Taking Ownership of Low-Peforming Schools

The cluster or handful of the most persistently and deeply troubled schools in schools many districts seem to me like struggling kids in class, and the choices about what to do to reach them -- hard work no matter what -- are many of the same choices that teachers face.

In the simplest of terms, one approach seems to be to wait for things to fall even further apart, perhaps with the end result being a school closing or some other NCLB-inspired sanction like a charter conversion or an EMO contract. The other is to focus in on the particular needs of these schools. A lot of it has to do with political will, and putting things on the line. It's not nearly as fun as across the board initiatives, or creating new schools or programs. Alas.

This seems especially true in places where the superintendent -- or the mayor -- has taken ownership of the low performers and created a more direct relationship between them and the district. Most recently, this includes Philadelphia, which just announced a NYC-like CEO's region for 11 schools (Philalphia Enquirer). Miami also has such an initiative.

Related Links:

6 low-ranked schools running out of time Stateline.com
Miller Blasts Mayor's Work on Schools New York Times