What Role Do School Leaders Play in Turning Around Low-Performing Schools ?

The Reference Desk receives a variety of questions related to the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). This week’s Digest features a question related to the fourth ARRA Assurance: Providing intensive support and effective interventions for the lowest-performing schools.

Question

What does the research say about the roles of school leaders—both teachers and administrators—in turning around low-performing schools?

Research Synthesis

Reference Desk researchers found that “school leadership is a key part of school change and turnaround” (Herman, 2008; see below). While the resources listed here focus primarily on the role of the principal, each one includes discussions of the principal’s relationship with staff, role as instructional leader, and capacity to share leadership of the school. One report (Public Impact, 2008; see below) addresses the role of teachers as leaders and their required competencies to support the turnaround process.

Publicly Available Resources

Turning Around Chronically Low-Performing Schools: A Practice Guide. 2008; Herman, R., Dawson, P., Dee, T., Greene, J., Maynard, R., Redding, S., and Darwin, M.; NCEE 2008-4020; Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education; 43 pages.

According to the abstract, this guide “identifies practices that can improve the performance of chronically low-performing schools—a process commonly referred to as creating ‘turnaround schools.’” Recommendations 1 and 4 are specifically dedicated to discussion of the role of principals in the turnaround process: “Signal the need for dramatic change with strong leadership” and “Build a committed staff.” The role of teachers and their impact in the classroom is discussed in Recommendation 2: “Maintain a consistent focus on instruction.” Practice Guide companion resources are available at the Doing What Works (DWW) topic webpage for Turning Around Chronically Low-Performing Schools.
School Turnaround Teachers: Competencies for Success. 2008; Chapel Hill, NC: Public Impact; 32 pages.
This guide “seeks to clarify the most critical competencies—or patterns of thinking, feeling, speaking and acting—that enable people to be successful in attempts to transform schools from failure to excellence quickly and dramatically” (page 3). The guide refers to teachers as “turnaround leaders for their classrooms with the additional responsibility of collaborating to implement successful tactics and reduce failed ones across the entire school” (page 6). The guide organizes required turnaround teacher competencies into four clusters: 1) Driving for Results, 2) Influencing Results, 3) Problem Solving, and 4) Personal Effectiveness. Three companion documents are available on the Public Impact topic webpage for School Turnaround Competencies.
Breaking the Habit of Low Performance: Successful School Restructuring Stories. 2009; Brinson D., and Rhim, L. M.; Lincoln, IL: Center on Innovation & Improvement; 46 pages.

According to the website, this report “provides five brief profiles of schools that dramatically improved student performance and successfully restructured under federal accountability systems.” Three of the five districts replaced the principal, one replaced targeted staff, and one hired additional staff to support the improvement efforts. The report outlines the steps school leaders—administrators and teachers—took to improve student achievement. While different approaches were used in each school, principals played a primary role in creating a vision and securing buy-in and active participation from the rest of the faculty including teachers. Specific strategies employed are outlined in each school’s profile on pages 15–38 of this report.

The Reference Desk also found these resources and organizations to be helpful in learning more about turning around low-performing schools in general:

The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement (CCSRI)
According to the website, “[t]he purpose of The Center was to assist schools and school districts contemplating or engaged in school reform and improvement. We provided them with reliable information about research-based strategies and assistance in using that information to make positive changes. The Center’s mission was to help schools organize, plan, implement, and sustain improvement.” Relevant resources include the September 2009 Issue Brief Successful School Turnarounds: Seven Steps for District Leaders.
Center on Innovation & Improvement (CII)
According to the website, CII is a national content center funded by the U.S. Department of Education that “supports regional centers in their work with states to provide districts, schools, and families with the opportunity, information, and skills to make wise decisions on behalf of students.” CII provides a number of publications and resources to support states in their efforts to turn around low-performing schools, including the website section: Restructuring & Turnarounds. In addition, CCI collaborates with the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) to offer the National Network of State School Improvement Leaders (NNSSIL), which engages state leaders “in developing an evidence-based body of knowledge that can lead to accelerating sustainable school, district, and state improvement to raise educational results for all learners.”

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