Monday, March 8, 2010

State Board Meeting--March 2010 - State Board of Education (CA Dept of Education)

State Board Meeting--March 2010

Agenda and other related materials for the California State Board of Education (SBE) meeting to be held on March 10-11, 2010.SBE Meeting Live Webcast

This page provides the agenda and other related materials for the California State Board of Education (SBE) meeting to be held on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 and Thursday, March 11, 2010. Meetings will be held at the following location unless otherwise noted:
State Board of Education
1430 N Street, Room 1101
Sacramento, CA 95814

Agenda and Other Related Material

Agenda*
Comprehensive Vision, Mission, and Goals Statement
Meeting Minutes
SBE Bylaws
SBE Meeting Live Webcast

* State Board of Education Meeting Agendas

SUMMARY OF KEY ISSUES

United States Department of Education Monitoring Review

During the week of February 22, 2010, the Student Achievement and School Accountability Programs office (referred to hereafter as SASA) of the U.S. Department of Education (ED) conducted its California monitoring visit for implementation of Title I, Part A, Improving Basic Programs operated by local educational agencies (LEAs); Title I, Part D, Prevention and Intervention Program for Children and Youth Who are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk of Dropping Out of School (N or D); and Title X, Part C, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act of 2001 (Homeless). The Title III, English Learner Program was monitored in May 2009 and was not included in the February 2010 visit.

The content of SASA’s monitoring is based on states’ responsibilities to provide guidance and support to LEAs and schools based on the requirements of ESEA. SASA uses monitoring indicators (see December 2009 Information Memorandum) to determine the degree of implementation of federal programs administered by state educational agencies. SASA staff has developed indicators in each of the following three monitoring areas: Standards, Assessment, and Accountability; Instructional Support; and Fiduciary. CDE staff, in consultation with SBE staff, provided ED with evidence for the monitoring indicators prior to the visit.

In addition, the monitoring visit involved an onsite review of select local educational agencies

SUMMARY OF KEY ISSUES (Cont.)

(LEAs). Although subject to change, the LEAs and schools that will be reviewed by program include:

Title I, Part A, Basic

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)

Nobel Avenue Elementary School

Mark Twain Middle School

Wilson High School

Compton Elementary School

Yeshiva Rav Isacsohon/Torath Em (non-public)

Sacramento City USD

Oak Ridge Elementary

Will C. Wood Middle School

Cristo Rey High School (non-public)

Sacramento Charter High School

Santa Ana USD

Pio Pico Elementary School

Century High School

School of Our Lady (non-pubic)

Long Beach USD

McKinley Elementary School

Hamilton Middle School

St. Lucy School (non-public)

Title I, Part D, Subpart 1

o The Division of Juvenile Justice and the Division of Rehabilitative Programs (state agencies within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) will be interviewed at the CDE.

Title I, Part D, Subpart 2

LA County Office of Education (COE)

Orange COE

Title X, Part C

Orange COE

LAUSD

Magnolia Elementary School District

Stockton USD and San Joaquin COE will be interviewed at the CDE.

A verbal update of the visit will be provided at the March 2010 SBE meeting.

The State Board of Education (SBE) is the governing and policy-making body of the California Department of Education. The SBE sets K-12 education policy in the areas of standards, instructional materials, assessment, and accountability. The SBE adopts textbooks for grades K-8, adopts regulations to implement legislation, and has authority to grant waivers of the Education Code. The SBE has 11 members, appointed by the Governor.

The meeting agendas of the State Board of Education cover a wide range of educational issues related to the State Board's duties as outlined by the state Constitution, state statutes, and federal law. The issues on the State Board's agendas are of interest to educators, state and local policy makers, parents and guardians, students, and community members.
Generally speaking, the agenda will be uploaded ten days prior to the State Board's monthly meeting. Additionally, the agenda items will be uploaded ten days prior to the State Board meeting along with any supporting materials that are electronically available. The supporting materials (e.g., attachments, addendums, SBE commentary, or related reports) will be listed below the item number as they become available electronically. The agenda items and supporting materials may be downloaded by selecting the appropriate hyperlink.
For agenda materials that are not available electronically, please contact the State Board of Education office at 916-319-0827.
All supporting materials for the agenda items are available for public inspection at the State Board of Education, 1430 N Street, Suite 5111, Sacramento, California, 95814.

