(April 27, 2009) Making changes schools of course requires looking at the fundamentals and elements that need shoring up in each community in order to ensure all students are successful. So the next question to ask is how do we make change happen? In the third of a set of podcast episodes on this topic, IDRA president and CEO, María “Cuca” Robledo Montecel, Ph.D., describes how IDRA’s Quality School Action Framework indentifies three strategies for changing schools: capacity of the community to influence schools, building coalitions, and building the capacity of the schools themselves. Dr. Montecel is interviewed by Aurelio Montemayor, M.Ed., director of the IDRA Texas Parent Information and Resource Center. Send comments to
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* Dr. Montecel says the most important strategies answer the question, "How do we make change happen?"
* Dr. Montecel outlines the power of community capacity building.
* Dr. Montecel explains why “actionable knowledge” is a lever of change.
* Dr. Montecel and Mr. Montemayor talk about IDRA’s work to inform the community about the actual high school dropout rates, which are disproportionately high among Latinos.
* Dr. Montecel argues that communities should act with clarity about the education outcomes that they're targeting.
* Dr. Montecel points to the San Antonio United Way as an example of building community coalitions.
* Dr. Montecel talks about the necessary components of effective school capacity building.
* Dr. Montecel notes that IDRA's Quality Schools Action Framework is based on the shared sense that everyone can achieve at a high level, and that this notion must be supported.
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(April 27, 2009) Making changes schools of course requires looking at the fundamentals and elements that need shoring up in each community in order to ensure all students are successful. So the next question to ask is how do we make change happen? In the third of a set of podcast episodes on this topic, IDRA president and CEO,