WEBVTT 00:00:10.046 --> 00:00:12.016 Hi, I'm Becki Herman. 00:00:12.426 --> 00:00:18.146 I'm a Managing Research Analyst at the American Institutes for Research and the panel chair 00:00:18.316 --> 00:00:21.656 for the Practice Guide to Turnaround Chronically Low-Performing Schools. 00:00:21.976 --> 00:00:25.806 The turnaround practice guide is designed to help underperforming schools 00:00:25.806 --> 00:00:31.596 by providing some practices that the principals and staff can immediately put into action 00:00:32.026 --> 00:00:40.036 to change the way the school operates and to promote quick changes in the functioning 00:00:40.036 --> 00:00:42.276 of the school and the learning of the students. 00:00:43.096 --> 00:00:46.366 The first practice recommended by the guide is strong leadership, 00:00:46.366 --> 00:00:48.566 and there are two aspects of that that I want to focus on. 00:00:48.566 --> 00:00:54.676 First, that the leader needs to be strong, this needs to be a person who is not afraid to take 00:00:54.676 --> 00:00:59.466 on challenges, not afraid to make changes that may be quite unpopular, 00:00:59.806 --> 00:01:04.256 or perhaps to push back on school or district policy. 00:01:05.446 --> 00:01:09.806 The second aspect of strong leadership is that the leader needs to signal 00:01:09.806 --> 00:01:12.256 that there will be a change in the way the school operates, 00:01:12.256 --> 00:01:14.296 that this will not be business as usual. 00:01:14.566 --> 00:01:16.606 And this can happen in one of several ways. 00:01:17.006 --> 00:01:19.966 Bringing in a new principal is often a signal for change, 00:01:20.016 --> 00:01:23.906 and it helps if that new principal is somebody who has already had experience turning 00:01:23.906 --> 00:01:28.316 around a low-performing school or somebody who, if it's a continuing principal, 00:01:28.316 --> 00:01:35.946 who has received some training in learning how to turn around a low-performing school. 00:01:37.166 --> 00:01:40.066 You can also signal change from business as usual 00:01:40.066 --> 00:01:45.266 by making a public announcement-to the community, in working with the district, 00:01:45.936 --> 00:01:51.656 even in the popular press, in the local newspaper-to indicate that the school is not going 00:01:51.656 --> 00:01:54.146 to be functioning as it had previously. 00:01:54.736 --> 00:01:59.056 The second practice in the practice guide is to maintain a laser-like focus on instruction. 00:01:59.836 --> 00:02:03.856 One aspect of that is that the principal should be an instructional leader. 00:02:04.126 --> 00:02:06.766 The principal should be deeply involved in instruction of the school: 00:02:06.766 --> 00:02:10.496 visiting classrooms on a regular basis, modeling instruction for the teachers, 00:02:10.496 --> 00:02:12.316 working with them on their lesson plans. 00:02:12.776 --> 00:02:16.246 That's an important part of helping the school, all of the staff, 00:02:16.246 --> 00:02:21.526 refocus on the instruction which is the piece of the change that is most likely 00:02:21.956 --> 00:02:25.396 to have a dramatic impact on student achievement. 00:02:26.126 --> 00:02:33.436 Another element of maintaining focus on instruction is to set a clear and narrow set of goals 00:02:33.696 --> 00:02:38.586 for improvement-goals that can be achieved in a reasonable period of time 00:02:38.586 --> 00:02:43.956 and that are quite clearly related to instruction and related to the achievement that's a focus 00:02:43.956 --> 00:02:50.966 for that school-and to use data to measure progress towards that goal. 00:02:51.626 --> 00:02:55.436 The principal and the teachers can work together to use data 00:02:55.666 --> 00:03:00.186 to understand how the school is performing and to refocus their efforts on instruction. 00:03:00.676 --> 00:03:04.696 The principal and the teachers can look at data at the school level 00:03:04.696 --> 00:03:09.226 to determine whether the school as a whole is improving in the areas that are a priority. 00:03:09.536 --> 00:03:15.986 They can also look at the data at the class level to determine whether a teacher needs 00:03:15.986 --> 00:03:20.556 to reteach a certain topic or perhaps he or she might need some professional development 00:03:20.556 --> 00:03:23.246 to better be able to teach that particular topic or skill. 00:03:23.936 --> 00:03:28.876 The teachers can work together looking at data on an individual student 00:03:28.876 --> 00:03:34.166 to determine whether a student has really grasped a certain key skills and concepts 00:03:34.226 --> 00:03:39.166 and to plan on how to reteach to that student if necessary. 00:03:39.766 --> 00:03:45.596 A turnaround school also can maintain that focus on instruction 00:03:45.596 --> 00:03:47.696 by taking a look at the curriculum. 00:03:48.126 --> 00:03:54.836 Many of the successful turnaround schools examined their curricula and aligned them 00:03:54.836 --> 00:03:56.416 to state standards and assessments, 00:03:56.416 --> 00:04:01.796 and in the process discovered that they may not have been teaching some of the topics 00:04:01.796 --> 00:04:06.486 and some of the skills that are required by the state standards. 