Ernest Boyer

"Changing structure (such as site based management) may be a necessary condition for changing practice, but it is probably not a sufficient condition. Unless we are careful, students will be left essentially untouched by the reforms that swirl around but not within classrooms."

Dennis Sparks

"Creating conditions for Professional Learning Communities offers the most powerful opportunity for reform… the path to change in the classroom lies within and through teachers’ professional communities."

Milbrey McLaughlin

"Only the organizations that have a passion for learning will have an enduring influence."

(Covey, 1996, 149)

"Every enterprise has to become a learning institution (and) a teaching institution. Organizations that build in continuous learning in jobs will dominate the twenty-first century."

(Drucker, 1992, )

"The new problem of change…is what would it take to make the educational system a learning organization—expert at dealing with change as a normal part of its work, not just in relation to the latest policy, but as a way of life."

(Fullan, 1993, 54))

"If schools want to enhance their organizational capacity to boost student learning, they should work on building a professional community that is characterized by shared purpose, collaborative activity, and collective responsibility among staff."

(Newman and Wehlage, 1995, 37)

"You cannot have a Learning Community without shared vision." (Peter Senge)

"Vision articulates a view of a realistic, credible attractive future for the organization, a condition that is better in some important ways than what now exists. A vision is a target that beckons." (Bennis and Nanus)

"Organizational vision is influential only to the extent that it connects with the personal visions of people throughout the organization. Building shared vision must be seen as a central element of the daily work of leaders. It is ongoing and never-ending." (Peter Senge)

"Every excellent company we studied is clear on what it stands for and takes the process of value shaping seriously. In fact, we wonder whether it is possible to be an excellent company without clarity on values." (Peters and Waterman)

"We found attention to shaping values to be a critical element in creating excellent schools." (Thomas Sergiovanni)

"We found a clear and focused sense of values to be the critical factor among successful principals we studied." (Deal and Peterson)

"With the democratization of organizations, especially schools, the leadership function becomes one of creating a community of shared values." (Larry Lezotte)

"Values describe how we intend to operate on a day-to-day basis as we pursue our vision." (Peter Senge)

"In the context of organizational development, the values question represents the essential ‘ABC’s’ of school improvement because it challenges the people within the school to identify the specific attitudes, behaviors, and commitments they must demonstrate to advance toward their vision." (Dufour and Eaker)

"Conversations about empowerment always seem to turn into a discussion of how we are going change other people. The focus outward, looking for the difficulty in others, is how we betray ourselves. The revolution begins in our own hearts." (Peter Block)