BUILDING FOR SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY - Kennedy Bibliothek

"The central administration should be part of the local processes
from the beginning and all the way through.. This will get over a
number of problems. It will resolve the central/decentral dichotomy.
It will sensitize the central administration to local issues. The
coordination of local issues with overall District policies will be
better informed and more efficient. And consultants will not be
put in the position of being the central administration's surrogates.
The object of the critical path is to design a product-oriented
process. There is work to be done, and positive steps to be taken,
to move from point A to point B, and from B to C. It should be clear
by now that the central administration, like the local committees,.
has positive inputs to make, in the form of prepared materials and
key decisions, if the process is to move forward efficiently.
There are also inputs to be made by other agencies, such as city and
county planning, health, parks, and library services, to mention
only a few. These inputs should be shown on the critical path, so
that all concerned have a clear picture of their role-in the process,
when it will occur, and its contribution to the final product.
It is particularly important that not only the top central administration
(policy and decision makers) should be involved, but also the
middle-level management of the district-wide administration, the
people who are responsible for the implementation of specific programs.
This will have the effect of informing them why certain things or
changes are asked for; it will enable the process to benefit from
their practical knowledge and experience; and it will assist to
re-establish the credibility of middle-level management with teachers
and parents in contrast with the history of bad breakdowns with which
the consultants were confronted.
It may be important also for the non-education agencies to consider
introducing some of their middle-management people for particular
inputs, for the same reasons ...
The critical path must be reviewed and if necessary modified or
redesigned with every major change of direction; ..."(l)
These recommendations either came too late (the Summary Report, Vol. I,
was addressed to the new superintendent who replaced McPherson) or they
were ignored. At any rate, they were never implemented.
1) UDA, op. cit., page 42.
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