Chicago\u27s Ongoing Struggle With School Reform: The Inherent Conflicts Of Collaborative Leadership In An Environment Of Accountability

In the fall of 1988 the Illinois legislature passed legislation entitled, the Illinois School Reform Act. The goal of this legislation was to centralize power and decision making at the local school level. This study examines site based management at four schools in the Chicago Public School system (CPS). The design of this research is qualitative in nature. My intention is to be able to capture a real sense of the thoughts, feelings and actions of local school leadership and what makes them effective in their work. Data was gathered through multiple sources, in the form of interviews, observations, and focus groups. I then analyzed the data to look for trends or common themes. A total of five common themes emerged through this research and several implications are made for school and district leadership