializes in powerful presentation and facilitation techniques—writing and sharing them worldwide.

      Dr. Heflebower is widely published. She is lead author of the award-winning book A School Leader’s Guide to Standards-Based Grading and is coauthor of Collaborative Teams That Transform Schools: The Next Step in PLCs and Teaching & Assessing 21st Century Skills. She is a contributor to A Handbook for High Reliability Schools: The Next Step in School Reform, Becoming a Reflective Teacher, Coaching Classroom Instruction, The Highly Engaged Classroom, The Principal as Assessment Leader, The Teacher as Assessment Leader, and Using Common Core Standards to Enhance Classroom Instruction & Assessment. Her articles have been featured in Kappan, Educational Leadership, Diversity Journal, Education Week blog, and the Nebraska Council of School Administrators Today.

      Dr. Heflebower holds a bachelor of arts from Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska, where she was honored as an Outstanding Young Alumna and her team was inducted into the hall of fame. She has a master of arts from the University of Nebraska Omaha. She also earned an educational administrative endorsement and a doctor of education in educational administration from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

      Jan K. Hoegh has been an educator for over thirty years and an author and associate for Marzano Resources since 2010. Prior to joining the Marzano team, she was a classroom teacher, building leader, professional development specialist, high school assistant principal, curriculum coordinator, and assistant director of statewide assessment for the Nebraska Department of Education, where her primary focus was Nebraska State Accountability test development. Ms. Hoegh has served on a variety of statewide and national standards and assessment committees and has presented at numerous conferences around the world.

      As an associate with Marzano Resources, Jan works with educators across the United States and beyond as they strive to improve student achievement. Her passion for education, combined with extensive knowledge of curriculum, instruction, and assessment, provides credible support for teachers, leaders, schools, and districts. A primary training focus for Ms. Hoegh is high-quality classroom assessment and grading practices. She is coauthor of Collaborative Teams That Transform Schools and A School Leader’s Guide to Standards-Based Grading, as well as other publications.

      Jan holds a bachelor of arts in elementary education and a master of arts in educational administration, both from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. She also earned a specialization in assessment from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

      Anthony J. “Sonny” Magaña, EdD, works with teams of teachers and leaders to support, enhance, and expand powerful instructional strategies with technology. Sonny has served in the field of education for thirty years as a classroom teacher, building principal, district administrator, state technology project director, speaker, and trainer. He coauthored Enhancing the Art and Science of Teaching With Technology. Sonny created and served as director of Washington’s first CyberSchool, a successful blended learning program that continues to meet the needs of at-risk students in Washington State. He received the Milken National Educator Award in 1997 and the Governor’s Commendation for Distinguished Achievement in Education in 1998. Sonny received a bachelor of science degree in biology from Stockton College in New Jersey, a master’s degree in educational technology from City University of Seattle, and a doctor of education in educational leadership from Seattle University.

      Introduction

       Ushering in the New Era of School Reform

      In industries where mistakes and errors lead to significant and far-reaching consequences—such as nuclear power plants, air traffic control towers, and electrical power grids—organizations must adjust their operations to proactively prevent failure. G. Thomas Bellamy, Lindy Crawford, Laura Marshall, and Gail Coulter (2005) reviewed the literature on these high reliability organizations (HROs) and explained that “what distinguishes HROs is not the absence of errors but the ability to contain their effects so they do not escalate into significant failures” (p. 385). Bellamy and his colleagues further commented,

      The literature on HROs describes how organizations operate when accidents or failures are simply too significant to be tolerated, where failures make headlines …. The study of HROs has evolved through empirical investigation of catastrophic accidents, near misses, and organizations that succeed despite very trying and dangerous circumstances. Launched by Perrow’s (1984) analysis of the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, the literature evolved through discussions of whether such accidents are inevitable, as Perrow suggested, or might be avoided through strategies used by organizations that operate successfully in high-risk conditions (Bierly & Spender, 1995; Roberts, 1990). (p. 385)

      Karl Weick, Kathleen Sutcliffe, and David Obstfeld