DFC | Chicago's LSCs: What the Research Says

Report Summary

In Chicago, Local School Councils (LSCs) with a majority of elected parent and community members exercise substantial school-level decision making powers, based on a state law passed in 1988. They hire their school's principal on a four-year performance contract, set priorities for school improvement, and determine the school's budget.

Based on a decade of research about these LSCs, judgments about their effectiveness can be based on hard evidence, rather than opinion and stereotypes.

Documented Strengths of Chicago's LSCs

Research about LSCs provides encouraging verification of the viability and effectiveness of the clear majority of Chicago's LSCs. For example:

Parent and community LSC members are substantially better educated than the average adult resident of Illinois.

Overcoming Weaknesses and Expecting More

Given the level of accomplishment of Chicago's LSCs, the key issue is not whether LSCs should exist, but how all LSCs can meet the standards attained by the best ones.

Problems that must be addressed include:

Intervening effectively to rebuild the 10%-15% of LSCs that are dysfunctional. Even if a new LSC or another drastic change is needed (based on a fair independent investigation), the long-range objective must be to help create a viable independent LSC that will lead the school effectively -- rather than to establish long-term central control.

Strengthening LSCs as one critical part of an overall strategy to improve Chicago's high schools, which have thus far failed to improve significantly.

Increasing the focus of all LSCs on making specific changes focused on improving the quality of teaching and learning.

Making Excellence a Reality

To build on the strengths of Chicago's LSCs and overcome weaknesses, those committed to excellent Chicago schools must take major actions to change the ways in which LSCs are currently treated and educated:

Central office staff continue to interfere inappropriately in LSC decision making, often pursuing their own political agendas. LSCs and their supporters need to act to stop these abuses and to create an oversight process for LSCs that solves problems and builds LSC capacity.

The current process for educating and assisting LSCs violates widely recognized standards for effective adult education. An infrastructure must be put in place independent of the school system's central office to provide high quality education and assistance to LSCs on a large scale.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Report Summary Research Should Guide the Debate About Chicago's Local School Councils Original Framework and Rationale for Chicago's Local School Councils Findings from "LSCs -- Local Leadership At Work" (CCSR) Findings from "What Make These Schools Stand Out " (DFC) Other Research Evidence Interpretative Summary Endnotes The key issue is not whether LSCs should exist, but how all LSCs can meet the standards attained by the best ones.		Chicago's Local School Councils: What the Research Says by Donald R. Moore & Gail Merritt, Designs for Change January 2002
		Report Summary In Chicago, Local School Councils (LSCs) with a majority of elected parent and community members exercise substantial school-level decision making powers, based on a state law passed in 1988. They hire their school's principal on a four-year performance contract, set priorities for school improvement, and determine the school's budget. Based on a decade of research about these LSCs, judgments about their effectiveness can be based on hard evidence, rather than opinion and stereotypes. Documented Strengths of Chicago's LSCs Research about LSCs provides encouraging verification of the viability and effectiveness of the clear majority of Chicago's LSCs. For example: Parent and community LSC members are substantially better educated than the average adult resident of Illinois. The typical LSC meets monthly and nearly always has a quorum. The average parent or community LSC member devotes 28 hours per month to helping their school. The Consortium on Chicago School Research carried out a detailed study of how a cross-section of LSCs carried out their key responsibilities. The researchers concluded that 50%-60% were high functioning, 25%-33% were performing well but need support, and 10%-15% had serious inadequacies. The Consortium study concluded that the vast majority of LSCs are viable governance organizations that responsibly carry out their mandated duties. We view the findings presented here as largely validating the wisdom of the 1988 reform act. In a city notorious for corruption, all objective evidence points to the fact that very few LSC members use their office to engage in corrupt activity. Overcoming Weaknesses and Expecting More Given the level of accomplishment of Chicago's LSCs, the key issue is not whether LSCs should exist, but how all LSCs can meet the standards attained by the best ones. Problems that must be addressed include: Intervening effectively to rebuild the 10%-15% of LSCs that are dysfunctional. Even if a new LSC or another drastic change is needed (based on a fair independent investigation), the long-range objective must be to help create a viable independent LSC that will lead the school effectively -- rather than to establish long-term central control. Significantly strengthening those LSCs that meet all their responsibilities but are not catalysts for significant educational improvement. Strengthening LSCs as one critical part of an overall strategy to improve Chicago's high schools, which have thus far failed to improve significantly. Increasing the focus of all LSCs on making specific changes focused on improving the quality of teaching and learning. Making Excellence a Reality To build on the strengths of Chicago's LSCs and overcome weaknesses, those committed to excellent Chicago schools must take major actions to change the ways in which LSCs are currently treated and educated: Central office staff continue to interfere inappropriately in LSC decision making, often pursuing their own political agendas. LSCs and their supporters need to act to stop these abuses and to create an oversight process for LSCs that solves problems and builds LSC capacity. The current process for educating and assisting LSCs violates widely recognized standards for effective adult education. An infrastructure must be put in place independent of the school system's central office to provide high quality education and assistance to LSCs on a large scale. continue return to DFC Home download a pdf file of this report