Supporting School Turnaround: Coordinating External Supports to Improve Coherence

• In Event: Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Supports and Capacity Development for School Turnaround

Abstract

The provision of external school improvement support to help turn around chronically low-achieving schools has gained momentum in recent years as states, districts, and schools face increased pressure to improve student outcomes and meet accountability targets. Access to multiple sources of external support can offer schools more intensive and comprehensive assistance to address their often highly complex needs, but a lack of cohesion among these supports can lead to duplication of efforts, working at cross-purposes, mixed messages, and overwhelmed staff. This paper seeks to investigate how individuals within schools, school systems, and school support networks are taking measures to coordinate the layers of external assistance operating in low-performing schools to ensure that these supports are mutually-reinforcing, not wasteful or counterproductive.

Authors

• Andrea Boyle, American Institutes for Research

• Kerstin A. Carlson Le Floch, American Institutes for Research

• Susan Bowles Therriault, American Institutes for Research