ABSTRACT

School architecture is important in Alamance County. In an angry backlash against “open education,” the community spent one and a half years arguing about this school building and revising the architect’s plans, thereby making their statement about the kind of school philosophy they would support. The leadership style establishes favorable work conditions for the teachers. There are no teacher union members in the school, although anger about two issues has led to union membership in other schools in the county. The staff is mature and experienced. Forty percent have taught for ten or more years, 36 percent for five to nine years. According to two-thirds of the faculty and the principal, its primary responsibility is to teach academic subjects. The Alamance County school district is just outside Burlington, North Carolina. In Alamance County, there is remarkable agreement between rhetoric and practice.