Schools Matter: How to Buy a Candidate: Gloria Romero for CA Superintendent of Public Instruction

How to Buy a Candidate: Gloria Romero for CA Superintendent of Public Instruction

It's no secret that CA State Senator Gloria Romero (and Chair of the Senate Education Committee in CA) is a major fan of charter schools, competition, and Race to the Top. She's either written or supported a variety of school choice bills, pro-charter legislation, and she never hesitates to bash public education. Her webpageclaims she wrote the Parent Trigger legislation, but the reality is she was just the mouthpiece of a movement spearheaded by the various charter school organizations backed, of course, by the philanthrocapitalists looking to push their education agenda. Romero is currently running for Superintendent of Public Instruction, one of the top education positions in the state of California. Below is a list of her funders (pulled from here; h/t toDavid Cohen on Twitter for bringing this to my attention):

Donald Fisher - 4/3/2009 - $6,500
Doris Fisher - 4/9/2009 - $6,500
Reed Hastings - 6/24/2009 - $6,500
Ana F. Ponce, Camino Nuevo Charter Academy, Principal -

WWOOF - World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms

	WWOOF	- World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms
		...living, learning, sharing organic lifestyles

Last updated - 26th February 2010 | WWOOF.org HOME >> This is the home page of WWOOF.org

| ? HELP

hat is WWOOF?

WWOOF is a world wide network - and has since become an international movement that is helping people share more sustainable ways of living.

WWOOF is an exchange - In return for volunteer help, WWOOF hosts offer food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles.

WWOOF organisations link people who want to volunteer on organic farms or smallholdings with people who are looking for volunteer help.

How does it work?

WWOOF organisations publish lists of organic farms, smallholdings and gardeners that welcome volunteer help at certain times. The diversity of hosts available offers a large variety of tasks and experiences.

Volunteer helpers ("WWOOFers") choose the hosts that most interest them and make direct contact to arrange a stay. Volunteers usually live as part of the family.

◊ WWOOF volunteers do not pay for their stay.

◊ WWOOF hosts do not pay volunteers for their help.

◊ WWOOF organisations usually charge a small fee to hosts and volunteers. This fee helps maintain and develop the WWOOF network.

Who is WWOOF for?

Read the simple descriptions of WWOOF hosts and WWOOFers (see right).

Do you fit this description?

If so, you are the sort of person that WWOOF was created for!

If not, you could try the organisations listed in the box 'Other non-organic organisations' (right).

WWOOF around the world

There are many WWOOF organisations around the world, but there is no single WWOOF membership that covers all countries.

See here for more information...

Survey shows state schools need 'transformational change,' leader says | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Survey shows state schools need 'transformational change,' leader says

Mark Hornbeck / Detroit News Lansing Bureau

Lansing -- More than one in five Michigan school districts faces a deficit in the coming year, a survey of schools revealed today.

The survey by Michigan School Business Officials found 22 percent of school districts are looking at a deficit, 96 percent anticipate layoffs or not filling vacancies, 48 percent intend to eliminate or significantly reduce athletic programs and 54 percent plan to scrap other educational programs.

"The funding mechanism for public schools is broken," said Thomas White, chairman of Save Our Students, Schools and State, a coalition of 16 education groups, including Michigan School Business Officials. "It's clear we're continuing to head toward the cliff. (School districts) are lined up. Some are closer than others, some are falling off the edge.

"We see a need for transformational change, not just in the way we're funded but in the way we deliver services."

The survey of more than 300 of the state's 550-plus local districts indicates 47 face deficits this year and 60-80 next year, said David Martell, executive director of Michigan School Business Officials.

"That means bankruptcy, out of money," Martell said.

He said that the number of districts that go into deficit likely will be smaller because some will cut staff, bus transportation, athletics and academic programs to keep from going into the red.

He added 3,000 teaching and other school employee positions will be eliminated this year and 4,000 next year.

Thomas Moline, superintendent in the Royal Oak Public Schools, said his district is eliminating transportation, looking to privatize custodial and grounds maintenance, cutting back on counselors and social workers and reducing central office support staff in half.

"We're trying to protect direct classroom services, but if we have the same kind of cuts next year, we may not be able to do that," Moline said.

Other survey findings include:

• 85 percent of districts report class sizes will increase because of staff cuts and closing schools.

