| This executive position paper proposes recommendations for designing reform models between public and private sectors dedicated to improving school reform work in low performing urban high schools. It reviews scholarly research about for-profit educational management organizations, high reliability organizations, American high school reform, and school reform models in Philadelphia. Research was reviewed and data was collected about the for-profit educational management organization Victory's Philadelphia high school reform work and analyzed through the lens of development, implementation and sustainability of school reform and the concepts and characteristics of high reliability organizations. Research and review of data showed that the initial development of a school reform model significantly impacted upon Victory's ability to successfully and completely implement and sustain reform. Regarding the ability to act as a high reliability organization in school reform, research and qualitative data showed that Victory was able to, at some measure, act as a high reliability organization in the majority of the concept areas although the results were heavily impacted by design impediments which influenced implementation and sustainability as seen in slow increments of student academic improvement. Furthermore, when analyzing survey responses of a cross-sector of individuals involved in Victory's design and implementation of its reform work in its Philadelphia high schools, qualitative survey data supports this overarching finding.;Recommendations include school reform design models for low-performing urban high schools fashioned after high reliability organization design and the mutual collaboration and cooperation of public and private sectors in the design, implementation, and sustainability of school reform models for low-performing urban high schools. |
