SFUSD Board Member Questions Turnaround Policies
In my last post, I reacted to news from San Francisco, where a number of “persistently low-performing” schools will receive a federal school improvement grants (SIG) as part of the government’s “turnaround” policy. There are only four approved models or methods for school turnarounds, and the rigidity of the policy based on so little research and prior success has generated considerable criticism. My fellow InterACT blogger, Martha Infante, recently set about answering a question about schools in California: “The Affluent, Failing, Public School: Does It Really Exist?” And to no one’s surprise, the answer is no. Those of us in the profession are well aware that the ends of the school rankings spectrum reflect differences in circumstances and resources much more than they reflect differences in educators and their practices. Yet, school turnaround models approved by the government
