IN MY WORK as a school coach, helping schools navigate changes in practices, processes, or policies, I frequently run into a response I know Kappan readers have heard before: No sense in reinventing the These words usually precede a suggestion that we use a program or process that another school has used successfully. Sometimes we're looking at an innovative instructional model or a behavior management system; other times we're examining advisory structures. The exact nature of the issue at hand isn't crucial. Once a problem emerges, is named, and is recognized as having been addressed by someone else, somewhere else, these words typically ring out--usually accompanied by a sigh of relief. Sometimes they emerge even sooner, as soon as the problem is named. Is our dropout rate getting too high? Let's see what other people are doing. Kids starting to push back against the rules? Let's do some research and find out what's out there. Need a new schedule that builds in space for collaboration? Surely someone has already figured that one out. After all, there's no sense in reinventing the wheel! But what if there were? What if the actual invention of the wheel is where the real genius lies? What if the process of solving the problem lies as much in recognizing the uniqueness of the problem as in solving it? What if someone else's wheel just won't quite fit on our cart? The Monadnock Community Connections School ([MC.sup.2]) in Surry, New Hampshire, is a highly successful, progressive institution serving its students with integrity, courage, and energy. It embodies everything we know to be good for students. The teachers are engaged with their students in creating personalized learning plans that meet the diverse needs of each one. They track data carefully, adjust their strategies accordingly, and are constantly on the lookout for better ways to do what they do. Behavior is rarely an issue, students are respectful of one another, and the level of rigor in the building is almost palpable. [MC.sup.2] is educational nirvana for an old progressive like me. Thus it is currently high on the list of schools to be examined for possible replication. Other schools are looking at the work there, examining the processes with an eye toward adopting them. What works in Surry will surely work in Detroit, right? Why wouldn't it? And look at all the time, money, and energy we'll save! After all, there's no point in reinventing the wheel. I think, however, that most folks will be disappointed when they implement their shiny new innovations. They'll find that they don't quite work as imagined. They'll undervalue the hard work done by the [MC.sup.2] staff and students in creating this particular wheel, so they'll puzzle a bit as to why it isn't working in a new setting. They'll question the validity of the original claims. Then, they'll most likely toss the borrowed artifact onto the ever-growing pile of shiny new innovations collecting metaphorically behind the building. Then they'll go wheel shopping once again. The wiser schools, however, will take a bit more time with the innovation. They'll look beyond the surface implementation of the program or practice; they'll dig into it deeply enough to discover the obvious tensions that exist between it and their own school cultures. They might even tweak, twist, or tune the innovation into something that works, sort of. Eventually, they'll settle for good enough and ignore the continuing manifestations of problems until the symptoms become too pervasive to ignore. Then they'll go wheel shopping once again. The wisest--and rarest--schools will take an entirely different approach. They will go shopping, for sure. They'll look at the processes, programs, and practices in place elsewhere. They'll gather information and maybe even attend workshops and trainings to learn the finer workings of the innovation. …