• 46 percent will reduce or eliminate bus transportation for students.

• 76 percent plan to consolidate services with other districts to help reduce costs.

• 53 percent will cancel orders for new buses or other major capital spending.

• 83 percent will freeze salaries and benefits for some or all employees.

• 56 percent of districts will reduce or eliminate field trips and other extracurricular activities.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100308/SCHOOLS/3080378/Survey-shows-state-schools-need--transformational-change---leader-says#ixzz0hdRD5M1C

Senate Education Committee to Kick off ESEA Renewal - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Senate Education Committee to Kick off ESEA Renewal

By Alyson Klein on March 8, 2010 5:34 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

We've heard a bit about the process for reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in the House, while the Senate has been relatively silent on the issue.

But it sounds like that could change tomorrow when the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee holds its very first hearing on renewing the law.

The hearing's title? ESEA Reauthorization: The Importance of World-Class K-12 Education for our Economic Success. Sounds like they're starting out with an "economic competitiveness/job creation strategy," which makes sense from a messaging standpoint, given that in survey after survey, the public says it wants Congress to focus on jobs.

But the topic doesn't give us much of a hint on where the committee stands on the key questions going into reauthorization, including how to measure student learning, gauge teacher effectiveness, and turn around low-performing schools.

On the four-man witness list? Some are usual suspects:

*John Castellan, the president of the Business Roundtable in Washington

*Dennis Van Roekel, the president, National Education Association in Washington

And some are not:

*Andreas Schleicher, the head of the Indicators and Analysis Division, Education Directorate, Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development in

Jennings Encourages Activism in D.C. Remarks - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Jennings Encourages Activism in D.C. Remarks

By Michele McNeil on March 8, 2010 6:08 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

From guest blogger Ian Quillen:

After urging students and teachers to try to "change the world," federal school safety chief Kevin Jennings insisted Monday that conservatives' calls for his resignation haven't affected his visibility.

It's just not Washingtonians, he said, who are seeing him.

"I feel like there is a genuine Beltway mentality where it becomes an echo chamber," said Jennings, the assistant deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Education's office of safe and drug-free schools, in an interview after a rare public engagement in the nation's capital. "I think it's more that I don't speak in D.C. I'm on the road a lot."

Jennings, a former history teacher who took his current post last July, lunched Monday at the National Press Club with about 50 teachers from Close Up, a 39-year-old program that aims to inspire students to informed citizenry with hands-on experiences in Washingtom and elsewhere. He later spoke to 200 student participants at an auditorium near his office.

Jennings encouraged teachers to foster activism in students by emphasizing that many smaller actions in the civil rights movement made Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech possible.

"Segregation did not come to an end because Martin Luther King got up, did this speech, and white people in America went, 'Oh my God! We didn't know. We're so sorry,' " Jennings told teachers. "That's really not how it happened. There were decades and decades and decades of folks who came before Martin Luther King."

Jennings also described to students a pilot program that will survey students about the greatest safety needs in their schools. States that win participation in the competitive-grant program will receive money to address those needs, he said. The program will begin in seven states next year, with potential for expansion thereafter.

A former activist himself--best known as the founder of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, or GLSEN--Jennings drew outrage from the right

Education Research Report: Ritalin boosts learning by increasing brain plasticity

Ritalin boosts learning by increasing brain plasticity

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Doctors treat millions of children with Ritalin every year to improve their ability to focus on tasks, but scientists now report that Ritalin also directly enhances the speed of learning.

In animal research, the scientists showed for the first time that Ritalin boosts both of these cognitive abilities by increasing the activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine deep inside the brain. Neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers neurons use to communicate with each other. They release the molecule, which then docks onto receptors of other neurons. The research demonstrated that one type of dopamine receptor aids the ability to focus, and another type improves the learning itself.

The scientists also established that Ritalin produces these effects by enhancing brain plasticity – strengthening communication between neurons where they meet at the synapse. Research in this field has accelerated as scientists have recognized that our brains can continue to form new connections – remain plastic – throughout life.

"Since we now know that Ritalin improves behavior through two specific types of neurotransmitter receptors, the finding could help in the development of better targeted drugs, with fewer side effects, to increase focus and learning," said Antonello Bonci, MD, principal investigator at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center and professor of neurology at UCSF. The Gallo Center is affiliated with the UCSF Department of Neurology.

