Breaking the Habit of Low Performance

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    Breaking theHabit of

    Low Performance

    Successful SchoolRestructuring Stories

    Center on

    Innovation & Improvement

    Twin paths to better schools.

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    Breaking the Habit ofLow Performance:Successful School

    Restructuring Stories

    Prepared by

    Dana Brinson & Lauren Morando Rhim of Public Impact

    for the Center on Innovation & Improvement

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    Information Tools Training

    Positive results for students will come from changes in the knowledge, skill, and behavior of their teachers andparents. State policies and programs must provide the opportunity, support, incentive, and expectation for adults

    close to the lives of children to make wise decisions.

    The Center on Innovation & Improvement helps regional comprehensive centers in their work with states toprovide districts, schools, and families with the opportunity, information, and skills to make wise decisions onbehalf of students.

    The Center on Innovation & Improvement is administered by the Academic Development Institute (Lincoln, IL)in partnership with the Temple University Institute for Schools and Society (Philadelphia, PA) and Little PlanetLearning (Nashville, TN).

    A national content center supported by the

    U. S. Department of Educations Of ce of Elementary and Secondary Education.

    Award #S283B050057

    The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily re ect the position of the supporting agencies,

    and no of cial endorsement should be inferred.

    2009 Academic Development Institute. All rights reserved.

    Design: Pam Sheley

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    Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3

    School Restructuring .................................................................................................................................... 5

    Ef cacy of Restructuring ............................................................................................................................. 9

    Methodology ................................................................................................................................................. 11

    School Pro les ............................................................................................................................................... 15Cobb Elementary School.................................................................................................................................................1

    Holabird Academy ............................................................................................................................................................

    Box Elder 7-8 ....................................................................................................................................................................

    MacArthur Middle School .............................................................................................................................................28

    Westwood High School ...................................................................................................................................................3

    Appendix A: School Selection Methodology .....................................................................39

    Appendix B: School Pro le Sources .................................................................................41

    Endnotes ..................................................................................................................... 43

    References ................................................................................................................... 45

    TABLE OF CONTENTS

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    IntroductionHolabird Academy students begin each day by shouting together theyear they will graduate from college. Dressed neatly in uniforms, thestudents attend classes led by familiar faces because the school enjoys100% teacher retention. The sparkling campus and brightly-coloredmurals welcome students and faculty each day to the business of learning. Student achievement is high and growing.

    Westwood High School boasts award-winning athletic teams, strongschool spirit, and more than 90% of its students performing at orabove grade level. The halls shine like glass; teachers enjoy coming towork; and community partners and parents are actively involved in theschool.

    Both schools serve predominantly low-income students of color inforgotten sections of large cities. Both are very recent success stories.Holabird, in Baltimore, and Westwood, in Memphis, experiencedpersistently dismal student performance for a decade before enteringrestructuring status under the federal Elementary and SecondaryEducation Act (ESEA, reauthorized in 2001 as No Child Left Behind orNCLB). NCLB requires restructuring schools to implement alternativegovernance structures designed to dramatically improve studentperformance. Prior to restructuring, few students at these schoolsscored pro cient on state tests in math or languagearts. Violence from the surrounding neighborhoodsseeped into the schools. Buildingsmarred with

    graf ti and broken windowsoutwardly re ectedthe fatigue and, in many cases, disregard that staff and students felt for teaching and learning.

    Despite a habit of poor performance, these twoschools transformed themselves after enteringrestructuring status. With new leaders at the helm, aseries of supports from district and state educationagencies, and the rallying of outside stakeholders, these schools nowstand among the highest-performing in their districts. Too often,

    Too often, restructuringefforts fail, but theseschools found the rightrecipe for change.

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    restructuring efforts fail, but these and otherschools featured in this report found the rightrecipe for change that resulted in improved studentperformance and school transformation.

    The components of a successful school areclear. Many educators can easily list them: highexpectations for all students, a safe and orderlylearning environment, strong instructionalleadership, highly quali ed teachers, data-driven decision making, etc. Yet, if we know thecomponents, why dont more schools changewhat they are doing to mirror them? Knowing thecomponents of effective schools and using thatknowledge to transform schools that have none of them into shining examples of success is not an easyor clear task. Certainly, the recipe is different foreach school. In nearly every case of a chronicallyfailing school, however, true change requires

    breaking the habit of dysfunctional processes andraising expectationsfor staff and studentsthathas been low for years.

    While many districts and schools commit signi cantresources, both human and scal, to schoolimprovement, little real improvement remains thenorm. 1 Yet, some schools and districts have proventhat even chronically failing schools can succeedat rapid improvement. 2 What have these schoolsdone differently from the thousands of schoolsthat languish in improvement status? What actorshave intervened to catalyze change or create an

    environment conducive to improvement?

    Public Impact, working on behalf of the Centeron Innovation & Improvement, examined veschools that successfully restructured. By currentaccountability standards, these schools had long-documented histories of poor performance andfailed efforts to improve. At each of these schools,multiple factors enabled them to kick the low-performance habit. We tell their stories here.

    The stories are heartening, but we would be remissif we did not acknowledge that like most habits,kicking the habit of low-performance and sustainingthe desired behavior are ongoing challenges asopposed to solitary efforts. Our hope is that theschools are able to continue their success, but ourexamination re ects their recent accomplishmentsand only time will reveal the sustainability of theirefforts.

    The authors would like to thank Sam Redding for his commitment to this topic and for his guidance in framing the research questions, state policy leaders for nominating schools, and school and district personnel for carving out time in their busy schedules to share their restructuring stories withus. The authors would also like to thank Julie Kowal, Emily Hassel, and Bryan C. Hassel for editing this work.

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    School RestructuringWith the reauthorization of ESEA as the No Child Left Behind Actof 2001, schools receiving Title I dollars that fail to make adequateyearly progress (AYP) toward meeting grade-level standards for veconsecutive years must initiate restructuring to improve academicoutcomes. The ve restructuring options articulated in the current lawencompass alternative governance structures designed to change howlow-performing schools are led and controlled. The ve restructuringoptions are:

    Option #1reopen school as a public charter school;

    Option #2replace all or most of the school staff, which mayinclude the principal, who are relevant to the failure;

    Option #3contract with an external provider with a demonstratedrecord of effectiveness to operate the school;

    Option #4turn the operation of the school over to the stateeducation agency; or

    Option #5engage in other major restructuring of the schoolsgovernance that makes fundamental reforms.

    In the seventh year of NCLB-driven accountability requirements,there are some positive stories: 75% of Title I schools nationwidedemonstrated AYP in 2003-2004. 3 Nevertheless, of the 25% that did

    not successfully make AYP, whether for all student groups or particularsub-groups, increasing numbers of schools are facing heavier mandatesfor change. In fall 2006, 2,330 schools were identi ed for correctiveaction, 937 schools were identi ed for restructuring after failing tomake AYP for ve years, and 1,242 schools began implementing theirrestructuring plans after failing to meet AYP goals for six years. 4 Forthe 2007-08 school year, 3,500 schoolsor 7% of all Title I schoolswerein restructuring planning or implementation status. 5 The numberof schools identi ed for restructuring is increasing each year as statepro ciency goals rise to 100% by 2014.

