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Based on their statewide assessments and accountability policies, state departments of education have identified 10,000 schools as in need of improvement; 2,300 of these schools are in restructuring because of failure to meet adequate yearly progress targets for five or more years. Without drastic measures, it's anticipated that the number of schools in restructuring will reach overwhelming proportions by 2014. In view of the situation, many districts are considering the "turnaround" option: a district-managed effort to make quick, dramatic, and sustained improvement in student academic achievement by replacing the school leader and any staff linked to a school's chronic low performance.

Dr. Rebecca Maynard and Dr. Sam Redding are among the authors of a comprehensive guide, published by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), on Turning Around Chronically Low-Performing Schools. Maynard and Redding discussed the recommendations in the guide at a daylong symposium sponsored by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) and IES. Principals from five Northwest schools gave personal accounts of how their schools successfully dealt with the challenges of turning around student performance. In addition, Dr. Neil Seftor of the What Works Clearinghouse gave an overview of his organization's work.

Presenters

Dr. Rebecca A. Maynard is a leading expert in the development and application of methods for conducting systematic reviews of evidence on program effectiveness, with a focus on their application to education. A professor of education and social policy at the University of Pennsylvania, she has conducted influential methodological research demonstrating the limitations of quasi-experimental research designs. She has taught graduate courses in methods for systematically reviewing intervention research; consulted with the Institute for Education Sciences in the design of the What Works Clearinghouse approach to reviews and presentation of evidence; and presently serves on the Technical Review Team for the What Works Clearinghouse. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin.

Dr. Sam Redding is the Executive Director of the Academic Development Institute and Director of the National Center on Innovation & Improvement. He holds a doctorate in educational administration from Illinois State University and is a graduate of Harvard's Institute for Educational Management. Redding taught special education and social studies at the high school level before teaching psychology and education at the college level. A former dean and vice president of Lincoln College, Redding serves as executive editor of the School Community Journal and has authored numerous books on continuous school improvement and other education topics.

Principal Panelists

The panelists addressed the research findings presented by Drs. Maynard and Redding, making real-life connections between those findings and their experiences as turnaround practitioners. The panelists were familiar with the turnaround research base and responded directly to questions about how they implemented strategies aligned with the recommendations of the practice guide.

Principal Panel:

• Roger LeBlanc--Mountain View Elementary, Anchorage, AK
• Rod Lowe--Vallivue Middle School, Caldwell, ID
• Vicki Begin--Roundup Central Elementary, Roundup, MT
• John O'Neill--Forest Grove High School, Forest Grove, OR
• Barry DePaoli--Chelan High School, Chelan, WA