We argue that gentrification is school pushout by a different name, displacing Black children and families through multiple modes of hypersurveillance, invisibility, criminalization, and disposability. We share vivid frontline experiences as Black women educators and a Jewish American woman educator while foregrounding the multiple ways in which…

School turnaround in the United Stated has been a focus dating back to the mid 1960s with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act aimed to ensure that children have equal access to excellent educational opportunities. This qualitative study targeted seven Turnaround Principals of…

In this study, we examine coalition building and coordination using a qualitative case study of the coalition opposing a ballot initiative to create a state-run turnaround district in Georgia. The findings highlight three important strategies in coalition building: (a) incorporating new actors, especially noneducation advocacy groups and…

Although state-run turnaround districts have grown in prominence as a school improvement strategy with significant equity implications for urban education, little is known about the similarities and differences across states. This article provides a comparative analysis of state-run takeover districts in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Georgia. Although…

School leadership is a key component of successful school environments and academic performance strategies. Among school-related factors, school leadership is second to teaching in its impact on student learning. In addition, research shows that strong leaders contribute significantly to successful school turnaround. To ensure that school leaders…

With the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, states have increased latitude over school improvement and accountability policies. At the same time, school takeover via state-run turnaround districts has emerged as a prominent education reform. Although policies takeover influence how teachers are prepared, supported, and evaluated, little is…

Although state-run school districts and gubernatorial school takeover have become popular turnaround strategies among some states, little is known about how district and school leaders perceive and respond to these changes in educational governance. Using Georgia as a case study, this paper employs sensemaking and exit, voice, and loyalty as…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), passed in 2015, signaled a major shift in the roles of states and districts in supporting school improvement. Under ESSA, state education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) have more responsibility and flexibility in developing and implementing plans, informed by local context, to support the…

For much of the last two decades, beginning with the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2002, the top political leaders have shown concern about children stuck in failing public schools. NCLB required districts to do something -- not enough, but something -- about those schools. Millions of children still languish in low-performing schools,…

In 2002, the Monroe County, Georgia, school system was, according to its then-superintendent Scott Cowart, "underperforming." Test scores were low, and several schools faced interventions under the new No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). One decade later, the 4,000-student school district in central Georgia is one of the highest-performing…

In "Redefining the School District in America," Nelson Smith reexamines existing recovery school districts (RSDs)--entities in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Michigan charged with running and turning around their state's worst schools--and assembles the most comprehensive catalog of similar initiatives underway and under consideration…

Implementation of school turnaround strategies under School Improvement Grant and Race to the Top programs has provided States with a unique opportunity to rethink how to govern effectively and to organize their efforts to improve their lowest achieving schools. States have had to consider such issues as whether to provide support directly to…

The Race to the Top and the School Improvement Grant programs provide resources to States to implement significant interventions to turn around their persistently lowest achieving schools. Implementation of school turnaround is a complex effort; States, local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools often engage outside experts and providers of…

Race to the Top States offer a wide range of supports for local educational agency (LEA) implementation of one of four school intervention models. Some States allocate resources on a regional basis, while others coordinate resources at the State level. Certain States also use data tools to measure district needs, capacity and progress on key…

The goal of this publication is to provide a snapshot of some of the publicly available resources describing efforts across Race to the Top States to ensure that turnaround schools have effective leaders. It is based on a review of Race to the Top State Annual Performance Reports, including State reports of Year 1 accomplishments and second year…