Strapping Wings on a Caterpillar and Calling It a Butterfly: When Systemic Change Is Not Systemic

This article challenges misperceptions about the definition of systemic change in school districts. While many contemporary change efforts are described as "systemic," in fact, they are not. The author also argues that a special instance of systemic change known as systemic transformational change is required to transform entire school systems to meet the requirements of our 21st Century Information-Age society. He then shares his personal views of what systemic transformational change means to him. A significant portion of the article focuses on the nature of systemic transformational change in school districts and what is required to create and sustain that kind of change. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the kind of leadership needed to create and sustain transformational change.