School Restructuring Options Under No Child Left Behind [electronic resource] : "What Works When?" Turnarounds with New Leaders and Staff.
Several years after the passage of NCLB, there are persistently low-performing schools in every state that face increasingly strong consequences for failing to improve student achievement sufficiently. In particular, schools that fail to make AYP for five consecutive years must engage in restructuri...
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| Format: | Electronic eBook |
| Language: | English |
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2005.
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| Summary: | Several years after the passage of NCLB, there are persistently low-performing schools in every state that face increasingly strong consequences for failing to improve student achievement sufficiently. In particular, schools that fail to make AYP for five consecutive years must engage in restructuring to improve student learning. Districts have several options for restructuring these schools. Although constrained to choose an option that is consistent with existing state law, districts can: (1) Reopen the school as a public charter school; (2) Replace "all or most of the school staff (which may include the principal) who are relevant to the failure to make adequate yearly progress;" (3) Contract with "an outside entity, such as a private management company, with a demonstrated record of effectiveness, to operate the school;" (4) Turn the "operation of the school over to the state educational agency, if permitted under State law and agreed to by the State;" and (5) Engage in another form of major restructuring that makes fundamental reforms, "such as significant changes in the school's staffing and governance, to improve student academic achievement in the school and that has substantial promise of enabling the school to make adequate yearly progress." (No Child Left Behind Act, 2002.) The What Works When series is designed to help district leaders understand what is known about when and under what circumstances each of these options works to improve student learning. The first four options are newer and more dramatic than most school reform efforts employed in the past. Each has high potential when large change is needed, but each also carries risks. The goal of this series is to help district leaders determine which change is the right change for each school. The fifth piece in this series, "What Works When: A Guide for Education Leaders," will help districts through the process of deciding when to use each of the five strategies. This paper focuses on the second option, replacing school leaders and staff, which are called "turnarounds." Additional papers in the "What Works When" series explore the first, third, and fourth restructuring options in greater depth, and "What Works When: A Guide for Education Leaders" will help states and districts choose among the options for each school. This paper examines what is known about when turnarounds may work for districts grappling with individual low-performing schools. The contents are organized into the following sections: (1) Methodology; (2) What Is a Turnaround Under NCLB?; (3) What Is the Experience With Turnarounds?; (4) Why Have Districts Initiated School Turnarounds?; (5) What Do We Know From These Experiences? Key Success Factors and Key Challenges; (6) What Further Research Is Needed to Understand Turnarounds?; and (7) Conclusion. [This work was originally produced in whole or in part by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory[R] (NCREL[R]) with funds from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of Education.] |
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| Item Description: | Availability: Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement. 1100 17th Street NW Suite 500, Washington, DC 20035. Tel: 877-277-2744; Web site: http://www.centerforcsri.org. Abstractor: ERIC. Educational level discussed: Elementary Secondary Education. |
| Physical Description: | 40 pages. |
| Type of Computer File or Data Note: | Text (Guides, Non-Classroom) Text (Information Analyses) |
| Preferred Citation of Described Materials Note: | Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement. |