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    NCLB is the latest and boldest iteration of federal efforts to infuse accountability into publiceducation and improve the quality of educationprovided to all students. While NCLB currentlyprovides the strongest mandate to improve, it is are ection of broader social goals in many state-levelaccountability systems, several of which predated

    NCLB. In response to multiple forces driving acommitment to school improvement, includingthe mandate to demonstrate AYP, states andlocal districts are engaging in a variety of reforminitiatives. Yet, a recent survey of principals showsthat while nearly all are engaged in some effortto improve their schools, few leaders of schoolsidenti ed for restructuring were implementingsigni cant changes to school governance andstaf ng as envisioned in NCLB. 6 The Center onEducation Policys (CEP) analysis of ve statesrestructuring efforts further demonstrates that

    restructuring schools often choose the leastprescriptive restructuring option, Option Five. Thevast majority of schools in California, Georgia,Maryland, Michigan, and Ohio chose restructuringOption Five during the 2006-07 school year. Thetable below, adapted from CEPs cross-state report,summarizes the percentages of schools that chose

    each restructuring option.In many cases, Option Five provides a loophole forless-rigorous restructuring efforts, and indeed somedistricts choose it for this reason. In other cases,however, some or all of the other four options arenot available to schools. For example, in 10 statescharter conversion is not an option because charterschools are not allowed by state law. In many statesthat do have charter school laws, charter capsor other restrictions may limit conversion as arestructuring approach. 7

    Percentages of Schools in Restructuring Implementation

    in Five States Choosing Various Options in 2006-07Federal Restructuring Option CA GA MD* MI OH*

    Option #1reopen as a charter school 1% 0% 1% 0% 2%Option #2replace all or most schoolstaff relevant to failure

    13% 4% 12% 7% 4%

    Option #3contract with an externalprovider

    10% 2% 1% 0% 2%

    Option #4state takeover NA NA NA NA NAOption #5engage in other majorrestructuring

    90% 94% 86% 96% 93%

    Note: Columns do not total 100% because some schools chose more than one restructuring option.*Percentages in Maryland and Ohio include Title I and non-Title I schools; these states require both types of schools toimplement restructuring.Source: Adapted from Table 5, p.10 of Center on Education Policy. (2008c). A Call to Restructure Restructuring: Lessons fromthe No Child Left Behind Act in Five States . Washington, DC: Author.

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    Contracting with an outside provider has occurredin some states, but for many schoolsespeciallysmall schools or geographically isolated schoolscontractors are simply not available or affordable.Finally, restructuring approaches centeringon replacing some or all of the teachers andadministrators has been employed by some schools

    to varying effect. Several pre-conditions, includingthe availability of leaders likely to obtain betterresults and high-quality teacher replacements, arenecessary for this approach to succeed. 9

    State takeover of individual schools has also notwidely occurred as a response to restructuringefforts under NCLB, for several reasons. Some stateshave constitutions or laws forbidding state takeover.In other states, many top administrators believethat takeover would be a logistical quagmire. InMontana, for instance, most restructuring schools

    are public schools located within the borders of sovereign nations of American Indians. AlthoughMontana of cials could technically take theseschools over, the state has not yet done so in anattempt to sidestep the politically sensitive issue of operating a state-run school for American Indianswithin another sovereign nation. For other states,state takeover of individual schools, though possible,poses serious challenges to agencies generally moreadept at providing guidance and implementingpolicies rather than directly operating schools. 8

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    Breaking the Habit of Low-Performance

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    Successful School Restructuring Stories

    Ef cacy of RestructuringWhile the body of literature related to effective schools andschool improvement is relatively broad and deep, there is limitedinformation about successful restructuring efforts under state orfederal accountability systems. CEP has conducted the most in-depthdocumentation of early school restructuring efforts under NCLB.CEPs case studies in Maryland, for example, documented that whileimprovement efforts initiated early in the corrective action pipelinewere yielding success, efforts to dramatically improve schools formallyidenti ed for restructuring have not been successful; more schools wereentering than exiting restructuring. In large part due to lack of successin restructuring, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE)has become more engaged in restructuring and is providing districts

    with tools and supports. In addition, the MSDE has re ned its supportto differentiate efforts according to school needs. The most commonrestructuring approach utilized in Maryland is staff replacement with 38schools, representing 43% of the schools in restructuring. 10

    The CEP case studies of restructuring in Michigan revealed that 9 of 34 elementary and middle schools identi ed for restructuring hadsuccessfully demonstrated AYP, and 5 of these had exited restructuring;efforts at the high school level, however, had not been successful.State and district support efforts such as school audits, mentors, leadercoaches, and professional development were credited with helpingrestructured schools raise achievement. 11

    CEPs examination of restructuring in California revealed the inherentchallenges associated with a state department of education attemptingto help the rapidly growing numbers of districts and schools facingrestructuring. In spring 2008, California had identi ed 145 districtsand 1,180 schools for restructuring. The state provided districtsidenti ed for corrective action with variable levels of assistance basedon severity and pervasiveness of their academic challenges, withthe most troubled districts receiving funding and assistance fromexternal support providers. 12 CEP researchers documented that schoolsin restructuring were continuing existing reform effortssuch as

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    benchmark assessments, professional coaches, andtutoringas opposed to embarking upon new reforms. In contrast to Maryland, California schoolsare not using staff replacement as a component of their restructuring efforts.

    Unlike CEPs broad studies of restructuring as ithas occurred in ve states, this report focuses on

    ve individual schools across the country. CEP hasfound that most schools that enter restructuringlanguish there; in contrast, the ve schools includedin this report were identi ed for study explicitlybecause they had managed to exit improvement

    status. This exploratory study delves into the detailsof the restructuring process in these ve schools.Unlike other research that has focused on thecharacteristics of successful schools, our primaryfocus is the process of successful restructuring.These stories convey how these schools witha long history of low performance and failed

    change initiatives nally broke the habit of poorperformance and radically improved outcomes forstudents.

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    Successful School Restructuring Stories

    MethodologyOur research examined six questions:

    What approach did the schools use to restructure?

    What, if any, role did the school leaders play in developing andimplementing restructuring efforts?

    What, if any, role did external entities play in the restructuringeffort (e.g., district, state department of education, or externalconsultants)?

    What, if any, additional resources did the schools obtain in order torestructure?

    What do internal and external actors credit for the successful

    restructuring?What, if any, barriers did the school have to overcome in order tosuccessfully restructure?

    To answer these questions, we identi ed ve schools, conductedinterviews with school and district-level leaders, and developeddescriptive pro les about each schools successful restructuring process.Given the limited scope of the project, school selection was relativelyopportunistic as opposed to representative. Our sample of schools camefrom states that: 1) had schools exit restructuring status, and 2) repliedto our inquiry for information. From these states, we purposely soughtto identify schools to re ect a variety of restructuring approaches,

    grade con gurations, and levels of urbanicity to provide diverse ideasfor states and districts crafting their own approaches to supportingschools in corrective action or restructuring status. 13 As an overview,the following tables summarize information about the schools and theirrestructuring characteristics. A full pro le for each school follows thetables.

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    T a

    b l e I : S c

    h o o

    l P r o

    f l e s

    S c h o o l

    G r a

    d e s

    S e r v e d

    E n r o

    l l m e n

    t

    2 0 0 7 - 0

    8

    D e m o g r a p h

    i c s

    ( 2 0 0 7 - 0

    8 )

    A f r i c a n

    A m e r

    i c a n

    H i s p a n i c

    N a t

    i v e

    A m e r

    i c a n

    W h i t e

    M u l t i -

    R a c i a l

    F r e e

    /

    R e d u c e d

    P r i c e

    M e a

    l s

    C o b

    b

    E l e m e n

    t a r y ,

    A n n

    i s t o n ,

    A L a

    K - 5

    2 4 0

    9 4 %

    2 %

    0 %

    3 %

    0 %

    9 4 %

    H o l a b

    i r d

    A c a

    d e m y ,

    B a l t i m o r e ,

    M D

    K - 7

    2 2 0

    5 9 %

    1 8 %

    2 %

    2 0 %

    N A

    9 4 %

    B o x

    E l d e r

    7 - 8 ,

    B o x

    E l d e r ,

    M T

    7 - 8

    5 0

    N A

    N A

    9 8 %

    N A

    N A

    9 8 %

    M a c

    A r t

    h u r

    M i d d l e ,

    B e r k e l e y ,

    I L

    6 - 8

    5 0 0

    5 1 %

    4 0 %

    0 %

    5 %

    3 %

    6 3 %

    W e s

    t w o o

    d

    H i g h ,

    M e m p h

    i s , T N

    9 - 1 2

    4 2 0

    1 0 0 %

    0 %

    0 %

    0 %

    0 %

    8 9 %

    S o u r c e s :

    2 0 0 7 - 0

    8 s c

    h o o

    l r e p o r t c a r d s

    l i s t e d i n A p p e n

    d i x B

    .

    a C o b

    b E l e m e n

    t a r y

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    t h e r e d v i a p h o n e c a

    l l w

    i t h A n n i s t o n

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    l s F e d e r a l

    P r o g r a m s o f

    c e .

    C o b

    b E l e m e n

    t a r y

    s r a c i a l

    / e t h n i c

    d e m o g r a p h

    i c s a r e

    f o r

    t h e

    2 0 0 8 - 0

    9 s c

    h o o

    l y e a r .

