The TurnAround ToolKit: Managing Rapid, Sustainable School Improvement

by Lynn S. Winters, Joan L. Herman

Overview

"An absolute MUST-READ for school leaders who need to generate school improvement immediately! This book will help you make your school′s turnaround a success."
—Bruce Haddix, Principal
Center Grove Elementary School, Greenwood, IN

"The authors go to the heart of school improvement by addressing the critical need to elevate learning for all students through the use of formative data and evaluation."
—Jim Lentz, Superintendent
USD 402 Augusta Public Schools, KS

Transform your school with research-based tools!

If you want to dramatically improve your school′s performance in a short time, this book is for you. Using formative evaluation, The TurnAround ToolKit offers educators a nine-step method based on data-driven continuous improvement processes. Experts and experienced practitioners Lynn Winters and Joan Herman frame these steps within three overarching "turnaround tasks" that begin with realigning systems, progress to integrating data to create the turnaround plan, and, finally, set the stage for ongoing plan revision. Collaboration and rigorous reflection are interwoven through all the steps. The authors clearly explain how to use data to strategically choose, implement, and monitor school interventions. Included are proven methods for:

• Improving school and student achievement
• Meeting accountability targets
• Increasing your school′s competitive edge and reputation
• Building a solid system for ongoing school improvement

This comprehensive resource has it all—a clear step-by-step procedure, tools for implementing each step, pocket summaries for each chapter, and leadership guides to walk you through the process.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452239347
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	12/07/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	312
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Lynn Winters was the Assistant Superintendent for Research Long Beach Unified School District, nationally recognized by the President and the Broad Prize for implementing systems for data guided decision making. She currently consults for Urban School Imagineers training urban school data teams and evaluating an urban school leadership training program.. Prior positions include Lecturer in Social Research Methods at the UCLA Graduate School of Education, high school teaching (history, Spanish and Special Education); county office assessment consultant; Director of Research for Palos Verdes Schools; and Project Director for three grants at the UCLA National Center for Evaluation, Student Standards and Testing.She has co-authored two books with Joan Herman of UCLA CRESST, A Practical Guide to Alternative Assessment,(ASCD) and Tracking Your School’s Success (Corwin Press), and is a reviewer for Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation (PARE), the AERA journal Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis (EEPA, and Educational Assessment. In addition, she has over a dozen published journal articles and regularly presents at the American Educational Research Association’s Annual Meeting.
Joan L. Herman is Director of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at UCLA. Her research has explored the effects of accountability and assessment on schools and teachers and the design of assessment systems to support school planning and instructional improvement. Her recent work has focused on the quality and consequences of teachers′ formative assessment practices. She also has wide experience as an evaluator of school reform.

Dr. Herman is noted in bridging research, and practice, particularly in applications serving English Language Learners and at-risk students. Among her books are Tracking Your School′s Success: A Guide to Sensible School-Based Evaluation; and A Practical Guide to Alternative Assessment, both of which have been popular resources for schools across the country. A former teacher and school board member, Dr. Herman is an elected AERA fellow, has published extensively in research journals and is a frequent advisor to prominent national and state research and development initiatives, including repeated service to the National Academy. She is past president of the California Educational Research Association; has held a variety of leadership positions in the American Educational Research Association, National Organization of Research Centers, and Knowledge Alliance; chairs the Para Los Niños school board, and is current editor of the research journal, Educational Assessment.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Carl A. Cohn
Publisher′s Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Introduction
Part I. The 3 Rs of Turnaround Work: Realign, Redesign, Refine
Section I. Realign: Create the Structures for Turnaround Work
1. Develop Systems for Managing Turnaround Activities: Distributed Leadership, Collaborative Teams, Expert Reviewers and Networks, Data Capacity
2. Organize Information Needed to Redesign Programs
3. Prepare Data Summaries and Displays
Section II. Redesign: Use Data to Create the Turnaround Plan
4. Identify the Turnaround Focus
5. Redesign Programs to Address the Turnaround Focus
6. Develop and Implement the Turnaround Plan
Section III. Refine: Evaluate and Revise the Turnaround Plan
7. Design an Evaluation of the Turnaround Plan
8. Analyze Evaluation Data and Revise the Program
9. The 4th R of Turnaround Work: Reflect on Lessons Learned
Part II. Leader′s Guides for The TurnAround ToolKit
Introduction to Leader′s Guides
1. Develop Systems for Managing Turnaround Activities: Distributed Leadership, Collaborative Teams, Expert Reviewers and Networks, Data Capacity: Leader′s Guide
2. Organize Information Needed to Redesign Programs: Leader′s Guide
3. Prepare Data Summaries and Displays: Leader′s Guide
4. Identify the Turnaround Focus: Leader′s Guide
5. Redesign Programs to Address the Turnaround Focus: Leader′s Guide
6. Develop and Implement the Turnaround Plan: Leader′s Guide
7. Design an Evaluation of the Turnaround Plan: Leader′s Guide
8. Analyze Evaluation Data and Revise the Program: Leader′s Guide
Endnotes
Resources and References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Takes the current school improvement cycle and provides a focus on instruction and tools to get the job done. "

Leslie Standerfer

"Lynn Winters and Joan Herman understand there are no quick fixes to turning around low-performing schools. In this book, they draw on their hard-won experience to provide school leaders with the practical guidance necessary to succeed. "

Hayes Mizell

"School leaders searching for a way to achieve dramatic, focused, positive school improvement will find this book valuable. The text's manageable tools will provide a focused guide for improving student achievement. "

Pamela H. Scott

“An absolute MUST-READ for school leaders who need to generate school improvement immediately! This book will help you make your school's ‘turnaround’ happen effectively.”

Bruce Haddix

Turning around struggling schools is a challenging issue policymakers everywhere face. Lynn Winters and Joan Herman explain not only what to do but how to do it, including useful tools to help educators get started. The Turn Around Toolkit should be read widely.

Robert Rothman

“The author goes to the heart of school improvement by addressing the critical need to elevate learning for all students through the use of formative data and evaluation.”

Jim Lentz