In the fall of 2003, the president of a private faith-based university
was approached by administrators of a neighboring faith-based
elementary school seeking assistance with staff development for
teachers, curriculum development, and regional accreditation for
the school. The kindergarten through fifth grade (K–5) school,
once flourishing, had experienced a declining enrollment and
was in danger of closure. The board of trustees for the K–5 school
attributed the situation to: 1) a lack of instructional leadership,
including the dismissal of the school’s principal, 2) the use of outdated,
non-standardized curricula, 3) a minimal focus on student
academic achievement with few measurable outcomes, 4) a faculty
of non-credentialed teachers (only one teacher had a credential,