Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, whole-school reforms will continue to be a prominent strategy for improving student outcomes in low-performing schools. As reform models have proliferated, so has research evaluating the impact in reform schools. However, previous evaluations have rarely examined unintended spillover effects in nonreform…

Principal leadership is at the core of successful school turnaround. This qualitative study explored principals' perceptions of the success or failure of turnaround methods in their New York City charter school communities. Principal leadership of low-performing schools is one of the most important elements of turnaround success (Stronge & Xu,…

This mixed-method study examines Michigan's Partnership policy for school turnaround, which positions the district and superintendents as key policy implementation actors. We first interviewed 21 of 35 Partnership superintendents/leaders across Michigan and surveyed teachers to understand the initial response to the turnaround policy and the…

Whole-school reforms have received widespread attention, but a critical limitation of the current literature is the lack of evidence around whether these extensive and costly interventions improve students' long-term outcomes after they leave reform schools. Leveraging Tennessee's statewide turnaround reforms, we use difference-in-differences…

This paper reflects historically and contemporaneously on the relationship between 'International Education and Development' actors and foreign intervention in our colonial past and present, with a particular focus on Education in Emergencies (EiE), a sub-field of research and practice within 'International Education and Development'.…

For this paper, we developed and validated the "Orientation to School Renewal" instrument, a 21-item instrument, based on seven factors, which allows schools to measure their school renewal efforts. The research is based on Goodlad's notion of school renewal. Through an extensive literature review and our work over an eight-year period…

This report focuses highlights turnarounds at two Massachusetts schools, Worcester Technical High School and the Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy in Springfield, that were once known for high dropout rates and low graduation rates. The report shows that these schools now excel due to new leadership, community investment, and committed…

While there currently exists a vast body of research around school turnaround policies, few studies speak to why they have or have not worked. This paper undertakes a systematic review of research literature on school turnaround policies to explore why this lack of understanding prevails in the field. We find key disconnects between…

Research shows that Black Women principals are often assigned to lead and turn around the most challenging schools with limited resources. This article provides a brief review of the historical trauma and incessant work-related stressors that Black Women principals encounter. The strategy of Revolutionary Rest is proposed as a collaborative and…

The lack of access to high-quality schools creates an achievement gap that limits students' access to future earnings and longevity, exacerbating equity concerns across the nation where struggling, low-performing schools are disproportionately responsible for educating students living in poverty. Large Urban School District's Accelerating Campus…

This article uses elements of narrative and portraiture to acknowledge the voices of four teachers who participated in a 3-year effort to turn around an urban elementary school. Turnaround is a sanctioned reform effort intended to produce rapid, dramatic improvement in student academic achievement in a low-performing school. We present the teacher…

Purpose: This paper explores a district government's role in using school networks to transform turnaround schools in rural Shanghai, China. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative case studies were conducted. Findings: Findings showed that the C District government varied its power in initiating school networks; collaborative networks were…

In recent years, policymakers and scholars argued that state education agencies (SEAs) should move away from simply acting as compliance monitors and take on more prominent roles as providers of technical support to schools and school districts. Scholars find that SEAs have struggled to do so, yet there is little empirical work to explain what…

Whole-school reforms have received widespread attention, but a critical limitation of the current literature is the lack of evidence around whether these extensive and costly interventions improve students' long-term outcomes after they leave reform schools. Leveraging Tennessee's statewide turnaround reforms, we use difference-in-differences…

Despite increasing attention on chronically low-performing schools, the efforts to turn these schools around have not always been met with success. School turnaround requires comprehensive and effective campus interventions. The research purpose of this study was to understand the dynamics of a turnaround intervention. Specifically, through a…