A better turnaround strategy

11-03-2011

Commentary by Sheldon H. Berman and Arthur Camins/Education Week

Sheldon H. Berman is the superintendent of the Eugene, Ore., school district. Arthur Camins is the director of the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education at the Stevens Institute of Technology, in Hoboken, N.J.

As Americans, we want our nation’s children to experience success. The failure of some schools to reach our most challenged students, coupled with our frustration over the slow pace of change, creates a sense of urgency. Hence, it is understandable that individuals and organizations try to intervene in extraordinary ways to overcome obstacles to academic success. The U.S. Department of Education’s four “turnaround” models represent the latest of these bold responses. Clearly, it is a dramatic act to close a school; to release most of the faculty and recruit other teachers; to relinquish the school to an external organization promising better results; to offer financial incentives for raising test scores; or to bring in new leadership charged with generating the desired results. (more...)

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