Big Buildings, Small Schools describes emerging efforts by communities such
as Boston, Oakland, New York City, and Sacramento to convert large,
comprehensive high schools into “education complexes” made up of
multiple autonomous small schools under one roof. Lili Allen and Adria
Steinberg of JFF draw on strategies being undertaken in these
communities to explore implementation issues that arise concerning
school-level autonomies, governance, and leadership of high school
reform at the district level. They also delve into the challenges for
“central office” leaders of managing a system of learning options that
offers a broader range of choices for students and parents.
