About the Author: Todd Evans received his Master's in Secondary Education Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is currently the principal at Sabetha High School and is completing course work for District Level Certification at Kansas State University. He can be reached at evanst@sabetha441.k12.ks.us.

"We had to decide what we wanted to be . . . and we decided we wanted to be the best we could be . . . That statement sounds trite," said Dr. Dan Edwards, Principal of Lafayette High School in Wildwood, MO, "but that is where we began." From there the administration and staff developed the "Mission, Vision, and Values" that would direct their next five year NCA cycle and, eventually, be responsible for their distinction as a National Blue Ribbon School. In 2001, Lafayette High School (LHS) was the only school in Missouri to score in the top ten in all five areas of the Missouri Testing Program. Ninety percent of the 2,100 students eventually take the ACT where last year they scored an average of 24.5 points on the core subjects. When asked what was the most important result of LHS's involvement in school improvement, Edwards indicated that the profound increase in student achievement as well as improved teacher performance could be directly attributed to the NCA process.

LHS is a school that serves approximately 2,100 students. It is one of four high schools in the Rockwood School District in St. Louis County, Missouri. The 134 staff members were involved in a widespread change process that began six years ago with the first year of their NCA cycle. LHS underwent a two-stage change process to better implement the NCA goals. The first change was to segment the students into learning communities. Within these learning communities, the teachers formed teams. The second change was of a curricular nature.

The focus of the curricular change was a devotion to mastery of content as the driving force of teaching methodology. Two questions were posed to educators: (1) What do you want kids to know? and (2) What do we do when they don't? This perspective on the objective of teaching, and the subsequent action required for students not meeting the goal, was the driving force behind a conceptual alteration of teaching. Traditionally, the focus has been primarily on student responsibility for learning. By placing accountability for student non-performance with the teacher, the results have been impressive. Alignment of curriculum, common finals, and analysis of instructional-curricular weaknesses were all necessary to this change. One of the values that LHS established that reflects the instruction is: "We will teach to the assessment and the intended curriculum." One of the academic goals for LHS was that 80% of the students would master 80% of the objectives.

Edwards emphasized the research-supported belief that in order to accomplish change, change had to initially occur within the current reality. This is a long-term process and is enhanced through NCA's five-year cycle formula. The first step in LHS's process to achieve a change in "reality" was to focus on the mission, vision, values, and goals. The development of this philosophy required a great deal of work and communication. Upon reflection, Dr. Edwards related that even though a huge amount of time and energy was spent in developing mission, vision, values, and goals, this is the area that he would focus on even more when the process is repeated.

Lafayette High School's involvement in the NCA process has been very positive. LHS obtained special permission from the Missouri NCA state director to continue the current cycle beyond the five-year norm. Part of this is because of the success that LHS has experienced under the current cycle and part is that Dr. Edwards is planning retirement in another year. He believes that it is vital for the new leader to provide direction to the organization and to be resolute in his/her educational philosophy.

Staff development was an essential part of the change for LHS. Writing and technology integration were two areas that were stressed across the curriculum. Completion of the staff development was an important part of the plan, as was the actual use of the new information within the classroom. Edwards said that a special plan needed to be in place for incoming teachers to receive the staff development training that had been provided prior to their arrival at LHS.

Some suggestions that Dr. Edwards provides for schools involved in the NCA process:

1. Involve everyone in the process. The responsibility for accountability rests with the building principal for this step. Instructional leadership is much different than managerial duties and the principal needs to take an active role in facilitating the process.

2. Communication is essential. Recognize that for every staff member there is a different perception of the vision, staff development issues, and other items associated with the school improvement process. It is critical to continually check for understanding.

3. Make sure that target areas are relevant, measurable, and research-based. Show the process that was used to arrive at the target area. Establish what you are trying to accomplish, who will be involved, what is the "proof" at the end of the cycle, and respond in a positive manner.

Edwards' final recommendation for schools involved in the initial steps of the NCA process is to be sure to understand not only what is to be accomplished but why it is to be undertaken. Too often educators are focused on the "what" and the "how" of a goal that they overlook the most important aspect of the process: Why are we doing this? The "what" and the "how" of the objectives must be secondary.