Scaling and sustaining change

• April 2010

Scaling and Sustaining Change: The District Role in School Turnaround

November 4, 2010

Barriers to successful school improvement at scale

• “One size fits all” programs

2EDUCATION RESOURCE STRATEGIES, INC.


• Support layered on top of broken structures



• Temporary fixes that don’t improve the system


Four steps to sustainable and scalable success


Who are you?

EDUCATION RESOURCE STRATEGIES, INC. 6

1 2 3 4 5

36%

2%

36%

13%13%

1. District employee

2. School employee

3. State or federal employee

4. Researcher/ consultant

5. Other

How many “turnaround schools” are there in your district?


1 2 3 4 5

15%

21%

32%

21%

12%

1. None

2. 1-3

3. 3-6

4. 6-10

5. More than 10

Education Resource Strategies: Who we are


CHICAGO (05)

LA (06, 07)

ST. PAUL (06)

OAKLAND (07)

ERS is a non-profit that partners with urban districts to change the way people, time, and money are used so that all students receive the support they need to succeed.

Why is school turnaround so hard?


The Cycle of Failure





Students turnaround schools have higher needs than students in in non-turnaround schools

Student needs in one urban district…

Low performing schools are also more likely to have an unstable teaching force…

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

District A stability of teaching force by school performance

% novice teachers % new to school, not noviceBottom Quartile Schools

by performance (Q4)Q3

Top Quartile Schools by performance (Q1)

Q2

52.9%47.9%

41.5% 39.8%

(0-3 years) (0-3 years)

Source: The Teaching Job: Restructuring for Effectiveness. Education Resource Strategies (2010)

Note: School Performance metric is average of % students proficient in Math and % students proficient in ELA

…and lower performing teachers

Source: Turnaround Schools: District Strategies for Success and Sustainability. Education Resource Strategies (2010)


Lowest Performing

School

Highest Performing School

School Performance Continuum

District A Distribution of High Performing Teachers* across School Performance

Quintiles

40%

50% 58%51%

73%

Does your district have an effective process for assessing student, staff and practice needs across all schools?


1 2 3 4

6%

32%

58%

3%

1. All dimensions, all schools

2. All dimensions, some schools

3. Some dimensions, some schools

4. No systematic evaluation



Note: N = 88, Secondary Schools only

There is wide variation in spending by school, even after adjusting for incremental turnaround funding, and many turnaround schools are still below median

Incremental Turnaround Funding

Median Funding excluding Turnaround Resources

Median Funding ExcludingTurnaround Resources: $6,500

District C General Education Spending Per Pupil by School


Even low performing schools with adequate resources aren’t always using them in the best way


Minutes of instructional time in one urban district

• EFFECTIVE TEACHING TEAMS with complementary skills, and time to collaborate with experts around student data and work

• ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONAL TIME especially in core academic subjects, for struggling students

• TARGETED INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION including reduced class sizes in key subjects and grades and flexible schedules and grouping structures

Strategic School Design Practices

Does your district take current funding into account when determining turnaround funding?


1 2 3 4

16% 16%

32%35%1. Yes, definitely

2. Yes, kind of…

3. No, not really

4. No, not at all

Does your district ensure that schools are maximizing their current resources before or in addition to receiving turnaround funding?


1 2 3 4

9%

16%

38%38%1. Yes, definitely!

2. Yes, kind of…

3. No, not really…

4. No, not at all



Turnaround schools are often not the only schools in need of help

Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary EducationEDUCATION RESOURCE STRATEGIES, INC. 23

Turnaround Schools

Schools closed or consolidated

2009 M

CA

S C

om

posit

e P

erf

orm

an

ce I

nd

ex

Boston schools scoring less than 65

Interventions must be tailored to meet school needs




All interventions are not created equal

• Mission critical

The right leader and teachers to meet student – people AND support

Baseline support for at-risk students

• Important but…only after Mission Critical

Extended learning time

Flexible scheduling and grouping in response to student needs

Central office support

• Low leverage

Standalone tutoring or after school programs

Across the board class size reduction


A tale of four districts…


?Principals?

Teachers?

Teacher support?

Extended time?

Student results?


Does your district’s turnaround strategy invest first in mission critical areas?


1 2 3 4

13%

6%

32%

48%1. Yes, definitely!

2. Yes, kind of…


4. No, not at all

How do the four Federal school improvement models fit in?


School turnaround requires district turnaround

• Lessons learned from turnaround schools

• Ongoing funding levels adequate to meet student needs

• Teacher and school leader capacity

• Flexibility to adapt schedules and structures

• Ongoing central office support


Is your district addressing district-wide conditions that don’t support sustainable school improvement?


1 2 3 4

12%15%

35%38%1. Yes, definitely!

2. Yes, kind of…


4. No, not at all


• “One size fits all” programs

• Support layered on top of broken structures

• Temporary fixes that don’t improve the system




THANK YOU!!!


• Self- assessments

• Detail on the four steps

• Charts with do it yourself worksheets

• Action items

• Available at: http://erstrategies.org/resources/featured/

Scaling and sustaining change

Education

district strategies

turnaround schools schools

students turnaround

district ensurethat

secondary schools

school source

low performing schools

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