Bonci is co-senior author of the paper, which will be published online in "Nature Neuroscience" on Sunday, March 7, 2010.

Bonci and his colleagues showed that Ritalin's therapeutic action takes place in a brain region called

Oregon: Shape of Labor Battles to Come? Education Intelligence Agency

20100308

Oregon: Shape of Labor Battles to Come? Education Intelligence Agency

March 8, 2010

1) Oregon: Shape of Labor Battles to Come? For the first time in U.S. history, there are more union members in the public sector than in the private sector. Many of us think this is a watershed event. But will it really have a practical effect on American politics and, if so, how soon? Oregon may provide the answer.

In May, the state's Democrats will choose between former Gov. John Kitzhaber and former Secretary of State Bill Bradbury for the party's gubernatorial nomination. As in most states, organized labor comprises a major portion of the Democratic base. What's interesting about the Oregon race is that Kitzhaber picked up the endorsements (and thus, the funding) of the state AFL-CIO and a host of private sector unions, while Bradbury was endorsed by the Oregon Education Association, AFT Oregon and the Oregon School Employees Association.

The latter should come as a shock to no one, even since Kitzhaber proposed performance-based funding for the school system. Bradbury took a different approach.

"Essentially, he won teachers over by telling them the only problem with Oregon schools is that they don't have enough money," wrote Jeff Mapes of The Oregonian.

"Bradbury went to my heart and Kitzhaber went to my intellect," said one OEA member. I'll spare you any of the two dozen snarky comments I had planned for this sentence.

Yet to issue an endorsement are the public sector SEIU and AFSCME. If they endorse Bradbury, it will be private sector unions plus AFL-CIO on one side and public sector unions on the other. If they endorse Kitzhaber, it will be school unions on one side and all other unions on the other. Either way, it sets up an interesting primary battle.

SEIU and AFSCME together are the only organizations in the state able to match the school unions dollar for dollar. There have been internecine union campaigns before, but rarely one that was evenly matched. On the other hand, if SEIU and AFSCME side with the school unions, they'll be able to crush the private sector unions in spending. This will open the eyes of the private sector unions to the new reality more than a million words of punditry can.

2) The New York Times Finally Solves the Riddle of Teacher Union Coverage. Much of the education news buzz has correctly focused on Elizabeth Green's "Building a Better Teacher" for the New York Times Magazine. But the Times also published

Lotsa Helping Hands - What users are saying

What users are saying

“Just wanted to acknowledge you for this immensely wonderful service. It's amazing to think of all the people helped by this web site. I'm especially grateful for how our family in Denver was helped, and I believe that my son-in-law's healing was greatly assisted by how easy it was to coordinate those who wanted to help. Thank you so very much!”

–Connie, Columbia, MO

“Thank you for this wonderful site. My six siblings and I are using it to coordinate and communicate care for our elderly mother in New York state. We are scattered across the East Coast and Midwest. This site enables us to schedule tasks and keep everyone informed without having to exchange endless phone calls and emails.”

–Debra, Massachusetts

“Do you currently accept donations for Lotsa Helping Hands? I have been using your site since December of 2007 and was interested in making a modest donation of $25. Can I mail a contribution to help support the work that you do through LHH? I would enjoy speaking with you, but ALS is claiming my voice and so speaking on the phone is difficult. Have a great day!”

–Ann, Minnesota

“I don't know who you guys are but this web site has been invaluable in assisting my friend in getting meals and help with her kids. We have 35 people signed on and it has gone so smoothly thanks to your wonderful site. Thank you for setting it up. It is genius.”

–Annie, San Diego, CA

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–Chris, North Carolina

“This is a wonderful program that I stumbled upon when searching for the address to the hospital to send a thank you note. I was in the hospital for 3 weeks and delivered twins who were in NICU for 4.5 months. Although people asked what they could do, there was no coordinated effort, so driving me to the hospital post-surgery fell to my parents exclusively; preparing food fell to no one, so drive-thru food became a necessity for us. We were very fortunate for all the care that our family received, but this service would have made things a great deal easier.”

–Donna, Boston, MA

“What a great idea you have created here! I was trying to figure out how I was going to manage this whole thing and take care of my life and family of 6. Thank you!!!!”