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    Successful School Restructuring Stories

    T a

    b l e I I :

    S c

    h o o

    l R e s

    t r u c

    t u r i n g

    P r o

    f l e s

    S c h o o l

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    d e s

    R e s

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    t u r i n g

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    i o n a n d

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    a

    Y e a r s

    i n R e s

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    t u r i n g b

    C o b

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    A n n

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    A L

    K - 5

    O

    p t i o n

    T w o

    R e p l a c e d p r

    i n c i p a l

    3

    H o l a b

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    d e m y ,

    B a l t i m o r e ,

    M D

    K - 7

    O

    p t i o n

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    P l a c e d a

    R e s t r u c t u r i n g

    I m p l e m e n t a t i o n

    S p e c i a l i s t

    i n s c

    h o o l

    a n d r e p l a c e d p r i n c i p a

    l

    5

    B o x

    E l d e r

    7 - 8 ,

    B o x

    E l d e r ,

    M T

    7 - 8

    O

    p t i o n

    F i v e

    I n s t

    i t u t e

    d s e

    l f - c o n t a

    i n e d c l a s s r o o m s

    4

    M a c

    A r t

    h u r

    M i d d l e ,

    B e r k e l e y ,

    I L

    6 - 8

    O

    p t i o n

    F i v e

    R e o r g a n i z e

    d d a i l y s c

    h e d u l e f o r m a t

    h

    e m p h a s

    i s a n

    d r e p l a c e d s o m e s t a f f

    3

    W e s

    t w o o

    d H i g h , M e m p h i s ,

    T N

    9 - 1 2

    O

    p t i o n

    F i v e

    H i r e d H i g h S c h o o l s

    T h a t

    W o r

    k p r o g r a m ,

    p l a c e d

    E x e m p l a r y

    E d u c a t o r

    i n s c h o o

    l , a n

    d r e p l a c e d

    p r i n c i p a

    l

    4

    a A l t h o u g

    h t h e a c t

    i o n s w e r e s o m e

    t i m e s s

    i m i l a r a c r o s s s c

    h o o

    l s ,

    o n

    l y C o b b E l e m e n

    t a r y e x p

    l i c i t l y c h o s e a r e s

    t r u c t u r i n g o p

    t i o n o

    t h e r

    t h a n

    O p

    t i o n

    F i v e u n

    d e r

    N C L B

    .

    b Y e a r s

    i n R e s

    t r u c

    t u r i n g

    b e g i n s w

    i t h t h e s c

    h o o l

    s r e s t r u c t u r

    i n g p l a n n i n g y e a r a n

    d e n

    d s a f

    t e r t

    h e s c

    h o o l m a k e s

    A Y P f o r

    t w o c o n s e c u t

    i v e y e a r s a n

    d o f c i a l

    l y e x

    i t s

    i m p r o v e m e n

    t s t a

    t u s .

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    Breaking the Habit of Low-Performance

    T a

    b l e I I I : S c

    h o o

    l R e s

    t r u c

    t u r i n g

    C h a r a c

    t e r i s

    t i c s

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    R o l e o f

    S E A a

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    L E A a

    S t a f

    f

    R e p

    l a c e m e n

    t

    A d d i t i o n a l

    f u n d i n g

    b

    A d d i t i o n a l

    p e r s o n n e

    l

    E x t e r n a l

    P a r

    t n e r s

    C o b

    b E l e m e n

    t a r y

    I n t e n s

    i v e

    I n t e n s

    i v e

    R e p l a c e d p r

    i n c i p a

    l

    L i m

    i t e d

    H o l a b

    i r d

    E l e m e n

    t a r y

    M i n i m a l

    I n t e n s

    i v e

    R e p l a c e d p r

    i n c i p a

    l ,

    e x p e r i e n c e d

    8 5 %

    s t a f

    f t u r n o v e r t h e

    s u m m e r

    b e t w e e n

    p r i n c i p a

    l s

    L i m

    i t e d

    B o x

    E l d e r

    7 - 8

    M

    o d e r a t e

    I n t e n s

    i v e

    H i r e d a d

    d i t i o n a

    l

    t e a c

    h e r s , n

    o s t a f

    f

    r e p l a c e m e n t

    L i m

    i t e d

    M a c

    A r t

    h u r

    M i d d l e

    I n t e n s

    i v e

    I n t e n s

    i v e

    T a r g e t e d s t a f

    f

    r e p l a c e m e n t

    L i m

    i t e d

    W e s

    t w o o

    d H i g h

    I n t e n s

    i v e

    I n t e n s

    i v e

    R e p l a c e d p r

    i n c i p a

    l ,

    t a r g e t e d s t a f

    f

    r e p l a c e m e n t

    L i m

    i t e d

    a W e c a

    t e g o r i z e d

    t h e r o

    l e s p l a y e

    d b y S E A s a n

    d L E A s

    i n t h e r e s t r u c t u r i n g o f

    t h e

    v e s c

    h o o l s

    h i g h

    l i g h t e d

    i n t h i s r e p o r t .

    I n t e n s i v e

    i n d

    i c a t e s

    t h a t

    t h e S

    E A / L E A p r o v

    i d e d o n e

    o r m o r e r e s o u r c e s

    i d e n

    t i e d a s c e n

    t r a l t o

    t h e r e s t r u c t u r

    i n g e f

    f o r t

    b y i n t e r v

    i e w e r s ,

    m o d e r a t e

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    t e s

    S E A / L E A p r o v

    i d e d s o m e r e s o u r c e s

    i d e n

    t i e d a s

    b e n e

    c i a l t o

    t h e

    r e s t r u c t u r

    i n g e f

    f o r t , a

    n d m i n i m a l i n d i c a

    t e s

    t h a t r e s o u r c e s p r o v

    i d e d

    b y t h e

    S E A / L E A w e r e n o

    t i d e n t

    i e d a s

    i m p o r t a n t

    i n t h e

    t u r n a r o u n d o r

    t h a t n o

    / v e r y

    f e w r e s o u r c e s w e r e

    p r o v i

    d e

    d .

    b A d d i t i o n a

    l f u n

    d i n g

    h a s

    b e e n c a

    t e g o r i z e

    d o n

    l y a s

    l i m i t e

    d .

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    Successful School Restructuring Stories

    School Pro les

    Cobb Elementary SchoolAnniston, Alabama

    IntroductionCobb Elementary, in the small Anniston City Schools district, persistedin program improvement for seven years with little effect. At theend of the 2003-04 school year, about half of Cobbs studentsscored pro cient or better on the state tests. In 2004, during Cobbsrestructuring planning year, the superintendent replaced the schoolsprincipal with a seasoned administrator and expected quick results. Thenew principal, along with two state-level of cials located in the school

    and the full involvement of the teachingstaff, turned the school around. Cobb leftimprovement status three years later withabout 70% of students scoring pro cient orbetter on the state tests.

    The improvement efforts undertaken atCobbincluding aligning the curriculumto state standards and increasing classroommonitoring of teachers to provide actionablefeedbackwere thereafter rolled out to thefour other elementary schools in the district.Five years after its initial restructuring, Cobbcontinued to make AYP, and no elementaryschools in the Anniston district were inprogram improvement.

    Key Restructuring Actions Taken at Cobb:

    Replaced principal during planningyear Accessed state mentorsRewrote school improvement planEnsured that instruction focused onstate learning standards (alignment)Moved stronger teachers to testedgradesTargeted professional development onstudent weaknessesInstituted teacher induction programand support systemImproved parental involvement

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    BackgroundCobb Elementary School is a K-5 school located inthe small city of Anniston, Alabama just sixty milesfrom Birmingham. Cobb enrolls a predominantlylow-income, African American population of 240 students. The school originally enteredprogram improvement under Alabamas existingaccountability system and, with the passage of NCLB, entered restructuring in 2004 after sevenyears of low student performance.

    RestructuringIn the fall of 2004, Cobb Elementary Schoolentered its restructuring planning year. AnnistonCity Schools acted quickly to turn the schoolaround. Cobb was the rst school in the smalldistrict to enter restructuring, so the district usedCobbs struggle as an opportunity to strengthen

    the entire system of ve elementary schools, onemiddle school, and one high school. Restructuringactions centered on personnel changes, teacherdevelopment, and improved academic programming.

