A Case Study of Social and Human Capital in School Turnaround

• In Event: Strategies for Turning Around Underperforming Schools: Have We Learned Anything New?

Abstract

This research looks at the challenges facing a school turnaround model emphasizing community supports and school culture as its key levers for school improvement, within the added contextual challenges related to being located within a high-accountability state takeover portfolio district, populated by multiple providers with diverse models and experience levels. This study focuses on a charter management organization, started by a local education leader with strong community ties recruited by the state’s portfolio district to start a turnaround organization, and struggling to convert the staff’s social capital into instructional capacity. Specifically, this paper looks to identify and analyze the organizational challenges of improving teaching and learning for a model hoping to leverage social capital into improved school climate and instruction.

Author

• Laura M Groth, The George Washington University