This paper critically examines the rhetoric of the effective schools and school-based management (SBM) models for educational reform as they relate to an ongoing schoolwide demonstration project to enhance children's motivation and learning. The demonstration project, also called "the coalition," was adopted at one elementary and one middle school in a southeastern Michigan school district. Based on goal theory, the coalition aimed to change school policies and practices to shift the student focus to one of task mastery and learning rather than performance and relative ability. One conclusion is that without a guiding theory of student learning, a discrepancy between a school's institutionalized expectations and its stated mission is difficult to detect. Second, as a single strategy for improvement, the concept of teacher empowerment provides limited scope for substantive change. Finally, a collegial staff is desirable but not sufficient for meaningful school reform. An implication is that what we know about children's goals for learning provides a more useful starting point for reform. (Contains 33 references.) (LMI)