    New Principal, New PlanWhen Cobb was slated to enter its restructuringplanning year, Anniston City Schoolssuperintendent chose the turnaround restructuringoption (Option Two) for the school. Thesuperintendent transferred Cobbs principalto another position and placed an experiencedadministrator, Bob Phillips, as the new head of theschool. Phillips brought more than two decadesof experience as a school administrator, as well asthe skills and knowledge to guide Cobb throughdrastic changes. By placing the new principal in theschool during the restructuring planning year, thesuperintendent created the opportunity for Phillipsto both work with the school improvement teamas it planned its restructuring and also implementseveral changes during the planning year. Evenbefore the school entered the implementation phase

    of restructuring, these changes resulted in studentachievement gains, and the school met 12 out of 13AYP goals that year.

    State MentorsThe district requested school mentors from theAlabama Department of Education to support Cobbduring restructuring. The state placed two mentorsin the school who worked with the principal to buildthe school improvement team (SIT) with experiencedfaculty and staff; helped the SIT conduct dataanalysis to create a new school improvement plan;and developed capacity among the schools staff toanalyze and use data to guide curriculum changes.With the SIT, the state mentors also developeda seven-month pacing guide designed to exposestudents to all relevant materials before the stateexam.

    Shifted RolesCobb Elementary made a strategic move to placeits strongest teachers into the grades tested by the

    state. Because testing in Alabama begins in thirdgrade, placing the schools strongest teachers in thelater grades also worked to increase the number of students meeting state standards as they transitionedto the districts middle school, rather than makinggains early in their elementary careers and losingground before the middle school transition. Oneveteran teacher at Cobb stated, Transferringpersonnel within the building was very important forimproving performance on the tests.

    Greater Support for Teachers

    To support teachers during their move to new gradelevels, state, district, and school leaders took severalsteps to improve teacher quality and the academicprogram. They provided targeted professionaldevelopment to ensure that instruction followedthe curriculum, an intensive teacher monitoringand feedback process, and a teacher induction andmentoring program.

    Joan Frazier, then-Director of Federal Programs forthe district, worked with the school to improvestudent performance on state exams. Frazier and

    members of the SIT identi ed available districtresources to prepare teachers to align the schoolscurriculum to state standards. The professionaldevelopment supported the SITs process, noted

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    before, to develop a seven-month plan that servedas a pacing guide and a school improvement plan.The pacing guide aligned teaching to state standardsand reinforced instruction in demonstrated areas of weakness in student performance. District leadersshared this guide with other Anniston elementaryschools to support their own improvement efforts.

    The district continually maintains curriculumalignment by hiring some teachers each year duringthe summer to update the local curriculum andassessments to re ect any changes in the statesstandards.

    To ensure full implementation of the newcurriculum, Cobb heightened classroom observationof teacher performance. A new monitoring systemfocused on identifying teachers strengths and areasfor improvement. Initially, the state mentors placedin the school spent much of their time observing

    teachers to provide actionable feedback. District andschool leaders supplemented that observation andcontinued the process once the state mentors leftCobb when the school exited improvement status.Francetta Brown, a teacher at Cobb for more thana decade, credited the state mentors with having acentral role in the restructurings success. She said,The [mentors] visited classrooms and monitoredteachers regularly. It was a good thing, becauseit made teachers more aware and kept us on topof our game. Some may have felt uncomfortableinitially, but after awhile, everybody became used

    to it, and we realized that the mentors were here tohelp us not harm or criticize us.

    Parental InvolvementCobb, like many schools, faced challengesgetting parents involved. To strengthen parentalparticipation in the school and encourage theirsupport for the changes made at Cobb, the schoolhired a Title I parent liaison (as did, subsequently,the other four district elementary schools). Theparent liaisons, according to new Superintendent

    Joan Frazier, helped in many ways: They workedon getting all parents in during parent teacherconference month. Since hiring the parent liaisons,all ve elementary schools get 100% participation inparent-teacher meetings. These meetings providean important opportunity for teachers to share

    with parents where their student is performing andwhat the performance goal is. Despite the gains, oneteacher noted, we still struggle with getting parentsinvolved in the school in other ways; for example,with student discipline issues. But no matter whatbarriers weor our studentsencounter, we knowall things are possible as long as we believe in our

    students.ResultsAfter two years under the leadership of PrincipalPhillips, Cobb made AYP. Phillips left Cobb foranother position, and the district hired YolandaMcCants to replace him. New to being a principal,Ms. McCants was soon recognized for her gifts as amotivator, and she focused on maintaining the reunder the schools continuous improvement process.Her rst year as principal, McCants led Cobb toagain make AYP and exit school improvementstatus.

    Developing a theme to guide the school each year,Ms. McCants chose the word Believe during her

    rst year to encourage students and staff to believethat they could succeed in improving studentperformance. Her second year, McCants chose,Step Up Your Game to send the message that theschool would celebrate its victories but continue tofocus on improvement. Student performance dippedafter Phillips departure, but Cobb ElementarySchool continued to make AYP. In addition, therestructuring efforts that yielded results at Cobbboosted student performance throughout thedistrict. In the 2008-09 school year, no schools inthe Anniston district were in restructuring.

    Informant-Identi ed Lessons LearnedTaking decisive action to replace the principalwith a proven leader resulted in quick gains.

    Requesting support from state representativesto assist teachers in planning and deliveringinstruction based on state-tested content

    strengthened teachers skills and boostedstudent test scores.

    Leveraging changes in one school in the districtmay have prevented other schools from enteringimprovement status.

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    Breaking the Habit of Low-Performance

    Figure 1. Cobb Elementary, percent of students meeting or exceeding standards, by subject.

    Subject 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08Reading 56.9 73.0 84.0 78.9 71.2

    Math 47.7 53.2 80.6 58.7 60.0Actions and

    ResultsSeventh year of improvementstatus

    Restructuringplanning;replacesprincipal

    RestructuringImplementation;school makes AYP

    Principal leavesand districtplaces newprincipal inschool; schoolmakes AYPand exitsrestructuringstatus.

    School makesAYP

    Sources: Interviews with school and district leaders, Alabama school report cards, and grade-level performance reportsavailable at: http://www.alsde.edu/accountability/accountability.asp.

    Note: school report cards did not provide a school-wide pro ciency average.

    For this table, the percent pro cient was averaged across the tested grades and assumed the same number of students per

    grade (i.e. this is not a weighted average). In 2003-04, only data for fourth grade performance was available.

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    Holabird with 14 other restructuring schools into aunit called Area 9. Area 9 served as the conduitfor sharing proven academic interventions alignedwith the state curriculum and provided an extendedsupport network for leaders and teachers in thedistricts lowest-performing schools.

    Restructuring Implementation SpecialistsBCPS placed a RIS in each of the elementary and

    middle schools in restructuring status. The districtsSchool Improvement Of ce recruited individualsto become RISs from the ranks of their formerprincipals and district leaders and provided a week-long training program to prepare each one tosupport a school in restructuring.

    In the rst few years, the RIS placement at Holabirdwas ineffective. School and district leaders reportedthat the prior principal was very dif cult to workwith, and the RIS did not remain at the school. Itwas not until 2007, when the district assigned the

    school a new principal, Lindsay Krey, and a new RIS,Dolores Winston, that the RIS placement effectivelysupported change efforts. It was a match made inheaven, recalled Krey. Winston, a retired principalwith strong school turnaround experience, served asa sounding board, a source for ideas, and a constantchampion for the school improvement plan. Eventhough she was a rock star principal with deepexperience, Ms. Winston never talked about herself,but rather led through example, said Krey. Her

    Holabird Academy

    Baltimore, Maryland

    IntroductionAfter struggling with high student poverty andtransiency rates, a crumbling physical plant, highstaff turnover, and low student test scores, HolabirdElementary embarked upon a new restructuringeffort in 2003. At that time, only one in fourstudents at the K-5 school scored pro cient orbetter on the state tests in reading and math.By the end of the 2007-08 school year, theschoolnow known as Holabird Academyboastedgrowing enrollment, strong parent and communityinvolvement, low teacher turnover, and theaccomplishment of exiting restructuring status.In 2008, more than three quarters of Holabirdsstudents (81.1% in math, 78.3% in reading) scored

    pro cient or better on the state exam.BackgroundHolabird Elementary, located in the ODonnellHeights neighborhood on Baltimores southeastindustrial edge, primarily serves the residents of thepublic housing units nearby. In the years prior torestructuring, neighborhood families increasinglytransferred their children from Holabird to otherneighborhood schools. Although all of the schoolsfaced the same challenges, parents reportedlyopted out of Holabird because the school hada reputation for its uninviting atmosphere.Plummeting enrollmentfrom a high of 350 toa low of 160endangered the schools continuedoperation. Rumors abounded in the neighborhoodthat Holabirds closure was eminent, which onlyexacerbated student ight to more appealingschools.

