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Turning Around a School District to Become a Statewide Exemplar

Mon, April 20, 10:35am to 12:05pm, Virtual Room

Abstract

The former Superintendent of Sanger Unified School District will discuss how he led a turnaround of that district from one that was one of the lowest in the state on all metrics to one that has won many awards -- including 24 Distinguished School Awards, 18 Title I academic achievement awards, and it was nominated three times for a national Blue Ribbon School award.
Sanger is made up of 85% minority enrollment, 74% qualify for free or reduced price lunch, 20% are English Learners, 6 % are students with disabilities, and 22% of parents did not graduate from high school. It was one of the first 98 California school districts to enter Program Improvement (PI) status. Five elementary schools were PI status, as was the intermediate school The district had not maintained adherence to the state textbook adoption cycle, or maintained a focused staff development program. Schools had little fidelity to State curricular standards. There was not an effective district-wide assessment system to monitor student achievement. The district operationalized three Guiding Principles to begin its change process: Hope is not a strategy. Don’t blame the kids. It is about student learning. The district changed culture, used a multi-tiered system of supports, worked to get everyone on the same page about who they were serving and how they were serving them, and used a range of classroom interventions. The story of Sanger is largely a story of leadership. The superintendent focused on giving people wins along the way toward driving to the end outcome, giving people ownership, making them part of the process, and allowing them to be heard.

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