California looks to Ontario schools’ reformer for guidance - by John Fensterwald
Michael Fullan may be coming soon to a school district near you.
The man credited with transforming the Canadian province of Ontario into one of the world’s most effective school systems is ready to help California do the same. Fullan, though, would lead the state in a sharply different direction from the forced march that federal officials in Washington, D.C., have led over the past decade.
Michael Fullan is interested in expanding his work in California. Photos: John Fensterwald/EdSource Today
“I want California to become an alternative model to No Child Left Behind; that would be a great thing to aspire to,” Fullan said last month during an interview in Sacramento. Instead of improvement through the “negative drivers” of standardized testing and quick school turnarounds, he would shift the focus to improving instruction through “motivational collaboration” between teachers and administrators.
California is full of education leaders eager to listen to, if not act on, his advice on systemic reform.
During his swing through Sacramento in April, Fullan:
- Led a four-hour discussion for