–Karol, San Jose, CA

“Lotsa Helping Hands is one of the best things I have found. I heard of it from a friend of the family. When my brother, who is only 21, had a spinal stroke that left him quadriplegic, I needed a way of getting in touch with hundreds of his friends who all wanted constant information regarding his status but didn't want to bother my family with phone calls. This website was a savior and it really helped people get involved with my brother's situation.

Your web site has helped our family in so many ways! People keep telling me how they wait for our entry every day to see how he is. It is just a great way to communicate. Also, the calendar and ability to get everyone's phone numbers is a great asset. Thank you for all your work!”

–Danielle, New Jersey

“This website has truly been a lifesaver to me and my family! It is very easy to use and easy for volunteers to sign up. Thank you for providing this wonderful service! We wouldn't be able to get through our situation without all of the help from our friends & family.”

–Mollie, Cincinnati, OH

Capitol News Service � Blog Archive � Teacher Fight Looming

Teacher Fight Looming

March 8th, 2010 by Mike Vasilinda

Florida teachers are up in arms over legislation buried deep within a sixty-one page bill that references child abuse. The legislation makes drastic changes in the way teachers are rewarded or punished. And as Mike Vasilinda tells us, future employment and salary increases would be based on how well students do on tests.
Shari Gewanter has been teaching elementary school for fourteen years. She’s angry because some lawmakers want to put her job on the line every year, based on how her students performed on year-end exams.

“My kids know how to think. My kids know how to problem-solve,” Gewanter said. “My kids know how to work together. You can’t measure that in a test score.”

Shari was one of seven teachers the union brought to the Capitol to protest legislation, which they say will discourage quality teaching.

“Its provisions would allow principals to fire teachers at will,” Andy Ford, with the FEA, said.

The Florida Education Association says politicians want to praise improvements in school rankings, but slap the teachers who are on the front lines. Thomas Lentz teaches high school English in Polk County.

“They can give us fewer students so that we can give them the individual attention they need,” Lentz said. “And they can pay us for our experience, our skills.”

Education Research Report: Farm-to-school programs motivate school food service professionals

Farm-to-school programs motivate school food service professionals

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Potential to improve children's diets without burdening school finances while helping local farmers

During the school day, children eat roughly one-third of their nutritional needs while at school. Besides lunch, breakfast and snacks may be served, providing ample opportunities for obesity-prevention strategies by offering more nutritious food. With economical constraints interfering with schools to provide children with increased amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables, a study in the March/April issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior examines how farm-to-school programs have the potential to improve children's diets by providing locally grown produce without burdening the school's finances.

Researchers at the Michigan State University, Lansing, examined why farmers, school food service professionals (SFSP), and food distributors participate in farm-to-school programs and how they characterize the opportunities and challenges to school food procurement from local farmers. Researchers identified three major reasons why SFSP participate in farm-to-school programs including (1) ''The students like it,'' (2) ''The price is right,'' and (3) ''We're helping our local farmer.''

There were three areas that emerged from analysis of the SFSP's interviews about students/children participation in the farm-to-school programs which included: (1) quality, (2) influence of food service staff, and (3) relationships with farmers. The findings were best described by following two SFSP's interviews:

"A lot of our teachers go to apple orchards so it was neat to have them served for lunch [ . . . ] so we had that link, cafeteria, classroom, field trip. I think they might have said something to the kids, and then the kids get a little more attention so they're like huh, maybe I should eat this apple instead of just letting it sit on the tray.''

The Educated Reporter: Everything old is new again: turnaround edition.

Everything old is new again: turnaround edition.

Now that turnaround is the concept of the moment, we need to investigate what it yielded in the olden days when it was called “restructuring.” Last week I suggested journalists keep in context that zero-based staffing, as whole-school firings (or reassignments) are called, is not new. Now we should take the analysis much further. What has gone on at the dozens (hundreds?) of schools that have been zero-based in the last five years or more? Telling readers what has happened to test scores and graduation rates is not enough. I want to know how many of the teachers were hired back, and where did the rest go? Where did the new teachers come from? How were the teachers in the reconstituted schools trained to do better? What other changes were made besides staffing? New curriculum, new discipline rules, new interventions, new culture ... what? And how might the new RtTT-sparked turnarounds differ from the ones that came before?

