Guiding Principles of the Modern Red SchoolHouse Design:
Research-Based Solutions for 21st Century Schools
By Sally B. Kilgore,
Ph.D.
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the complete Guiding Principles of the Modern Red SchoolHouse
Design publication
 The Modern Red SchoolHouse (MRSH)
is a comprehensive, capacity-building school reform design
that makes standards-driven instruction work for students
and teachers. It’s modern in its pedagogy, relying on
research evidence in cognitive psychology and neuroscience
to inform best practices, yet traditional in its commitment
to student mastery of academic subjects.
The design emphasizes the use of
data to inform instructional and organizational decisions
and, at the same time, fosters a collegial environment where
educators share a commitment to their students’ well-being.
It sets expectations for parent and community support that
hark back to the legends of the little red schoolhouse, yet
the design encourages schools to rely upon modern technology
to foster that support.
Development of the MRSH design began
in 1992 when the Hudson Institute was awarded a contract from
the New American Schools Development Corporation (now New
American Schools) to design and pilot a comprehensive design
for 21st century schools. Practitioners from six school districts
in Arizona, Indiana, New York, and North Carolina collaborated
with Hudson Institute researchers to develop a design for
schools that would enable all, rather than some, students
to master high academic standards. The original design rested
on the fundamental premise that realizing high academic standards
for all students required school and classroom practices that
allow students different paths (in time and instructional
experiences) to reach the same standards (Kilgore & Pendleton,
1993).
Implementing the MRSH design generally
requires three to five years of intense support from MRSH
advisors. Like the students they serve, schools are understood
to have different needs when they adopt the MRSH design—not only in terms of leadership and organization but also
in terms of technology, instruction, and community and family
partnerships. Training and support for implementing the design,
then, are customized to meet those needs. The general objective
is to build a staff’s capacity to develop and continually
adapt an effective instructional program that supports student
mastery of high academic standards. For the leadership component,
the ultimate objective is to build a school staff’s
capacity to reflect upon the effectiveness of its instructional
programs and to make appropriate adjustments in school practices—that is, to have the capacity for continuous improvement.
Figure 1 shows
the types of professional development activities at MRSH sites.
In general, members of MRSH’s team are on-site twenty
to thirty days per year primarily working with teachers in
small groups. Over half of the support to schools targets
instructional issues that are central to developing high-performing
schools. Organizational and leadership training constitute
the remaining effort.
Figure 1
Focus
of MRSH Training
Percent of training typically devoted to various issues
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The professional development provided
to schools working with MRSH reflects several premises regarding
how one transforms school performance:
- Professional development activities
should improve the capacity of educators to develop and
sustain a high-performing school that serves all children;
- New practices and programs must
support state and district expectations;
- The unique strengths and weaknesses
of a school must inform the type of professional development
activities that educators use;
- Professional development must
address needs as perceived by the educators;
- Professional development works
best when educators can establish long-term relations with
trainers and experts; and
- Professional development
involves doing the work of teaching and managing, not just
listening or talking about it.
This document provides a short overview
of the research and guiding principles that give shape and
substance to the design and inform the staff development provided
to those adopting it.
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