Creating pathways of change - One school begins the journey

In this article, the authors explore community members' perceptions of chan ge at an elementary school during the 1st year of implementing the Accelera ted Schools Project. After conducting 23 interviews with a representative s ample of the school community three themes emerged: creating a school ident ity, experiencing a community of mind, and developing a sense of human agen cy. Despite critics who say that organizational reform efforts rarely influ ence instructional practices. First Way Elementary may have defied the odds , based on participants' perceptions, by making instruction their primary f ocus within the context of creating a new school organizational structure. The discussion focuses on how the school community made this happen in such a short period of time and the challenges they face as they continue to ma ke changes.