May 2012

Stages of Implementation

SISEP recognizes that implementation of effective education practices takes time.  District and building leaders and staff need to be engaged and persist over several years to bring about meaningful changes for students.   It is important to note that the stages are not as linear as they appear.  It may be better to view the Stages as additive since no Stage is ever “done” in a final sense.  For example, a literacy program that has been fully implemented for several years may find itself back at the Exploration Stage after significant changes in leadership or staff.  A review of the literature and best practices indicate that it often requires 2 to 4 years for an intervention to reach the Full Implementation Stage.  Few interventions ever make it that far without systematic support from an Implementation Team.