A researcher at the University of Rochester's Warner School of Education is starting a three-year study on relationships among school leaders in the Chicago public school district.
Associate Professor Kara Finnigan was awarded a grant from the Spencer Foundation to examine the social networks at Chicago public high schools to determine how these relationships between school leaders impact school performance. Finnigan says previous studies conducted here in Rochester and in San Diego have shown that the poorest performing schools are also the most isolated from their central offices and their higher performing counterparts.
"There can still be the will, but having the connections to different ways of doing things is also important," Finnigan Said. "Different best practices that haven't yet made their way into the school could help turn them around."
