Creating pathways of change - One school begins the journey

In this article, the authors explore community members' perceptions of change at an elementary school during the 1st year of implementing the Accelerated Schools Project. After conducting 23 interviews with a representative sample of the school community three themes emerged: creating a school identity, experiencing a community of mind, and developing a sense of human agency. Despite critics who say that organizational reform efforts rarely influence instructional practices. First Way Elementary may have defied the odds, based on participants' perceptions, by making instruction their primary focus within the context of creating a new school organizational structure. The discussion focuses on how the school community made this happen in such a short period of time and the challenges they face as they continue to make changes.