Build organizational strength over time using staff changes as one of many mechanisms, per the IES School Turnaround Practice Guide recommendations¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The report endorses the IES Practice Guide on School Turnaround, whose recommendations—drawn from case studies of substantially improved schools—include establishing strong leadership focused on school climate and instruction, maintaining a consistent instructional focus through staff collaboration around data, pursuing "quick wins that target critical but immediately addressable problems," and building a committed staff dedicated to improvement through collaboration. Notably, "None of the schools highlighted in the IES practice guide as successful examples of school improvement changed its entire staff, but all of them replaced teachers who did not share a commitment to change."

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Leadership focused on improving school climate and instruction
• Staff collaboration around data on school policies and learning conditions

Constraints¶

• Based on case studies of schools that showed substantial improvement, not on experimental evidence

Target Learners¶

• Students in chronically low-performing schools

Target Learning Goals¶

• Improving school climate, instruction, discipline, and student achievement during turnaround

Related Strategies¶

• Small school reformers should intentionally build professional community, principal leadership, and teacher influence rather than relying on size reduction

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• de la Torre, M., Allensworth, E., Jagesic, S., Sebastian, J., & Salmonowicz, M.; with Meyers, C., & Gerdeman, R. D. (2013). Turning Around Low-Performing Schools in Chicago. University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/turning-around-low-performing-schools-chicago-full-report