    RestructuringIn 2003, nearly 30 schools in Baltimore City PublicSchools (BCPS) entered restructuring status for

    the rst time. To respond to this wave of schoolsin need of major reforms, district leaders chose asingle restructuring approach for all 30 schools:place a Restructuring Implementation Specialist(RIS) in each school. Over the next four years,BCPS supplemented the RIS-centered restructuringapproach at Holabird in three critical ways: thedistrict removed an ineffective school leader,provided an additional district staff member tosupport data-driven instruction, and organized

    Key Restructuring Actions Taken atHolabird:

    Placed a district specialista former school turnaround leaderin theschoolOrganized restructuring schools into asingle academic unitProvided targeted teacher professionaldevelopment

    Improved school climate with college-bound focusDeveloped strong leadership teamfocused on data-driven interventionBuilt relationships with districtspecialists, community members, andstudents families to drive change

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    attention to detail, great follow through, and humbleapproach made her a natural t for our school.

    Academic Area 9 and Targeted AcademicInterventions

    Before the arrival of Krey and Winston at Holabird,some academic gains occurred under the earlier

    principal. District of cials credited these initialresults primarily to the services provided throughAcademic Area 9. In 2006, BCPS created AcademicArea 9, an administrative unit comprised of 15restructuring schools. BCPS placed Area 9 underthe leadership of Dr. Mary Minter, a MarylandDistinguished Principal. The district created Area9 to direct meaningful, targeted support torestructuring schools. 14 Dr. Minter began her workwith Area 9 by identifying two exemplary educatorsin the state who had developed approaches andmaterials to bring math and language arts educationin full alignment with the states voluntarycurriculum. Dr. Minter recognized that teachersimplementing these approaches had dramaticallyimproved their students performance and soughtthose results for her Area 9 schools.

    Minter arranged for this professional developmentto be provided rst to the teachers and then to theprincipals. Dr. Minter stated, My belief is, if youare going to make a difference in a school, it hasto be at the teacher level. I will inform principalsabout what is going on, but I will train the teachersdirectly rather than waiting for the information totrickle down to them. Her approach to providingtraining directly to teachers in a supervisor-freezone also created an opportunity for teachers toadmit what they did not know and seek help fromtheir peers. Teachers have to be comfortable toadmit when they dont understand something theyare supposed to be teaching, Minter stated, andthey are not going to say that if their principal is inthe room.

    Minters training approach appeared to pay

    dividends: in Area 9s rst year (2006-07),seven Area 9 schools made AYP and each of theremaining eight schools posted academic gains. 15 At Holabird, the percent of students who scoredpro cient or better in math rose from 36.8% to76.3% and the school made AYP. 16

    New LeadershipDespite impressive student gains at the end of the 2006-07 school year, Holabird continued tostruggle. Families continued to opt out of theschool, the schools reputation as uninvitingpersisted, and staff left in droves. The districttransferred the principal to another schooland charged Dr. Minter with replacing her. Dr.Minter knew that the school needed to repair itsrelationships with families and the community if it was to remain open and thrive. She hired Ms.Lindsay Krey, her protg and a newly-mintedgraduate of the New Leaders for New Schoolsprogram, to lead Holabird. It would be Kreys rstprincipal position. Krey had impressed Minter withher strong interpersonal skills and ability to use datato guide decision making. Minter commented, Ms.Krey was just what Holabird needed to move to the

    next level.Krey took several steps to turn the school aroundquickly and build upon the academic gains made theyear before, including:

    Hiring a new staff. From the previous year onlytwo classroom teachers and one teacher leaderremained; 85% of the staff had left over thesummer. Krey built her team with largely noviceteachers, but sought teachers who demonstratedwillingness to do what it took to improvestudent performance and focus on the details.

    Overhauling the schools image. Kreyimplemented improvements to the schoolsphysical plant; strictly enforced the districtsschool uniform policy; established highexpectations for students; renamed the schoolHolabird Academy to highlight the schoolsacademic, college-bound focus; and requiredstaff to emulate the actions and behavior theyexpected from their students.

    Building a strong leadership team. Kreyembraced her mentors belief that its not

    about you, the principal, doing everything, buthow you get others around the table to assistyou doing it. You cant do it on your ownyoull burn out, and its important that othersfeel they own the problems, too. Re ectingon this principle, Krey built a strong leadership

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    team that included the RIS, Dolores Winston,BCPS School Improvement Coordinator DawnShirey who shared her data analysis skills, threeteacher leaders, and community and parentstakeholders. She relied on these leaders to runmeetings, support one another, analyze data,take on new initiatives, and stop efforts that did

    not get results.Perhaps the most unique aspect of Kreysleadership model was that, despite a limitedbudget and small enrollment, Krey hired threeteacher leaders who were freed from teachingresponsibilities to focus entirely on guiding theirown team of four novice teachers. In this way,Krey was able to effectively lead a nearly entirelynovice staff through their rst year and stillmake impressive student gains, make AYP, andexit restructuring status. Some people would

    say its crazy to spend those types of resourceson teacher leaders, but we couldnt use noviceteachers as an excuse for poor performance. Wehad to have novice teachers and make AYP,recalled Krey.

    Instituting collaborative analysis andplanning. Krey and her leadership team builta professional environment in which herteachers felt comfortable sharing student dataopenly. With a single teacher for each grade,there was no anonymity or shelter from poorstudent performance or classroom behaviorproblems. Teachers, most of whom were newto the profession and unfamiliar with a differentapproach to planning, felt comfortable with thisapproach. When one outside principal-observerstated that her teachers wouldnt allow this typeof exposure, Krey recalled a Holabird teacherreplying, Were just being honest about it. If Ihave a lot of of ce referrals, I need to answerto the rest of the staff about it. Weve alwaysfelt our data is public and needs to be examinedschool-wide to help us improve.

    Engaging key stakeholders in the community. Krey, Winston, and the entire Holabird staff worked tirelessly to rebuild community and

    family relationships with the school. Throughrevived partnerships with businesses andcommunity organizations, door-knockingcampaigns to share plans for change and booststudent enrollment, and community picnics toreintroduce the school to the neighborhood,Holabirds leaders and staff slowly mended years

    of apprehension about the school.Engaging Additional District Staff

    In addition to reaching out to parents and thecommunity, Holabird leaders engaged additionaldistrict staff to support the restructuring effort.Shirey made frequent visits to the school to guideteacher use of data to identify speci c conceptswith which students struggled and determine theef cacy of various interventions. Shirey notedthat Holabirds teachers often focused on actionsrather than outcomes. She worked with teachers tohelp them recognize their assumptions about theimpacts of various actions and then to test thoseassumptions against the available data. This processallowed teachers to identify efforts that producedresults and those that did not improve studentoutcomes, no matter how well-intentioned, planned,or executed.

    Shirey also provided an outside perspectiveon school improvement efforts and teacherdevelopment. She participated in classroomwalkthroughs with the principal and often sat in onthe data subcommittee of the leadership team whereteachers and teacher leaders regularly reviewedstudent progress data. Shirey reported back to Kreywith ideas for improvement in the subcommitteesprocess. Krey trusted Shirey to build her teachersdata analysis skills and keep them focused on usingdata to make decisions about changes in studentinstruction. Having an additional strong leader ather side, Principal Krey explained, helped her be inmultiple places at once.

    Shirey reported visiting Holabird as often as once a

    week during the schools last year of restructuring,and she regularly participated in the SIT meetings.She explained that her involvement at Holabirdwas more intensive than with other restructuring

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    schools for two reasons. First, the principal reachedout to her, requested real feedback, and acted uponthe feedback to make improvements. This strongworking relationship and the student achievementresults reinforced Shireys time investment in theschool. Secondly, Holabird, as a late-start school,held its SIT meetings in the morning when Shirey

    could easily attend. Most other restructuringschools in the district held meetings after schoolon the same day, creating a scheduling con ict thatlimited her involvement with those schools.

