Harvard Education PR Against the Odds: Insights from One District's Small School Reform

Against the Odds offers an in-depth look at the Mapleton, Colorado, school district’s transformation of two traditional high schools into seven small schools, each enrolling fewer than four hundred students. This even-handed account chronicles both the heartening successes and frequent frustrations of a district-wide embrace of the small school model. From the Back Cover <div><i>Against the Odds</i> offers an in-depth look at the Mapleton, Colorado, school district&#8217;s transformation of two traditional high schools into seven small schools, each enrolling fewer than four hundred students. This even-handed account chronicles both the heartening successes and frequent frustrations of a district-wide embrace of the small school model.<br><br> &#8220;This is my kind of book. Instead of sifting the stats and talking to experts about general trends, the authors have gone deep into one school district and told an exciting story.&#8221; &#8212; <b>Jay Mathews</b>, education columnist, Washington Post<br><br> &#8220;An incredible account that I wish I had read thirty-five years ago.&#8221; &#8212; <b>Deborah Meier</b>, author,<i> The Power of Their Ideas: Lessons for America from a Small School in Harlem</i><br><br> &#8220;Cuban and team get away from the old small versus big debate and into the real transformation puzzles. It&#8217;s all there&#8212;struggle, resistance, leadership issues, the muscle foundations, parents, and community engagement. <i>Against the Odds</i> is a great resource for the small schools movement.&#8221; &#8212; <b>Mike Klonsky</b>, director, The Small Schools Workshop<br><br><div><b>Larry Cuban</b> is Professor Emeritus of Education at Stanford University. <b>Gary Lichtenstein</b> heads Quality Evaluation Designs, a firm specializing in education evaluation and research. <b>Arthur Evenchik</b> is the assistant to the dean for special projects in the College of Arts and Sciences at Case Western Reserve University.<b> Martin Tombari </b>is a senior research analyst at Colorado Foundation for Families and Children. <b>Kristen Pozzoboni</b> is a doctoral student at the University of Colorado.</div></div> About the Author <p><b>Larry Cuban</b> is Professor Emeritus of Education at Stanford University. His background in the field of education prior to becoming a professor included teaching high school social studies in inner-city schools for fourteen years, directing a teacher-education program that prepared returning Peace Corps volunteers to teach in urban districts, and serving seven years as a district superintendent. He has published extensively on issues related to school reform at all levels, from primary grades through graduate school. His most recent book is <i>Hugging the Middle: How Teachers Teach in an Era of Testing and Accountability</i> (Teachers College Press, 2009).<br><br><b>Gary Lichtenstein</b> is owner and principal of Quality Evaluation Designs (QED), a firm specializing in education evaluation and research. He is also Consulting Professor of Engineering at Stanford University, where he specializes in research methods in a national study of engineering education. He worked at the University of Denver from 1993 to 2007, where he directed teacher education, taught courses on research methods, and conducted research and evaluation for the Colorado Community-Based Research Network (CCBRN). From 2002 to 2004, he was director of research and evaluation at the Colorado Small Schools Initiative, an intermediary of the Bill &#38; Melinda Gates Foundation. His intellectual interests include school reform, engineering education, mixed methods research, and community-based research. He can be reached by email at garyl@stanfordalumni.org.<br><br><b>Arthur Evenchik</b> is a former literacy tutor, writing teacher, and program coordinator at the Maya Angelou Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. He began his teaching career as a writing instructor with the