Numerous high-profile efforts have sought to "turn around" low-performing schools. Evidence on the effectiveness of school turnarounds, however, is mixed, and research offers little guidance on which models are more likely to succeed. We present a mixed-methods case study of turnaround efforts led by the Blueprint Schools Network in…

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…

Independent leadership frameworks are taught to principal and superintendent candidates yearly. Heightened leadership efficacy and deeper leadership capacity are tied to the culture of a school district and have a broader impact than individual leaders (Leithwood & Jantzi, 2008). Strong districtwide frameworks lead toward enhanced structures…

The purpose of this quantitative predictive analysis study was to identity what student characteristics such as subgroups' gender, ELL, race/ethnicity, more specifically Black and Latino, are important in predicting student achievement in two Priority schools in their final year of Regional Achievement Center (RAC) delivery and support to these…

Although current education reform models have been in place for over a decade, the number of U.S. public schools identified as underperforming continues to rise. While the federal government has imposed increasingly stringent achievement requirements, practical instruction on improving schools remains inadequate. Learning from principals…

Over the past two decades, efforts to support school improvement have transitioned from top-down prescriptive approaches to more collaborative and flexible approaches. A number of studies have investigated the effects of these newer "turnaround programs" on student and school outcomes. In Colorado, two recently implemented turnaround…

School climate is critical to school effectiveness, but there is limited large-scale data available to examine the magnitude and nature of the relationship between school climate and school improvement. Drawing on statewide administrative data linked with unique teacher survey data in Michigan, we examine whether school climate appeared to play a…

Most research focuses on principal mobility generally, but little assesses charter leadership specifically. This exploratory study examines how leaders in stand-alone and charter management affiliated schools in New York and New Jersey made their decisions to lead, stay, and transition to different roles. Leaders cited excitement about autonomy…

The Shelby County iZone is a district-led effort to dramatically improve, or "turn around," 23 of the lowest performing schools in Tennessee in the 15th largest district in the country. Despite circumstances that have derailed many past reforms, iZone schools have made statistically significant and educationally meaningful gains in…

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) with its research partner have developed a system that changes the equation on monitoring. The research-driven approach to monitoring allows DESE, within its existing activities and resources, to use monitoring to improve the state system of support as well as direct…

Low-performing schools are attracting attention in many countries that are looking for ways to turn them around. According to the functional-structural approach, restructuring these schools' organization is imperative, and an organizational consultant can help in this task. In this study, we investigated the perspectives of organizational…

This paper explores school development processes in four schools in challenging circumstances. These schools were selected from a sample of schools in a longitudinal mixed-method study over a five-year period of around 100 schools using a typology of different models of change over time. The paper presents first selected findings from the overall…

This mixed-methods study identified the effective practices of the principal and leadership team in an Improvement-Required (IR) high school that significantly influenced student achievement and guided their school from IR to a rating of Met Standard in one year. IR or F schools under the new system are schools that failed to meet the state…

Under waivers to the No Child Left Behind Act, the federal government required states to identify schools where targeted subgroups of students have the lowest achievement and to implement reforms in these "Focus Schools." In this study, we examine the Focus School reforms in the state of Kentucky. The reforms in this state are uniquely…

A growing body of research evaluates the effects of turnaround on chronically low-performing schools. We extend this literature by formally testing factors that may either mediate or suppress the effects of two turnaround initiatives in Tennessee: the Achievement School District (ASD) and local Innovation Zones (iZones). Using…