The relationship between school site culture and secondary school reform is examined in this paper, which focuses on high school teachers' impact on the implementation of school-based management. Traditional high school organization contains all the elements that stifle the development of a positive school culture: large staffs, academic isolation, self-actualized teachers, lack of a shared school mission, and student tracking systems. Because collaborative relationships among teachers determine the development of a positive school culture, teacher acceptance of restructuring is argued to be necessary for bridging the gap between planning and implementing restructuring. Administrators must operate on two assumptions: (1) secondary education must be restructured so that teachers manage curriculum and instruction at their sites; and (2) reform can occur only when teachers are ready to make it happen. Administrators must first understand their sites' social organizations and know how to change from a negative to a positive school culture. The greatest resistance may come from secondary teachers. The recommendation is made to supplement restructuring with comprehensive administrative inservice programs on the implications of staff culture. (Contains 10 references.) (LMI)