Posted by: Jeanne Century Posted on: May 14, 2001 at 10:38 PM Message: Hi Howard: You wrote that "Reform requires a change in both school and district culture. Changing the attitudes and beliefs of administrators and teachers is a prerequisite to changing behaviors and practices." I find this idea of culture to be a particularly interesting one and am curious to hear you say more about exactly what you mean by "culture". I know that you said "attitudes and beliefs," but, given, turnover of teachers, do you think that there is a way to establish a culture that will remain even when the teachers and administrators change? Is there something a reform effort can do such that a teacher coming into a school (or even a district) can be immersed in that school's culture (and the culture about science teaching) so that he/she does not need to be "converted"? Rather, it is clear that if he/she is to survive in the school, he/she must embrace the culture that is there. This is one of the questions we have been exploring in our research on sustainability and I would be curious to hear more of your thinking about this. Thanks! Jeanne