The 2001 passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) marked the beginning of an increased federal presence in school reform efforts (Dee, 2012; US Department of Education, 2003). While reauthorized in 2015, from 2001-2015, NCLB required all schools and districts receiving Title I funds to track student achievement by measuring the adequate yearly…

Using portraiture methodology involving interview, observation, and artifact data, this study portrays a turnaround leader, Dr. Susan Gray, in a high needs, rural district in the Southeast. In three years, Gray led Lincoln Elementary from nearly being reconstituted to being an award-winning school. Gray has subsequently been assigned other…

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…

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,…

This report summarizes the Bridgespan's Group latest research project, "School District Innovation Zones: A New Wave of District-Led Efforts to Improve Economic Mobility." The report focuses on a new wave of district-led "innovation zones" that holds promise to overcome the challenges of turning around failing schools and…

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,…

This paper examines the effect of a federally supported school turnaround program in North Carolina elementary and middle schools. Using a regression discontinuity design, we find that the turnaround program did not improve, and may have reduced, average school-level passing rates in math and reading. One potential contributor to that finding…

In education policy and reform circles across the U.S., school turnaround initiatives aimed at improving the lowest performing schools have become a prevalent school improvement approach. However, only a limited number of studies have sought to understand the ways that turnaround strategies are being put into practice in schools. In this case…

This descriptive single case study foregrounded teacher-based policy analyses of the Title I School Improvement Grant program. Six successful urban high school teachers analyzed the localized interpretation of the program's Transformation and Turnaround models. Impacts on their capacity to improve student outcomes and ways in which policy…

A small Southeastern high school that had undergone a turnaround or conservatorship process experienced a lower than average teacher retention rate. The authors conducted a qualitative case study to investigate teachers' experiences and perceptions of how turnaround strategies may have influenced their morale and how that effect on morale may have…

State takeovers were an infrequently applied strategy to address financially and academically troubled schools for many decades. The opportunity for a more extensive state role in taking over troubled schools grew further with the announcement of the federal "Race to the Top" (RTTT) program in 2009. RTTT required states to develop plans…

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,…

Research on turnaround schools suggests that school districts have had limited success in effectively turning around underperforming schools including how districts support turnaround principals. Furthermore, the research makes an explicit connection between the success of a turnaround, the principal, and district support. Absent from the…

A state education agency (SEA) served by the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) has requested information regarding state-developed (also referred to as state-determined) alternative models for schools receiving School Improvement Grant (SIG) funds. The state-determined school improvement model (one of three new models) offers an alternative to…

In the contemporary context, demands for rapid school turnaround meet the reality of increased principal turnover. Therefore, it is crucial to help aspiring school leaders hone their problem-solving skills. This case provides readers with an opportunity to diagnose issues of concern at a struggling school, and then prescribe several initial…