An Alternative Capstone Project: A qualitative study utilizing the gap analysis process to review a districtwide implementation of the Focus on Results reform initiative: Identifying and addressing the root causes of the knowledge, skills, motivation, and

This innovative Alternative Capstone Project emerged as a partnership between the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California (USC) and the Glendale Unified School District (GUSD). In collaboration, this opportunity provided USC doctoral candidates, who are also educators, to serve as consultants in a local school district, to identify the strengths and performance gaps in the implementation of the district's reform initiative. The capstone design plan uniquely provided mutual growth and learning between both partners who are professionals in the same work context. The inquiry process created a reflective experience for the USC team members to also evaluate their own practice and belief systems.;The goals of the inquiry project were to: 1) become informed about the FoR reform initiative; 2) determine the fidelity of implementation at the different levels of instruction; 3) determine the nature of the performance gaps in the implementation process; 4) identify and classify the root causes of the performance gaps; and 5) provide research-based recommendations to address the root causes underlying the performance gaps. Specifically, this collaborative project, utilized the Clark & Estes (2002) gap analysis process model as the analytical framework to identify existing gaps in the implementation of the Focus on Results (FoR) reform initiative in three specific dimensions: knowledge/skill, motivation, and organizational culture. The inquiry process utilized interviews, observations and document analysis to gain an understanding of the district's progress.