    ResultsBased on spring assessment data, Holabird exitedrestructuring status in the fall of 2008. That schoolyear Holabird added the seventh grade, boostedstudent enrollment to 220, and retained nearly100% of the staff. More than 90% of the risingseventh graders performed at or above pro cientthe previous year and continued to thrive at the newHolabird Academy. Informants agreed that noneof the approaches alone would have resulted in thesame impressive results as the powerful combinationof actions taken.

    Informant-Identi ed Lessons LearnedPlacing a new leader in the school with theinterpersonal skills to heal relationships withfamilies, community, and the district allowed theschool to move forward with restructuring.

    Building strong working relationships

    between school and district entities createdan environment conducive to maintenance of improvement efforts.

    Organizing restructuring schools into a singleadministrative unit allowed the district toef ciently and effectively provide resourcesfocused on the speci c needs of teachersin restructuring schools, including: teacherprofessional development, networkingopportunities between staffs at strugglingschools, and training on proven instructionalprograms.

    Choosing a blanket restructuring option for allrestructuring schools produced mixed results.Additional supports and relationship-buildingwere necessary to effect change.

    Figure 2. Holabird Academy, percent of students meeting or exceeding standards, by subject.

    Subjects2002-

    03 a 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08b

    Reading 29.8 35.0 42.5 56.2 71.2 78.3Math 21.5 23.2 23.2 36.8 76.3 81.1

    Actionsand

    Results

    Restructuringplanning;school entersrestructuringwith 30 otherBaltimore schools.

    RestructuringImplementation;school receivesspecialist (RIS)from the districtas the chosenrestructuringapproach.

    Inrestructuring;limitedacademicgains.

    Holabirdplaced inArea 9;teachersreceivetargetedprofessionaldevelopment;school makesAYP

    Principal Kreyarrives; newstaff is hiredafter 85%of teachersleave school;schoolmakes AYPand exitsimprovementstatus.

    Sources: Interviews with school and district leaders and Maryland school report card for Holabird. Report card available at:http://www.mdreportcard.org/Assessments.aspx?K=300229&WDATA=School#MSAsnapshota 2003 data does not include 4th grade (no data available),b2008 data includes new 6th grade class). Note: the school report cards do not provide a school-wide pro ciency average. For this table, the percent pro cient was averaged across the grades tested and assumed same number of students per grade (i.e.this is not a weighted average).

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    Box Elder 7-8

    Box Elder, Montana

    IntroductionBox Elder, Montana is a small, rural communityof a few hundred residents located 65 miles southof the Canadian border. The local school districtconsists of a single campus that serves a K-12student population of about 375 students from anearby American Indian reservation. The single K-6elementary, 7-8 middle school, and high school inBox Elder face many challenges that are commonamong rural schools, including high poverty rates,low parental education levels, and sometimes limitedaccess to resources. In addition, Box Elder facesa unique constellation of challenges associatedwith educating American Indian students fromthe local reservation. After years of low student

    performance, Box Elder 7-8 entered restructuringin 2005. In 2006, Box Elder 7-8 converted toself-contained classrooms. Two years later, it exitedschool restructuring status after more than doublingthe percent of students meeting state standardsin reading and more than tripling those meetingstandards in math.

    BackgroundNearly every Box Elder student is a member of theChippewa-Cree tribe and lives on the nearby RockyBoy Reservation, Montanas smallest AmericanIndian reservation, with fewer than 4,000 residents.Half of Rocky Boys residents are under the age of 18. Box Elder school leaders acknowledged that, foryears, the challenges faced by the residents of the

    reservationincluding high unemployment rates,poor health, rampant alcohol and drug addiction,and limited economic opportunitiesnegativelyimpacted their students readiness to learn. Somestudents moved frequently between homes of familymembers and friends and others experienced periodsof homelessness. Family struggles, coupled with the

    distrust held by many American Indians for schoolsoff the reservation, had created signi cant barriersto improving student learning. 17

    In the Box Elder schools, dealing with studentdiscipline and behavior issues often overshadowedacademics. School counselor Kevin Barsotti recalledthat he used to routinely have more than a dozencrisis-counseling sessions a day. I was doing nothingbut putting out res. This chaotic environmentstemmed in part from, and exacerbated, teacherturnover. The districts schools employed fewer than

    40 staff members and would have at least 10 staff members lined up to leave the district each spring,Barsotti noted.

    RestructuringEntering restructuring forced Box Elder 7-8sstaff and district leaders to reconsider their rolein serving students. Despite the challenges theirstudents faced, the staff needed to design a programthat would greatly improve the number of studentsmeeting state standards. There could be no moreexcuses. District and school leaders worked togetherto rebuild an improvement plan that would achieveresults. The plan centered on developing a strongeracademic focus, accessing resources to support theirstudents, changing grade and class con gurations,

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    providing targeted professional development,improving the school climate, and sharing leadershipresponsibilities throughout the school.

    Academic FocusBox Elder 7-8 school leaders admitted that, strangelyenough, academics had not been a strong focus attheir schools. Staff often felt the many challenges

    their students faced took focus away from classwork. In addition, basketball was king at Box Elder,like it is in most Indian schools, several individualsnoted. To exit restructuring, Box Elder of cialsknew they would need to redouble their effortson the business of learning and to make onlythose changes that would improve student academicperformance.

    Staff also realized that academics were low on a listof priorities for kids facing homelessness, hunger,transience, and violence. Kevin Barsotti, school

    counselor and Title I Director, said successfulschools change what they can and dont getdistracted by what they cant. School leadersknew that the school could provide a safe, healthy,culturally-aware, stable environment that served toameliorate some of the problems students facedbeyond school walls and would allow students togive greater attention to learning.

    Although improvement was necessary at all threeBox Elder schools, the school leaders recognized

    that the middle school students needed specialsupport. We noticed that student scores fell by10% between fth and sixth grade; commentedPrincipal Darin Hannum, they were just fallingoff a cliff. Academic counselor Shari Ruff agreed,The middle school kids were struggling. They wentfrom fth grade, which was very structured in a

    single classroom, to sixth grade changing class everyperiod and sharing the hallways with the high schoolstudents.

    When the middle school entered restructuringplanning status in 2004-05, restructuring optionswere limited. As a small, rural school system, the

    rst four restructuring options outlined by federallegislation were impractical or impossible, for severalreasons. First, there is no charter school law inMontana. In addition, the state had not yet chosento take over any schools, and outside contractors

    were not interested in Box Elders small, ruralschools. Replacing the principal and staff poseddif culties given the remote location and limitedaccess to replacement teachers. Left with planning atailored restructuring approach under Option Five,Box Elders leaders and teachers used their current

    ve-year plan as a starting point and developed anaction plan focused on academic achievement.

    Relationships and ResourcesBecause the district consisted only of the BoxElder schools, it did not have many additionalresources or staff for the school to access whilerestructuring. Several school leaders explained thatthe small district required them to reach out tothe state of ce and other sources of support indeveloping and implementing its restructuring plan.For example, Box Elder administrators requestedthat the Of ce of Public Instruction (OPI) cometo the school and conduct an external review.Montanas OPI provided a week-long scholasticreview audit that resulted in detailed improvementsuggestions across nine areas related to Lezottesseven correlates of effective schools. Box Elder 7-8sleaders used the ndings of this review to guidetheir SIP development and focus their improvementefforts to avoid implementing changes haphazardly.

    A Classroom Organization that WorkedDespite a re-written improvement plan and someacademic gains, it was not until the spring of 2006 that school leaders developed a plan thatultimately paid off in student achievement gains. BoxElders Superintendent Robert Heppner attended

    Key Restructuring Actions Taken at BoxElder 7-8:

    Focused on academicsAccessed state, tribal, and grantresources to support restructuringConverted to self-containedclassroomsProvided targeted professionaldevelopment for teachers andexpanded teaching staff Improved school climate through aproactive behavioral program, support

    for healthy lifestyles, and an emphasison American Indian cultureUtilized plurality of leadership tocapitalize on talents

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    a conference presentation on the bene ts of aself-contained classroom model for middle schoolstudents. Convinced the approach could workat Box Elder, Heppner brainstormed with twocolleagues on how best to implement the approach.They realized that limited teacher resources requiredthat the self-contained model be applied to the sixth,

    seventh, and eighth grade classes. The next day,Heppner announced the change would occur duringthe 2006-07 school year. Citing stronger teacher-student relationships, increased safety, and decreasedtime in transition, Heppner made the case for thenew approach. Teachers and principals were, theyadmitted, leery of the change but hopeful. MarkIrvin, the high school principal acknowledged, Itsnot always the best for a superintendent to make adecision unilaterally, but in our case it worked.

