Sustaining Turnaround at Scale: Realizing

Rethinking Resources for Student Success

Sustaining Turnaround at Scale

Opening Session, October 13, 2011

Realizing the Promise

Education Resource Strategies 2

Explore opportunities and challenges involved in attempting school turnaround at scale

Begin planning NOW to sustain turnaround work once transition funding and special exemptions run out

Identify ways we need to work together to raise the likelihood of success

Celebrate, honor and support each other’s efforts

Sustaining Turnaround at Scale: Summit Goals


Boston

Charlotte-Mecklenburg

Chicago

Cincinnati

Denver

District of Columbia

Duval County (Jacksonville

Providence

Summit Participants: District Teams


Academy of Urban School Leadership

Achievement Network

Blueprint Schools Network

Citizen Schools

City Connects

City Year

Corporation for National and Community Service

Council of Chief State School Officers

Mass Insight Education

National Center for Time and Learning

New Leaders for New Schools

New Schools Venture Fund

Summit Participants: Partners New Schools Venture Fund

ReNEW

Say Yes to Education

Strategic Grant Partners

TeachPlus

The Annenberg Institute for School Reform

The Aspen Institute

The Education Trust

The New Teacher Project

Turnaround for Children

U.S. Department of Education

University of Virginia Partnership for Leaders in Education


We are a non-profit firm dedicated to helping school systems spend and organize time, talent and technology to create great schools at scale

We partner with system leaders to analyze spending, human resource, organization and student data to better align with high performance strategies

We leverage insight from this work to provide lessons and tools for school leaders and those who support them

Our work is grounded in over a decade of experience working with school districts across the country

5

Education Resource Strategies


Making Meaning and Sharing Lessons

Break out panels and working groups

8:30-10:15

Session #1: Building a turnaround principal pipeline

Session #2: Building a strong teaching force

Session #3: Using data effectively

10:30-12:15

Session #4: Using and extending time

Session #5: School designs for turnaround

Session #6: Reengineering the school-community relationship

12:15-1:30 Lunch and speaker Jason Snyder, DOE

2:30-3:30 Facilitated small group working sessions

3:45-4:30 Wrap up and reflection panel


Communicating from the Summit


1. Clear goals for student learning and engaging curriculum that aligns to standards

2. Strong leaders who build a culture of high expectations and ownership of student outcomes

3. Effective Teacher teams with expertise, time and support collaborate to adjust instruction using data student progress

4. Intervention for individual learning needs (Special Ed, ELL, gifted and struggling) that integrates with core instruction

5. Individual attention and schedules that prioritize core academics and allow time for students to catch up

6. Safe, welcoming community for students and families

7. Ongoing use of data for continuous improvement

We know the essential traits of continuously improving schools


But some schools can’t get there because they are trapped in a cycle of failure

Declining expectations (faculty, students,

families)

Remaining students fall further behind and high needs get concentrated

Teachers and families with options leave

Persistently poor performance

Resource levels and expertise no longer

match needs

Leaders and teachers have less capacity to

collaborate and adjust instruction


1. Strong leaders who build high expectations and ownership

2. Collaborative teacher teams with combined expertise to meet student needs

3. Expertise and resources to serve high concentrations of students with high need

To break the cycle of failure, schools must accelerate the pace of improvement through:


Mixed results of turnaround efforts suggest that investing in some schools may not be enough to reverse cycle due to community disengagement, location or facilities challenges

Declining expectations (faculty, students,

families)

Remaining students fall further behind and high needs get concentrated

Teachers and families with options leave

Persistently poor performance

Resource levels and expertise no longer

match needs

Leaders and teachers have less capacity to

collaborate and adjust instruction


District-wide strategy for measuring school performance and diagnosing appropriate action including school closure

Definition of a school turnaround model

Accountability and support

Removal of barriers to implementing effective turnaround practices

Integration with district-wide strategy of accountability, autonomy and support

To address core challenges, district turnaround strategies have five components


Defining a model for strategic intervention

Strategic Intervention

School

Level

Transformational leaders Ensure a transformational principal in every school

Effective Teaching Teams with Expert Support

Ensure needed expertise and provide support for teams to continuously improve instruction

Individual attention and time for accelerated learning

Vary and extend individual and small group time and attention in response to student needs)

