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Read the Briefing
In turnaround schools, traditional approaches to school improvement (and some say, even the recent seven billion dollar federal investment in school improvement)...
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Originally published online by the Aspen Institute.
To help principals and school leadership teams see how social and emotional learning can enhance academic performance, and how...
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A 10-minute self-assessment tool that helps district leaders and others identify which of your strategies are likely to lead to student success—and where there are opportunities to improve.
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Over the last decade, Denver Public Schools (DPS) became one of the fastest-improving large districts in the country—achieving significant improvement across all student subgroups. Unlike...
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A collaboration between Center for American Progress and Education Resource Strategies on the 7 tenets for states to empower districts to become agents of change in school turnaround.
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These short papers highlight common opportunities school systems have to yield big results for students by adjusting their current resource use. It is based on ERS' 10 years of close...
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In 2011, Lawrence Public Schools was the first district that Massachusetts placed into state receivership due to poor performance. By 2014, things had dramatically changed for the better....
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You can do less with less, or you can change your district's cost model by rethinking how schools and systems are structured. DREAM allows you to adjust key cost levers in your district...
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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...
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“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...
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View the posters that compare the turnaround strategies of the districts that attended Education Resource Strategies’ Sustaining Turnaround at Scale Summit held in October 2011.
ERS held...
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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...
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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,...
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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 target...
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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...
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See how two schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (NC)–winner of the prestigious 2011 Broad Prize for Urban Education–are approaching turnaround. Both are achieving spectacular...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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In the Fall of 2006, Education Resource Strategies (ERS) was invited by Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) to study the use of resources in the district and create priority recommendations...
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In 2003–2004, ERS and the Annenberg Institute for School Reform analyzed how Baltimore City Public School System utilizes its professional development resources and examined the alignment...
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This project began as a result of a concern about how to strengthen the professional development of teachers and leaders throughout the Chicago Public Schools. Leaders of the district as...
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Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) is now four years into implementing Student’s First, a powerful strategic plan for improving student performance. This report, requested by Superintendent...
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ERS with New American Schools, primary support from the Pew Charitable Trusts, has partnered with one or two reform-minded districts each year for three years to analyze spending on...
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ERS supported Boston Public Schools and the Boston Plan for Excellence-Boston Annenberg Challenge in conducting an in-depth analysis of the district’s existing professional development...
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