Current Work
Through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we are currently working on an extensive Research & Development effort to "operationalize" the turnaround framework. The goal is to create a toolkit for states, districts, and potential lead turnaround partners that provides strategies, organizational structures, best practices, and work plans to take on school turnaround. These tools will be available in late spring 2008.
Districts that are of particular interest to the R&D work include:
Boston, MA
Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC
Chicago, IL
Miami, FL
New York City, NY
While no state is at the forefront of school turnaround, many states have taken small steps in the right direction. The following states offer specific strategies & policies that will be highlighted in the resulting tools and strategies resulting from our current R&D effort:
Organizational Structures
Alabama: Accountability Roundtable
Georgia: Governor's Office of Student Achievement
Florida: Schools of Excellence Commission
Louisiana: Recovery School District
Maryland: Proposed "Breakthrough Center"
Ohio: Academic Distress Commission
Washington State: Washington Learns
Zone Creation
Arizona: Independent Charter Authority
Colorado: Independent Charter Schools
Massachusetts: Commonwealth Pilot Schools
New Jersey: District Performance Review
New Jersey: Abbott Districts
Louisiana: Recovery School District
Collective Bargaining
California (Los Angeles & Oakland)
Colorado (Denver)
Florida (Miami)
Massachusetts
New York (NYC)
Ohio (Cincinnati)
Regulatory & Funding Flexibility
California
Illinois
Pennslyvania
Massachusetts
Wisconsin
State & District Partnering
Arkansas
Hawaii
Maryland
Michigan
Mississippi
Strategic Planning
On a very limited basis, we have worked with selected states to research their current accountability systems, while offering recommendations to target their chronically under-performing schools. With varying levels of intensity, we have done this type of strategic consulting in California, Illinois, Texas, and Washington State.
Future Plans
As Mass Insight evolves into a national research and strategic organization, we will work intensively with selected states and districts to transform their school systems to address the needs of under-performing schools and their turnaround potential.