Re-Examining Wheeler E.S.: A Case Study in Turnarounds
The education blogsphere has done a good job picking apart the weaknesses in Michael Winerip's New York Times story about a persistently low-performing school in Vermont that had to replace its principal to qualify for federal school-improvement grant money, even though it seems most everyone thought Joyce Irvine was doing a great job.
The story highlights the potential weaknesses of a one-size-fits-all federal approach to turning around low-performing schools in states and districts. Replacing a principal, which is required in most cases by federal regulations, is not a sure-fire solution to turning around a school, especially in rural and other hard-to-staff areas where finding good leaders is already tough.
In reaction to the story, This Week in Education took note of an important fact missing from the story: Scores of students who recently arrive at a school don't count for No Child Left Behind "adequate yearly progress" (AYP)
The story highlights the potential weaknesses of a one-size-fits-all federal approach to turning around low-performing schools in states and districts. Replacing a principal, which is required in most cases by federal regulations, is not a sure-fire solution to turning around a school, especially in rural and other hard-to-staff areas where finding good leaders is already tough.
In reaction to the story, This Week in Education took note of an important fact missing from the story: Scores of students who recently arrive at a school don't count for No Child Left Behind "adequate yearly progress" (AYP)