    Staff and administrators set about hammering out

    the details necessary for effective implementationof self-contained classrooms. Reorganizing thefour subject-speci c classes into two self-containedclassrooms for each grade required overcomingseveral hurdles. First, school and district leadersneeded to ensure it could continue to meet highly-quali ed teacher (HQT) requirements while shoringup teacher skills in multiple subject areas. Second,the school leaders knew they would have to provideintensive support for teachers as they relearnedsubjects and dealt with the discomfort inherent inany change process. And nally, they needed to hire

    two new teachers.Box Elder staff worked closely with Montana OPIto gain feedback and ideas about the self-containedprogram and meeting HQT requirements. In 2004,NCLB had provided new exibility for rural schoolsand multi-subject teachers. To prevent teachersfrom having to go back to school to earn additionalcredentials, each state had to develop a High,Objective, Uniform State Standard of Evaluation(HOUSSE) for veteran teachers to demonstrate theyknew the subjects they taught. Under Montana

    HOUSSE rules, Box Elders teachers met therequirements for HQT. Montana had also madea state determination that allowed self-containedclassrooms in middle schools that provided a clearadministrative path for Box Elder to make the switchto self-contained classrooms.

    Targeted Teacher Professional Developmentand Support

    Before self-contained classrooms, the middle schoolhad four full-time teachers and one teacher whotaught math at the middle and high school levels.The teachers, half of whom had been with theschool for more than a decade, had taught only onesubject area; they knew they would need signi cantadditional support to strengthen their contentknowledge and teaching skills in the other subjectareas.

    Teachers began by working after school, on theweekends, and during the summer to align thecurriculum to state standards and relied on theexpertise of their colleagues as they developedlesson plans for the coming year. Montana OPIalso provided funding for additional professionaldevelopment to support the teachers through

    the change process and ll in any subject gapsremaining. Box Elder hired two new teachers and,that fall, implemented self-contained sixth, seventh,and eighth-grade classrooms with a student toteacher ratio of about 15 to 1.

    With self-contained classrooms, Box Elders middleschool was able to make remarkable student gainswithout letting go of any teachers and by rallyingexperienced educators around the change process.That year, reading pro ciency nearly doubled andmath pro ciency more than doubled. Middle school

    principal Hannum said, If I could give any advice toprincipals in restructuring schools, it would be trustyour staff, support them, and give them the toolsto be successful. Thats what we did and weve madegreat gains.

    Improving School CultureTo support the academic changes undertaken at theschool, administrators and staff built on earlier gainsin improving the health, stability, safety, and culturalfocus of the school environment. All staff continuedto implement a proactive behavioral program thatallowed them to identify struggling students beforethey caused classroom disruptions. This programresulted in far fewer of ce referrals and classroomoutbursts and improved school safety.

    The school also focused on improving the health of students through the school meals program. Becausenearly every student quali ed for free or reduced-price meals and ate two meals a day at school,staff wanted to provide healthy, balanced foods to

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    students. Given the high rates of diabetes, obesity,and other health issues among American Indians,they knew healthy eating habits developed at schoolcould help counter those problems. Through grantsources, Box Elder was able to provide scratch-made, sugar-free, well-balanced meals to all of theirstudents.

    Finally, Box Elder schools heightened culturalawareness among staff and students through theinstitution of Cree language classes, after-schoolprogramming in American Indian music and dance,and the involvement of tribal elders and familiesin the schools cultural programming. Ten yearsago, you wouldnt know this was an AmericanIndian school one staff member noted. Today,the culture permeates our school and instills ourstudents with an understanding and sense of pride intheir heritage.

    Strong Leadership TeamDespite its small size, Box Elder schools had severalteachers and staff willing to bring their skills to bearon the restructuring process. The math teacher whohad some experience as an assistant principal becamethe middle school principal; the guidance counselorwrote grants to fund speci c restructuring efforts;and the academic counselor provided a sympatheticear to teachers who were initially reticent about thebig changes taking place. We all have to walk in theauthority we are given, said Kevin Barsotti. Ourschool operates under a plurality of leadership thatallows everyone to use their skills and talents for thegood of the school. Box Elder was able to capitalizeon its existing staff throughout the restructuringprocess.

    ResultsOnce the middle school implemented self-containedclassrooms, the staff noticed positive changesright away. The hallways were more orderly duringclassroom changes for the high school, because

    middle school students were no longer in thehalls. Of ce referrals decreased dramatically, andteachers began to develop a better understandingof which students were struggling across the boardrather than only with speci c subjects. Parentalinvolvement improved somewhat due to the easeof communicating with one teacher about a childsperformance across subjects. Counselor Shari Ruff heard reports from parents that children enjoyedcoming to school after the switch. Staff reported

    that the increased stability, close relationship witha single teacher, and improved safety made schoolmore enjoyable for many middle school students.After only one year of implementing self-containedclassrooms, student performance improved so much,the state of Montana awarded Box Elder 7-8 theTitle I Distinguished School Award.

    Self-contained classrooms also increased personalaccountability for student achievement. Rather thanbeing responsible for achievement in one subjectfor 70 students, teachers were responsible for thetotal learning experience for only 15 or 20 students.Several individuals observed that teachers tookstudent results more seriously after the switch toself-contained classrooms. Shari Ruff stated, Oneteacher, who initially came to me with signi cantconcerns about the switch, said that it was the bestthing that had ever happened to her as a teacher.

    The close relationships she now had with herstudents and their improved test scores had provento her that the many extra hours spent to get up tospeed with the content and how to teach it, aligningthe curriculum, and working with the other grade-level teacher preparing lessons were worth it.

    Although they made great strides, the leaders at BoxElder all agreed that they still had much work todo. Principal Darin Hannum pointed out that onlyabout half of our students graduate high school ontime, due in large part to high transiency rates andpoor attendance. We still have a long way to go.Kevin Barsotti concurred, Were always arriving,never arrived.

    Jack OConnor, a School Support System Specialistfrom the Montana OPI commented, We providerestructuring schools like Box Elder with a thoroughschool review, a list of tailored action items,professional development opportunities, and accessto improvement grants. But all the help in theworld does not matter unless a school actually doessomething with it. The leaders at Box Elder decidedthey were going to focus on academics and improvestudent performance. They made a plan and stuckwith it. They made no excuses. The leaders, theteachers, and the students made the restructuringsuccessful.

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    Informant-Identi ed Lessons LearnedIdentifying the central reasons for lowperformance and choosing a restructuringapproach that addressed those causes resulted inrapid, strong student achievement gains.

    Building relationships with the SEA, various

    tribal agencies, successful outside educators, andkey stakeholders strengthened restructuringefforts undertaken.

    Accessing additional resources through grants,federal entitlement funds, Bureau of IndianAffairs funds, etc. allowed the school toovercome the limitations of its small district sizeand rural location.

    Instituting a plurality of leadership drew onthe strengths of various individuals at the schooland district level and did not rest restructuringsuccess on a single leader.

    Building cultural awareness into schoolsprogramming and culture catalyzed otherchanges at the school.

    Figure 3. Box Elder 7-8, percent of students meeting or exceeding standards, by subject.Subject 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08Reading 33% 38% 68% 87%

    Math 26% 14% 38% 61%Actions and Results Restructuring

    planningIn restructuring;state provides week-long evaluation

    Implementsself-containedclassrooms; makesAYP

    Made AYP; exitsimprovement status

    Sources : Interviews with school and district leaders and Montana school report card for Box Elder 7-8. Report card availableat: http://opi.mt.gov/reportcard/index.html

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    MacArthur Middle School

    Berkeley, Illinois

    IntroductionMacArthur Middle School serves nearly 500sixth through eighth graders in the working-classneighborhood of Berkeley, Illinois, near ChicagosWest Side. Families leave Chicagos neighborhoodsand public schools and come out here to Berkeleyto provided a better option for their kids, saidMacArthurs principal, Dr. Keith Wood. Nearly two-thirds of the schools students qualify for free orreduced-price meals; half of MacArthurs studentsare African American and more than 40% areHispanic.

