ERS Tools and Publications are trusted resources for education leaders, practitioners, and policymakers seeking guidance to make transformative change. Looking for something you can’t find? Contact us.
Ten years ago, D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) had 65,000 students. Today it has fewer than 45,000. The severe enrollment decline was a wake-up call for the district. Starting in 2007, DCPS...
More »
Before schools can systematically implement a district’s vision for excellent school practices, district leadership must clearly articulate exactly what school strategies they believe...
More »
“Turnaround Case Studies” is an analysis of strategies to turn around low-performing schools undertaken by six large urban districts and four education management organizations. These...
More »
In the fall of 2007, Education Resource Strategies (ERS) was invited by Philadelphia’s School Reform Commission to conduct a Resource Use Analysis for the School District of Philadelphia...
More »
In 2008, the U-46 School District in Illinois faced a budget deficit of $45 million. Instead of deciding to do less with limited funds, the district worked with the school board and...
More »
In 2006, Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District made a bold move. It began to strategically staff a subset of its lowest-performing schools with its district’s best principals. Five years...
More »
Denver Public Schools (DPS) took an innovative look at how it could support individual school efforts to restructure and align resources—people, time, and money—to drive student achievement.
More »
By transforming its central office from a compliance watchdog to a service and strategic partner, Denver Public Schools (DPS) was able to leverage data, technology, and training to...
More »
Over the past decade, D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) has faced severe enrollment decline–from 65,000 students to 45,000. As a result, the district took a hard look at their...
More »
Hear from:
Sam Franklin, Executive Director of the Office of Teacher Effectiveness, Pittsburgh Public Schools
Brian Pick, Deputy Chief Academic Officer, D.C. Public Schools
Alyssa...
More »
The School System 20/20 infographic lets you see the possibilities for system transformation through ERS' seven-strategy framework. It illustrates the challenges to reallocating people,...
More »
The Teaching Job worksheet series includes worksheets with step-by-step instructions to help you calculate and measure teaching effectiveness. These analyses can help identify your...
More »
The Teaching Job worksheet series includes worksheets with step-by-step instructions to help you calculate and measure teaching effectiveness. These analyses can help identify your...
More »
The Teaching Job worksheet series includes worksheets with step-by-step instructions to help you calculate and measure teaching effectiveness. These analyses can help identify your...
More »
The Teaching Job worksheet series includes worksheets with step-by-step instructions to help you calculate and measure teaching effectiveness. These analyses can help identify your...
More »
The Teaching Job worksheet series includes worksheets with step-by-step instructions to help you calculate and measure teaching effectiveness. These analyses can help identify your...
More »
Rethinking the Value Proposition to Improve Teaching Effectiveness explores the complete set of offerings and experiences provided by a school system to a teacher. We explore what the...
More »
This paper explores typical goals of compensation redesign and implications for five main design considerations, including: base salary, district priority incentives, school roles,...
More »
Our video illustrates why now is the time to take bold action to transform our school systems. Please share it and join the movement of district leaders dedicated to transforming school...
More »
These instructions will help leaders organize and play Budget Hold'em.
Use the Budget Hold'em for Districts Facilitator's Guide to play the in-person version of the game, using decks of...
More »
Our series of School Budget Hold'em winning hands videos illustrates how to reach a target budget reduction while prioritizing different areas. This video shows one way to invest in...
More »
View videos from ERS’ Sustaining Turnaround at Scale Summit held in October 2011. Panelists from the ERS Summit share some thoughts on successful turnaround. Panelists on the closing...
More »
Across the country, states and school districts are focusing on turning around the nation’s lowest-performing schools. This focus on school turnaround, while welcome, is not new. And...
More »
This Getting Started guide is part of a series of publications designed to support your efforts to improve resource use in your district. Use this overview for a quick introduction to...
More »
Turnaround efforts at individual schools will not result in widespread, sustainable change without fundamental shifts in the way districts evaluate school, student, and teacher needs and...
More »
In this case study of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Strategic Staffing Initiative, Education Resource Strategies (ERS) and the Aspen Institute tell the important story of how one district is...
More »
ERS Director Regis Shields presented at EdWeek’s webinar, “Creating Effective Teacher Professional Development in Tough Economic Times.” To turn tough times into opportunity, districts...
More »
Before district leaders can expand professional development to better support teachers, they must first determine not only the current investment level but also what that investment is...
More »
This brief describes a vision for investing in teaching quality at the school level and provides guiding questions for both school leaders and those who support them to consider and...
More »