| California Partnership Academies (CPAs) are a form of school reform. CPAs build on previous reform efforts by addressing site-specific theme-based learning. Further, CPAs are theme-based professional learning communities, established as small schools within a school, preparing students for college and as well as the careers associated with given themes. Green Careers (GCA) is one such academy. In this study, I explored participants' perspectives about one existing CPA, with particular attention to its development as being initially denied state certification as Linked Learning to it successfully becoming Linked Learning certified (i.e. designating it as a career pathway that combines rigorous academics, demanding technical education, personalized student supports and real-world experiences in order to engage students and make learning relevant). I explored the requirements placed on CPAs and how the GCA Academy operated within those requirements. Utilizing participant research, interviews, and documents, I examined district Pathways support, and how site administration, academy advisory board, and the academy team members made "changes in practice" (Stern, Dayton, & Raby, 2010, p. 24) as a professional learning community, a small learning community, and a learning organization. Also examined was how those perspectives reflected the four frames for understanding organizations (Bolman and Deal, 2008) and to what extent these views reflected the GCA Academy operating as a unique-case and in what ways they operated as a typical-case (Yin, 2009). |
