December 2011
Two December events, a presentation at the California Educational Research Association (CERA) conference and a webinar hosted by SchoolsMovingUp, highlighted the Collaborative’s work regarding school turnaround. Joel Knudson, Director of Communications for the Collaborative, drew on lessons and perspectives from our California district members outlined in the Collaborative’s recent turnaround brief to suggest a more systemic approach to dramatic school improvement. For the CERA presentation, he was joined by Becki Herman and Kerstin Carlson LeFloch of the American Institutes for Research (AIR). Dr. Herman shared the research base on school turnaround, and Dr. LeFloch presented baseline analysis of School Improvement Grants applications from the federal Study of School Turnaround. For the webinar, Mette Huberman of AIR presented recent findings from a California Comprehensive Center report that identifies schools that have successfully turned around. Robin Benton from Los Angeles Unified Local District 7 added reflections based on her experiences as a principal at a turnaround school and as a district administrator.