Peeling Back the Layers of Policy and School Reform: Revealing the structural and social complexities within

This article explores the complex process of school change over a six‐year period in one high‐poverty, urban elementary school in a northeastern city of the United States. The school included in this instrumental case study was identified by its State Department of Education as “being in need of improvement” in March 2000. Findings suggest that creating opportunities for context‐based solutions, curricular coherence, and responsive and consistent coaching were the necessary means for leveraging change at this school. Further, responding to the layers and iterations of educational policy, and addressing the deeper social issues intimately associated with serving high‐poverty communities, was essential. We identify policy issues that contributed to the complexity of this school’s improvement efforts. Our analysis extends beyond surface‐level documentation of the school’s inputs and outputs, and illustrates what it means to meet individual students’ needs in complex social and institutional spaces. We also discuss social justice issues that are linked with current policies targeting improved outcomes for all children.