Duncan open to additional school improvement models

12-10-2010

By Alyson Klein/Education Week

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in an interview today that he is open to the idea of developing more models for turning around low-performing schools, other than those spelled out in the regulations for the School Improvement Grant program, which was financed at $3.5 billion in fiscal year 2010. "I'm not set one way or the other," Mr. Duncan told Education Week. The department is monitoring the models as they are implemented around the country, he said. Some folks consider the models to be too stringent and unworkable for rural schools. They call for schools to a) close and send students elsewhere, b) turn over control to a charter management or similar organization, c) use the "turnaround" option, which calls on schools to implement a range of strategies, including getting rid of at least half the staff, or d) take the "transformational" option, which calls on schools to try out a new instructional approach, offer extended learning time, and governing flexibility. That model is considered least likely to require removal of staff. In nearly all cases, under all four options, the principal is also removed. (more…)

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Duncan open to additional school improvement models

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