The Center on Education Policy has studied restructuring and offers some perspective on the staffing question, generally concluding that replacing staff has some benefit mitigated in part by issues such as the time it takes to hire and the lack of a good pool to draw from

Education Research Report: The Forum Guide to Data Ethics

The Forum Guide to Data Ethics

Educators collect and use data about students, staff, and schools. Some of these data originate in individual student and staff records that are confidential or otherwise sensitive. And even those data that are a matter of public record, such as aggregate school enrollment, need to be accessed, presented, and used in an ethically responsible manner. While laws set the legal parameters that govern data use, ethics establish fundamental principles of "right and wrong" that are critical to the appropriate management and use of education data in the technology age.

This guide reflects the experience and judgment of experienced data managers.

This guide contains:
• Canons-core ethical principles
• Vignettes--example that illustrates how an ethical canon is relevant to the real world
• Discussion--an explanation of the canon that provides context for understanding the ethical principles being addressed
• Recommended Practices and

Persisently Low-Achieving Schools - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

State Schools Chief O'Connell, Education Secretary Reiss, and State Board of Education President Mitchell Release Preliminary List of Schools Identified as 5 Percent of Persistently Lowest Achieving and Call for Action to Improve Schools

SACRAMENTO — Working to ensure access to high-quality education for all students, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, Secretary of Education Bonnie Reiss, and State Board of Education President Theodore R. Mitchell today released a preliminary list of 188 California public schools identified as persistently lowest achieving.

The list is subject to approval by the State Board of Education which is expected to take up this issue, (agenda item #18) on Thursday at Agenda--March 10-11, 2010 - State Board of Education.

The schools identified as persistently lowest achieving must engage in a school intervention model as required by state and federal law.

"This is an opportunity to make dramatic changes at chronically underperforming schools," O'Connell said. "The intervention choices provide an opportunity to make systemic changes that improve teaching and learning. As a result, we will help prepare thousands of students for a brighter future."

"The parents and students of these underperforming schools deserve all our support in providing intervention choices to help transform these schools to better serve them and their communities," said Secretary Reiss. "It is time for bold action to help these students and schools."

"Identifying the state's persistently lowest-achieving schools is a significant step forward in ultimately transforming these schools and meeting the needs of our students," said State Board President Mitchell.

State and federal laws associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program require California to identify the state's low-achieving schools and to require the persistently lowest-achieving 5 percent of those schools to implement one of four school intervention models. The identification of the 5 percent of persistently lowest-achieving schools in California is a multi-step process that is informed by both federal and state law (SBx 51) by Senator Darrell Steinberg, (D-Sacramento).

Schools identified as the lowest 5 percent of the state's persistently lowest-achieving schools are required to implement one of the following four school intervention models:

Turnaround Model: The local educational agency (LEA) undertakes a series of major school improvement actions, including but not limited to, replacing the principal and rehiring no more than 50 percent of the school's staff; adopting a new governance structure; and implementing an instructional program that is research-based and vertically aligned from one grade to the next, as well as aligned with California's adopted content standards.
Restart Model: The LEA converts a school or closes and reopens a school under a charter school operator, a charter management organization (CMO), or an education management organization (EMO) that has been selected through a locally determined rigorous review process using state educational agency provided guidance. (A CMO is a non-profit organization that operates or manages charter schools by centralizing or sharing certain functions and resources among schools. An EMO is a for-profit or non-profit organization that provides "whole-school operation" services to a LEA.) A restart model school must enroll, within the grades it serves, any former student who wishes to attend the school.
School Closure Model: The LEA closes a school and enrolls the students who attended that school in other schools in the LEA that are higher achieving. These other schools should be within reasonable proximity to the closed school and may include, but are not limited to, charter schools or new schools for which achievement data are not yet available.
Transformation Model: The LEA implements a series of required school improvement strategies, including replacing the principal who led the school prior to implementation of the transformation model, and increasing instructional time.

LEAs and school districts are responsible for ensuring that one of the four school intervention models is implemented at each school identified as persistently lowest achieving. To fund these turnaround activities, LEAs may use funds provided through ARRA and SIG funds per the SIG program guidelines.

To view the list of schools identified as persistently lowest achieving, and for more information about the identification process, please visit Persistently Lowest-Achieving Schools - Accountability.