00:04:06.996 --> 00:04:08.956 So, it's important for the school to take a look 00:04:08.956 --> 00:04:10.946 at what they are teaching by aligning the curriculum. 00:04:10.946 --> 00:04:16.286 The process itself helps the teachers better understand what they need to teach and how. 00:04:16.815 --> 00:04:19.716 The principal should focus on quick wins that can be accomplished, 00:04:20.286 --> 00:04:25.376 and that means the principal might want to not choose as wins something 00:04:25.376 --> 00:04:29.936 that requires a consensus across the school, something that requires district approval, 00:04:29.936 --> 00:04:35.546 something that requires lot of extra funding that's not already set aside. 00:04:35.986 --> 00:04:41.586 What the successful turnaround schools tend to select as quick wins are quick wins in the area 00:04:41.586 --> 00:04:47.156 of instructional time, in the area of facilities, or discipline and behavior. 00:04:47.156 --> 00:04:54.266 So for example, a principal might choose a quick win that involves instructional time. 00:04:54.266 --> 00:04:59.296 The principal might set aside time for teachers to collaborate and to plan together, 00:04:59.576 --> 00:05:03.956 or the principal might ensure that there is uninterrupted instructional time. 00:05:03.956 --> 00:05:08.306 And it can be something as simple as changing the bell schedule and the policy on announcements 00:05:08.306 --> 00:05:13.596 so that there are no announcements from the central office in the middle of instructional time. 00:05:13.866 --> 00:05:16.966 Another family of quick wins are changes to the facilities. 00:05:16.966 --> 00:05:19.726 So, for example, the school could be repainted, 00:05:19.726 --> 00:05:24.076 or some moderate landscaping to the front of the school could occur. 00:05:24.326 --> 00:05:26.886 Some successful schools even clean the school, 00:05:26.886 --> 00:05:29.266 which was something that was a dramatic change for them. 00:05:29.756 --> 00:05:35.656 The principal can post student work and change it frequently so that it doesn't appear stale. 00:05:36.026 --> 00:05:39.306 Changes in the appearance of the school can make it a warmer environment. 00:05:39.686 --> 00:05:45.226 A third family of quick wins are changes in discipline and behavior. 00:05:46.546 --> 00:05:50.656 In this area, it's easy to make small changes that have dramatic impact. 00:05:51.356 --> 00:05:59.066 The principal might set a policy that external doors are closed or are guarded during times 00:05:59.066 --> 00:06:04.726 when students tend to be truant so to really just keep the students in the school. 00:06:05.106 --> 00:06:10.136 So those are three families of quick wins: changes in the use of instructional time, 00:06:10.456 --> 00:06:14.286 changes in the facilities, changes in discipline and behavior. 00:06:14.766 --> 00:06:21.146 But the important thing is not that one selects one specific win in those areas. 00:06:21.216 --> 00:06:27.676 The important thing is to match the needs of the school with the quick win 00:06:27.676 --> 00:06:29.586 that is the priority for that school. 00:06:30.256 --> 00:06:34.246 The first step to building committed staff is to assess the strengths 00:06:34.246 --> 00:06:36.906 and the weaknesses of each member of the staff. 00:06:37.306 --> 00:06:42.676 This is to identify those who are both qualified and committed to the direction 00:06:42.676 --> 00:06:45.696 that this school will now be moving in. 00:06:47.046 --> 00:06:52.956 Having identified the staff that are going to be the strengths of the schools 00:06:52.956 --> 00:06:58.496 in the new direction, the principal can redeploy or cancel out staff 00:06:58.496 --> 00:07:00.986 who do not fit in with that vision. 00:07:02.516 --> 00:07:07.746 According to No Child Left Behind, there is an option of replacing all school staff, 00:07:07.836 --> 00:07:10.856 but most of the research recommends not pursuing that option. 00:07:11.386 --> 00:07:20.626 The research recommends maintaining a core of committed staff, staff who both know the school 00:07:20.626 --> 00:07:25.586 and the students, and are committed and able to carry out the reforms in the new direction. 00:07:26.016 --> 00:07:29.046 Successful turnaround schools generally use one 00:07:29.046 --> 00:07:33.516 or more of these practices, often in collaboration. 00:07:34.356 --> 00:07:39.856 So, for example, a principal can signal change, which is the first recommendation, 00:07:40.536 --> 00:07:43.006 but it's not enough just to signal change. 00:07:43.006 --> 00:07:46.226 The principal needs to follow immediately with some quick wins, 00:07:46.606 --> 00:07:49.626 which will indicate that it's possible to achieve the changes. 00:07:50.326 --> 00:07:56.076 Or as another example, there may be some changes in the leadership, 00:07:56.266 --> 00:08:00.296 and there may be some quick wins early in the turnaround process. 00:08:00.746 --> 00:08:03.906 These need to contribute to this emphasis on improvement. 00:08:03.906 --> 00:08:08.246 It's not enough for there to be a change in leadership and for there to be quick wins 00:08:08.246 --> 00:08:11.186 and for them not to build towards instructional improvement 00:08:11.186 --> 00:08:14.976 which will ultimately affect what the students learn and how.