To turn schools around, take bold steps

A new brief from the Center for American Progress summarizes recent research on school turnarounds, finding they are successful where districts take aggressive actions. For instance, New York City transformed large high schools into 100 small, non-selective ones and realized dramatic improvements in graduation and college-going rates. Houston infused traditional public schools with the practices of high-achieving charters, and its achievement gap in math fell 50 percent. Because aggressive turnaround is by nature disruptive, federal laws can give local leaders the political cover to take strong actions; targeted resources -- either from philanthropic organizations or the government -- position schools to achieve significant change. Schools that replaced ineffective leaders showed greatest gains, but replacement in and of itself was not enough; principals must have skills and vision. The brief finds a positive relationship between teachers' data use and student achievement in elementary and middle school math, and principals' data use and higher student achievement in some grades and subjects. Turnaround efforts are ultimately judged by improvement in proficiency and graduation rates, but schools that most successfully turned around focused efforts broadly, working purposefully and deliberately to create collaborative, positive, and enriching school cultures with high expectations for all students. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

Published by LEAP

Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP) is an education support organization that works as a collaborative partner in high-poverty communities.