The Impact of District Support on Teacher Implementation of a New Literacy Curriculum
New curriculum is implemented constantly in districts throughout the United States. Unfortunately, the majority of the time, a clear plan for implementation is not created and/or followed to ensure full implementation and fidelity. Key components of effective implementation are often overlooked. The purpose of this evaluation study was to examine one urban school district's support of teachers, instructional facilitators, and building administrators in implementing a new literacy curriculum and the perceived impact that this support had on implementation. Mixed methods were utilized in this study and included surveys with teachers, instructional facilitators, and building administrators, an analysis of implementation related documents, and interviews with teachers, instructional facilitators, and building administrators at three schools throughout the district. Rooted in a district with a significant history of curricular change and a culture of reluctance, it was imperative that support systems and continuous professional development be provided to ensure successful curriculum implementation. Research findings indicate that although survey and interview data indicated that perceptions pertaining to the amount of support and its sources differed, those responsible for implementing the new structured read aloud curriculum indicated that support was provided by district personnel, building leaders, and teachers throughout the implementation process. The perceived support took many different forms including but not limited to professional development, expert and peer coaching, inter-visitations, classroom walkthroughs, modeling of lessons, and the facilitation of conversations regarding implementation. Findings indicated that the only consistent, high level support teachers perceived was from their peers and the teacher leaders within their buildings. The support from district level personnel was perceived to vary by school and fade out after year one of implementation. Despite a lack of continuous, embedded professional development and diminishing district support in years two and three of implementation, overall the implementation was deemed a success by all participant groups. The research obtained from this study will aid district administrators in understanding the amount of support and resources necessary to successfully implement a new curriculum districtwide. The results of this study will also allow school districts, building-based leaders, and classroom teachers to see how the support and resources provided by various district personnel can result in successful implementation with high levels of fidelity.