ABSTRACT
A process of institutional change in schools can be divided into two major components. First is an initiating or catalyst phase where a dysfunctional status quo is seriously challenged. This melds with a second, sustaining phase, where individual roles, rules, arid responsibilities are fundamentally reshaped under a reordered authority structure. There are some obvious parallels between Chicago school reform and the movement for community control of schools in New York City during the 1960s. The preponderance of parents and community members on Chicago's Local School Council, and their power to hire and fire the principal, distinguishes Chicago school reform from other parent involvement initiatives where parents typically constitute only a minority faction with an advisory role. The Chicago School Reform Act sought a complete reorganization of the nation's largest school system. It launched an undertaking of enormous scope that is very much in the process of developing.