Productive School CultureInvest school community in high expectations for learning and behavior

Health, social and emotional support

Guarantee baseline health, social, and emotional support to students to ensure readiness for learning

System

Level

Central support and accountability

Provide additional school supervisory support and attention

Removal of Barriers to Effective Turnaround practices

Actively remove district policies, contractual restrictions and state regulatory barriers that limit hiring, organization and use of time


District’s Turnaround investments suggest different levels of intensity and emphasis

CATEGORY

INVESTMENT ($ invested in a 1,000 student school)Year 1

Charlotte Miami-Dade Chicago(HS)

Strong leaders $20,000 $493,000 $136,000

Effective teacher teams

$50,000 $630,000 $612,000

Individual attention and time for acceleration

– $425,000 $817,000

Productive school culture

– $179,000 $1,042,000

Health, social and emotional

– – $187,000

Central support – $140,000 $350,000

Total$70,000 $1,871,000 $3,144,000

Source: District reported to ERS


And investment level analysis must consider base funding levels

Boston Charlotte Chicago Denver Miami AUSL$0

$2,000

$4,000

$6,000

$8,000

$10,000

$12,000

$14,000

$16,000

$18,000

$14,500

$8,500

$11,500$10,300

$7,400

$11,500

$1,500

$100

$3,144

$2,000

$1,249

$823

Spending Per Pupil Additional $ for Turnaround Students

$16,000

$8,600

$14,644

$12,300

$8,649

$12,323

K-12 9-12 K-12 K-12Elem,

HSK-12

Tota

l S

pen

din

g P

er

Pu

pil

Source: District reported to ERS


Summit districts employ a mix of strategies regarding school leader autonomy

Traditional District School

Typical Charter School

District-Run Turnaround Zone

School

Hiring and Firing Varies

Staffing Composition Varies

Curriculum and Assessments Varies

Teacher compensation

Professional Growth and Collaboration Time

Varies

Scheduling and Time Varies

Low

Au

ton

om

y

Hig

h A

uto

nom

y


District Approaches: “In a Nutshell”

District Approach

Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools

Hire great principals, let them bring in a core turnaround team and set them free

Denver Public SchoolsCreate a portfolio of charter, innovation, and district-run schools, with family choice

Boston Public Schools

Collaborate with schools and outside providers on intervention strategies within framework, adapt to fit school needs

Chicago Public SchoolsComprehensive, standardized, supported model; district runs 1/3 of schools, outsource others to AUSL

Cincinnati Public Schools

Intensively train school leaders and provide them with a comprehensive, standardized, supported model

More Autonomy

LessAutonomy


Resources

– “Civic Capacity”

– Base Funding Levels

– State resources for English Language Learners or concentrated poverty

The nature of the challenge

– Starting proficiency levels

– % of district schools at crisis levels

– Safety

Factors that influence district approach

Flexibility to organize resources

– Union contracts and relationship– State requirements

Existing teacher and leadership capacity

District “Theory of Action”


Ann Clark, Chief Academic Officer, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Schools

Deborah McGriff, Partner, New Schools Venture Fund

Designing and refining a district turnaround strategy

Noemi Donoso, Chief Education Officer, Chicago Public Schools

Alyssa Whitehead-Bust, Chief of Innovation and Reform, Boston Public Schools

http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/

http://www.cps.k12.il.us/default.htm


Summit Agenda: Friday

Time Event Location

7:30-8:30 Breakfast Available Concord Room

Break out panels and working groups

8:30-10:15

Session #1: Building a turnaround principal pipeline

Concord Room

Session #2: Building a strong teaching force Bedford Room A

Session #3: Using data effectively Bedford Room B

10:30-12:15

Session #4: Using and extending time Concord Room

Session #5: School designs for turnaround Bedford Room A

Session #6: Reengineering the school-community relationship

Bedford Room B

12:15-1:30 Lunch and speaker Jason Snyder, DOE Concord Room

2:30-3:30 Small group working sessions(various, see agenda)

3:45-4:30 Wrap up and reflection panel Concord Room

Sustaining Turnaround at Scale: Realizing

Education

education resource strategies

district turnaround

turnaround session

high performance strategies

human resource

school performance

turnaround work

needs leaders