The present study investigated relationships among technical assistance, school leadership quality, and multitiered system of support (MTSS) implementation. The findings indicated technical assistance improved school leadership quality, and improved leadership significantly mediated the relationship between technical assistance and MTSS…

Turnaround schools had gained attention since the Bush Administration and No Child Left Behind. Studies were published frequently on the blueprints of turnaround and sustainability in which leadership was a focal point. However, embedded in the research of turnaround schools was the emphasis on interpersonal relationships that evolved into being…

Northwestern New Mexico is widely known as the Four Corners region, and for locals, it is also known as the Checkerboard area--a patchwork of sections owned by the federal government, private citizens, and the Navajo reservation. Oil and gas fields are spread out along the arid mesas, but below is fertile farmland, irrigated by the San Juan River.…

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to ascertain effective leadership practices, processes, and strategies utilized by elementary/secondary (K-12) principals that are in the bottom 5% of Title I turnaround schools. Education in the public schools is in a precarious situation because most students in turnaround schools are not…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has ushered in a new era of flexibility for state policies and practices related to low-performing schools. Will the states make changes? What aspects of change will need additional support? This descriptive, mixed methods study uses survey data from turnaround leaders in all 50 states and an extant document…

Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) has a large geographic area and a diverse populace to draw upon for system-wide school diversity efforts. The division comprises one-seventh of all students in Kentucky public schools and is the 28th largest school district in the country. Encompassing the city of Louisville and the surrounding county, JCPS…

This study aimed to add to the information known about the leaders charged with the task of successfully and sustainably turning around a school. Specifically, this research examined the extent to which leaders engaged in turnaround school reform experienced mindfulness. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, state assigned school grades of schools…

As charter school authorizers and states have increased performance expectations and grown less hesitant to close failing schools, "authorizer shopping" has emerged as a growing threat to overall charter school quality. Authorizer shopping happens when a charter school chooses or changes its authorizer specifically to avoid…

The "President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities 2009-2016: A Legacy of Action" highlights the results of the synergy of collaboration the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) forged with the private sector and each of the cultural agencies--National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the…

This brief is one in a series highlighting state policies, regulations, practices, laws, or other tools intended to create the necessary conditions for school and/or district turnaround. Each brief includes an overview of the relevant turnaround tool, its development process, its impact, and lessons learned that could assist other education…

Over the last decade, the call for schools to leverage partnerships with community organizations as a means to provide services that will mitigate the effects of poverty in the pursuit of achieving ambitious academic outcomes has gained momentum. The Achievement Schools, a network of five neighborhood schools serving students in Memphis' Frayser…

This research is an examination of the instructional leadership practices of effective rural superintendents who oversee school districts in small, rural school districts in the most northern New England states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The study looked at the successful leadership practices of school district superintendents who have…

A recent report offers a how-to guide for reform advocates interested in removing communities' democratic control over their schools. The report explains how these reformers can influence states to use the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Title I school improvement funds to support a specific set of reforms: charter schools, state-initiated…

In November 2014, the New York City Department of Education classified 94 low-performing schools as "renewal schools." New York's Renewal School Program (RSP), announced Mayor Bill de Blasio at the program's launch, represented a big change to the city's education policy: whereas former mayor Michael Bloomberg favored closing failing…

This article is part of a Bridgespan Group research project that focuses on a new wave of district-led "innovation zones" that holds promise to overcome the challenges of turning around failing schools and deliver significant improvements in student outcomes. This new wave provides a subset of district schools with control over staffing,…