School administrators’ experiences implementing a college and career readiness reform initiative

This paper shares results from a qualitative interview study about site- and district-level administrators' experiences and perceptions implementing a significant college and career readiness reform initiative. Linked Learning (LL) is one college and career readiness reform that has been growing in the U.S. and internationally in recent years. Linked Learning began in 2009 with nine school districts in CA, and currently there are 659 LL pathways across 20 states and 3 countries (Linked Learning Alliance, 2023). Twenty administrators from California schools and districts were interviewed using a protocol developed using Curry's (1992) model of reform implementation and institutionalization and the four core components of Linked Learning. Four significant themes emerged from the data related to advice that administrators shared for implementing a comprehensive school reform: know your stuff, follow your passion, plan your route, and build your team. Overall, these administrators recommended that the reform initiative within an organization should start with the hiring process to build a knowledgeable, passionate team and that personnel, including leaders, need support and training in order to effectively move a reform from the implementation to the institutionalization stage.