Innovator school communities are described as adventurous and often serve as role models for others. They are attracted by high-reward ideas, or initiatives and have a greater tendency to take risks. Innovators have the ability to cope with elevated levels of uncertainty about the new idea they are adopting. They are typically willing to tolerate initial problems that may accompany new ideas and are able to identify solutions for these problems.
Majority school communities are described as deliberate because they require time to determine whether to adopt a new idea. This group seldom leads the pack when it comes to adopting new ideas and is of the philosophy that it is better to change as a group than to be one of the first to change. Considering this, they tend to adopt new ideas at about the same time as the average school community.
Late Adopter school communities are described as traditional, skeptical of new ideas, or eager to maintain the status quo. They usually wait until an idea has been adopted by the majority of other school communities before implementing it themselves. They may need to be pressured into adopting a new idea, or may never adopt the new idea unless required to.