    During the 2003-04 school year, 55.8% of theschools students met or exceeded standards on thestate test in reading and only 28.2% did so in math.

    After years of failing to make AYP, MacArthurMiddle School entered restructuring planning duringthe 2004-05 school year. MacArthurs SIT analyzedstudent performance data and the course scheduleand decided to focus its initial efforts on improvingmath instruction. After successfully improvingmath scores, MacArthur focused on English andspecial education. After three years of restructuringimplementation, more than 80% of MacArthursstudents performed pro cient or better on stateexams, and the school exited restructuring status.

    BackgroundFor years, teachers struggled to improve studentacademic achievement at MacArthur. MacArthursleadership faced dif culties in improving studentperformance, Dr. Wood stated, because Berkeleyschool districtconsisting of only four elementaryand two middle schoolswas a starter district.Young teachers began teaching there, he said, andthen once they had a few years of experience,transferred elsewhere. High teacher turnover of 25-50% of the teaching staff each year made it

    dif cult for any change efforts to take hold.Despite these challenges, Assistant Principal DonnaTrowbridge, who had spent several years as anadministrator in MacArthurs two elementary feederschools, knew that their students were making AYP.She conceded that the subjects the students studiedin middle school were more complex and the testswere different, but she believed that if the studentswere not entering middle school substantially

    behind, then the problems in achieving AYP werelocated in MacArthurs approaches.

    RestructuringEntering restructuring status served as a catalystfor the school to take a serious look at existingpractices and identify a course of action that wouldresult in more dramaticrather than gradualstudent achievement gains. Dr. Wood, MacArthursprincipal, worked with the school improvement teamand several district leaders to map the best wayforward. Because MacArthur was the rst school in

    the district to enter restructuring status; the districtworked closely with MacArthurs administrators todevelop a restructuring plan and provided a numberof services and supports central to MacArthursdramatic improvement.

    Building a Network of SupportThe small district size fostered close workingrelationships between administrators at MacArthurand in the district, which leaders capitalized onduring restructuring. They scheduled monthly AYPmeetings during the planning and implementationyears to brainstorm, create action plans, and providefeedback on implementation. Dr. Wood believedthat frequent contact with district leaders kepthim focused on the change efforts and held himaccountable for full implementation of the plan.The meetings also provided an opportunity forDr. Wood to discuss teacher and student reactionsto the changes and how best to deal with anygrowing pains associated with restructuring. To

    Key Restructuring Actions Taken atMacArthur:

    Fostered a network of support for theschoolEmployed data-driven planningAligned class schedule and curriculumto state standards and areas of weaknessStrengthened the teaching teamProvided targeted teacher professionaldevelopment to implement newapproachesImproved school climate

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    leverage the impact of these meetings, the districtinvited the districts other middle school principalto participate. The other middle school avoidedentering restructuring implementation reportedlybecause of the change efforts that were planned andimplemented as a result of these AYP meetings.

    Data-Driven PlanningMacArthurs principal, other school leaders,teachers, and family members formed the schoolimprovement planning team. Together, theyscoured state test data and other data sources toidentify the most important action steps to supportimprovement. The data demonstrated that math wasthe weakest area for MacArthurs students. Whilethe percentage of students meeting or exceedingstandards in reading was nearly 16 points higher thanthe state AYP target, the percentage of studentsmeeting standards in math was 12 points below thetarget.

    The SIT compared these data with the class scheduleand realized that students received three periods of language arts-based instruction per day, but onlyone period of math instruction. The SIT resolved toreorganize the class schedule to include more mathinstruction and provide more hands-on, group-oriented math applications to reinforce the conceptsstudents were already learning.

    Aligning the Schedule and Curriculum to

    StandardsIn addition to including more math instructionfor students, MacArthurs SIT chose a new mathprogram, called M2T2, and aligned the curriculumto state standards to increase student access to thematerials on which they would be tested. 18 Beforerestructuring, MacArthur used a math program thattested individual students and provided instructionbased on each students current performance level.This resulted in differentiated instruction, butstudents covered concepts that were not necessarily

    aligned to the grade level test they took each year.Eva Smith, Assistant Superintendent for SpecialServices, recalled, When it came time for studentsto take the state test, no matter what level they wereworking on in classabove or below their actualgrade levelthey were administered the test fortheir grade. This resulted in students not meetingstandards for their grade, because the speci cconcepts tested were not familiar for some or stillfresh in the minds of others.

    In addition to the M2T2 program, MacArthurimplemented a new schedule that included a mathlab. The school improvement team carved out roomin the schedule for the math lab by folding healthclass into the physical education curriculum andincluding the formerly separate speech and dramacourses into one of the language arts classes. With

    room in the schedule, the school converted thecomputer lab into a math lab and hired a mathlab teacher. The math lab teacher employed thecomputers to provide some math instruction, butalso incorporated the use of manipulatives andgroup work to reinforce math concepts studentswere learning in class.

    To implement the math lab effectively, Dr. Woodinstituted weekly math team meetings to facilitatecommunication between the math teachers and themath lab instructor. These meetings provided time

    for teachers to coordinate their lessons, discussindividual students who were struggling, and identifythe best ways to reinforce particular concepts.MacArthur also hired a math coach for its mathteachers. The math coach observed classrooms andprovided instructional feedback to the teachers.

    To further the impact of the increased time onmath and to improve student performance overall,MacArthur hired some of its teachers during thesummer of 2005 to align the new course schedulescurriculum to state standards. We had a lot of room for improvement in that area, reported Dr.Wood.

    With an aligned curriculum, clear communication,and coaching, MacArthurs math teachers improvedstudent learning in the rst year of restructuringimplementation. The percentage of students meetingor exceeding math standards increased dramaticallyfrom 36.6% to 75.8%.

    Creating a Strong Teaching TeamEven with curricular and scheduling changes,MacArthurs leadership recognized thatrestructuring would only work if they had high-quality, dedicated, and experienced teachers.MacArthur undertook a multi-pronged effort toreduce unwanted staff turnover, strengthen currentteachers skills, remove ineffective teachers, andreplace them with promising new educators. Anew teacher mentoring program offered monthlymeetings between school administrators and newteachers centered on communicating expectations,providing an opportunity for new teachers to share

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    challenges they were experiencing, and buildingrapport between teachers and administrators.New teacher induction also improved with theintroduction of an aligned curriculum. AssistantPrincipal Trowbridge recalled, Aligning thecurriculum helped our new teachers come in andget on board in their rst year. This support, she

    reported, helped teachers acclimate to the schoolmore readily and improved teacher retention.

    The district also sought to remedy its high teacherturnover by implementing a pre-screening processcalled Ventures for Excellence, which AssistantPrincipal Trowbridge credited with bringing inmore uniformly stronger teaching candidates.The Ventures for Excellence process utilizes twoscreeners. The rst screener reviews applicationsonline, and the second screens videotaped face-to-face interviews. During interviews, screeners are

    trained to recognize if teacher candidates have astrong student-centered focus. The process is basedon the understanding that student-centered teachersteach the whole child and engage students in anatmosphere that considers student abilities, aptitude,attitude, learning styles, and interests. Dr. Woodadded, It has certainly helped our district ndcandidates who are more likely to be effective in theclassroom, especially novice teachers. It is easier toteach technical skills, such as classroom managementor effective reading strategies, to novice teacherswith the right educational belief system in place.

    Hiring and keeping quality teachers was only half of the staff-improvement equation. MacArthursadministrators also selectively removed teachers whowere not performing effectively. Assistant PrincipalTrowbridge commented, In the rst couple of yearsof restructuring, we had to remove more poor-performing teachers, especially those with threeyears of experience and eligible for considerationfor tenure. Now, to maintain our teaching team, wemay hire ve teachers a year and let one go at theend of the rst year. We make a concerted effort to

    support them, but if they dont make it in the rstyear, we have to let them go. We do not have time,and our kids do not have time, to wait and see if apoor performing teacher can improve. MacArthurdid not removed any tenured teachers, but theadministrators no