School reconstitution, a turnaround strategy that prescribes massive staffing turnover, is expected to result in more committed and capable school staff and innovative practices. However, little evidence supports this assumption. We use quasi-experimental designs to assess the impact of reconstitution on student achievement and teacher mobility,…

Can successful schools replicate? In a climate of school turnarounds, charter conversions, and new school openings, an important question is whether schools that have demonstrated success with in one or several schools can replicate their success with additional schools. The federal government's Investing in Innovation (i3) grant program has been…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the program structure and design considerations of a 25-day, full-time apprenticeship in a university-based principal preparation program. Design/Methodology/ Approach: The study used a qualitative case study design that drew upon interviews and focus groups with program participants as well as…

It is widely understood that school districts face significant barriers to designing and implementing sustained improvements in chronically underperforming schools. In particular, the size and complexity of urban districts pose daunting challenges to advance significant reform efforts, despite glaring need. A new wave of district-led…

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,…

"Privatization of America's Public Institutions" describes the transformation of the military, K-12 public schools, public universities and colleges, and prisons into enterprises focused on generating profits for a select few. In many cases, privatization has limited accessibility, promoted segregation, fueled declining standards,…

In 2017, the Center on School Turnaround at WestEd published the "Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement: A Systems Framework" [see ED584107] a framework to assist states, districts, and schools to improve student achievement in the lowest-performing schools. The framework immediately garnered national attention by outlining four…

This article furthers research on the necessary components of what supports successful school turnaround, and also explores how and why two rural schools taking part in a Midwest State Turnaround School Project were successful in implementing school turnaround policy. Perceptions of building principals, district administrators, and regional…

This report summarizes the research on the association between state interventions in chronically low-performing schools and student achievement. Most of the research focused on one type of state intervention: working with a turnaround partner. Few studies were identified that examined other types of interventions, such as school closure, charter…

In line with the Center on School Turnaround's charge to support states' efforts, they sought to highlight three districts engaged in focused turnaround efforts where their respective boards played a key role in catalyzing, shaping, and supporting targeted improvement efforts. This brief is one of three describing the work. The three briefs…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to deepen the understanding of how minoritized families and communities contribute to equity-focused school change, not as individual consumers or beneficiaries, but as educational and community leaders working collectively to transform their schools. Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative case study…

This report is an evaluation of the Investing in Innovation (i3) program, a tiered-evidence grantmaking initiative at the U.S. Department of Education. The program's primary purpose is to support the development, testing, and scaling of field-initiated programs for high-need students in K-12 education. This report reviews the program's early…

This report describes examples of actions that school principals have taken in trying to lead turnaround. Most principals have either not worked in a turnaround situation or have fallen short in a turnaround attempt, despite their best efforts. Not all of the principals highlighted in this report have successfully turned around their schools, but…

The purpose of this analysis is to increase understanding of the possibilities and challenges of building educational infrastructure--the basic, foundational structures, systems, and resources--to support large-scale school turnaround. Building educational infrastructure often exceeds the capacity of schools, districts, and state education…

The public narrative surrounding efforts to improve low-performing K-12 schools in the U.S. has been notably gloomy. Observers argue that either nothing works or we don't know what works. At the same time, the federal government is asking localities to implement evidence-based interventions. But what is known empirically about whether school…