This report is intended to document the status of the development of the McREL Approach for McREL staff and contract sponsors. It provides a description of the McREL Approach ? the content of the Approach as well as the theory of change and theory of action that are embedded in the Approach. To provide a context for the McREL Approach, a brief history of recent school reform efforts is provided in the first section. The next sections present information on various models of educational change and the stages and focus areas of the Approach. The last section provides a discussion of next steps in developing and documenting the McREL Approach. The McREL Approach provides a way for McREL staff to learn about what is involved in helping schools and districts make the kinds of changes in their policies, practices, and programs that enable them to sustain improvement efforts for the long term. During 2005, McREL will capitalize on this learning opportunity and incorporate what is learned in revisions to the McREL Approach.
