School Improvement Grants

This entry is cross-posted on the ed.gov blog.

It’s not every day I get a first-hand look at the transformation that’s taking place in our schools as dedicated school and district leaders undertake the difficult work of turning around the lowest performing schools around the country. But last week, I had the pleasure of visiting three Miami-Dade County Public Schools high schools that have begun this effort. It was a wonderful opportunity to see our School Improvement Grants (SIG) at work on the ground, and I’m excited to share with others some of the great work that is being done by the teams in Miami-Dade County.

As we get deeper into the school year, OESE in particular is focusing on supporting schools and districts as they implement turnaround models, using our school improvement grants.
 
I wanted to share this video of a particularly inspiring example of a successful turnaround school: George C. Hall Elementary School in Mobile, Alabama. OESE’s deputy assistant secretary, Dr. Carl Harris, tells me that he shared this very example at a turnaround event held just yesterday in North Carolina. I think it’s really helpful to share success stories with one another, and to create these communities of practice.

I mentioned how busy it was last week for the Department – it was also a busy week for me personally, as I traveled to California to take part in several conferences and events!

In particular, I had the privilege of attending a conference on school turnarounds, which brought together school, district, and state leaders from Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. The conference focused on sharing research available on school turnarounds, and provided valuable information on how to apply these research-based practices on the ground. This sharing and learning from one another will be critical as states and districts move forward with the important work of turning around low-achieving schools to better serve our students.

Sousa Middle School in Washington, DC has long been considered one of the worst schools in the District – in 2008, only 23 percent of its students were proficient in reading, 17 percent in math. After implementing the Transformation Model in the fall of 2008, reading proficiency at Sousa rose to 39 percent, and math to 42 percent in 2009 -- the biggest achievement gains of any D.C.

AUS, originally a non-profit organization that focused on teacher training, began its work of turning around low-performing schools with an agreement with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to run Sherman Elementary in 2006.

In the late 1990s, 9 of Hamilton County’s elementary schools were ranked among the 20 lowest-performing schools in Tennessee. In 2001, the Benwood Foundation and the Public Education Foundation formed a partnership with Hamilton County schools to turn around these schools, and the Benwood Initiative was launched.

Forest Grove High School is the only high school in the town of Forest Grove and serves over 1900 students.  Starting in 2002, the school hired a new principal, who set high expectations for student achievement, emphasized data-driven decision-making and provided targeted professional development for all teachers.  Prior to 2002, fewer than half of students were meeting or exceedi