ABSTRACT
With increased attention to the importance of networks in educational reform and implementation, there is a need to better understand whether organizational structures that support the development of social capital can be designed and how to do so effectively. In this chapter, we present the case of Allegheny Elementary, a high-poverty, high-achieving elementary school in which the principal sought to build instructional capacity by investing in social capital through structural reforms. Using social network analysis, we find that the three features of this strategy—grade-level professional learning communities (PLCs), deployment of instructional specialists to grade-level PLCs, and PLCs for instructional specialists—resulted in strong professional networks with both high internal and external social capital. Further, qualitative data suggests these networks positively influence teaching and learning in the school.
