State Takeover as a Reform Strategy

State Takeover as a Reform Strategy PDF Author: Dennis R. Frohnapfel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education and state
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description

State Takeover as a Reform Strategy

State Takeover as a Reform Strategy PDF Author: Dennis R. Frohnapfel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education and state
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description


City and State Takeover as a School Reform Strategy

City and State Takeover as a School Reform Strategy PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Educational change
Languages : en
Pages : 6

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State Takeovers of School Districts

State Takeovers of School Districts PDF Author: Wiley Johnson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Background: School accountability as a reform strategy shows that states and cities are paving the way for school district takeovers across America. Purpose: The purpose of this mixed methods research study was to explore state and federal policies that drive school closures in Texas and to explore the effects of school closures using the case of one Texas school district. This research is based on the mindset that by holding school districts accountable for student performance, low performing districts should be closed and taken over by the state. When schools are closed or taken over, the assumption is that student performance will increase. Methods: Mixed methods research was used for this study. Policy research methods were used to identify federal and state school closure policies. Using quantitative research methods, archival Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) and Texas Academic Performance Reports (TAPR) data were gathered to explore the effects of school closures on student academic performance. Qualitative methods were used to conduct interviews with a sample of administrators with knowledge of district takeovers. Results: The results showed that poor school governance, fiscal irresponsibility, and poor academic performance led to the target school district’s takeover by the state. The findings also suggested that while a school district may be taken over for not meeting performance standards or failing to meet accreditation status, student performance was only moderately affected by the takeover. Specifically, little change in student performance over time was noted for the target high school in this project. Conclusion: The academic performance of the targeted school district that closed and merged with another school district due to performance issues did not perform significantly higher when compared to pre and post merger data. While district closure may help resolve governance issues, it does not necessarily improve a school’s academic performance.

Takeover

Takeover PDF Author: Domingo Morel
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190678976
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
State takeovers of local governments have garnered national attention of late, particularly following the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. In most U.S. cities, local governments are responsible for decisions concerning matters such as the local water supply and school affairs. However, once a state takes over, this decision-making capability is shuttled. Despite the widespread attention that takeovers in Flint and Detroit have gained, we know little about how such takeovers--a policy option that has been in use since the 1980s--affect political power in local communities. By focusing on takeovers of local school districts, this book offers the first systematic study of state takeovers of local governments. Although many major U.S. cities have experienced state takeovers of their local school districts, we know little about the political causes and consequences of takeovers. Complicating this phenomenon are the justifications for state takeokers; while they are assumedly based on concerns with poor academic performance, questions of race and political power play a critical role in the takeover of local school districts. However, Domingo Morel brings clarity to these questions and limitations--he examines the factors that contribute to state takeovers as well as the effects and political implications of takeovers on racialized communities, the communities most often affected by them. Morel both lays out the conditions under which the policy will disempower or empower racial and ethnic minority populations, and expands our understanding of urban politics. Morel argues that state interventions are a part of the new normal for cities and offers a novel theoretical framework for understanding the presence of the state in America's urban areas. The book is built around an original study of nearly 1000 school districts, including every school district that has been taken over by their respective state, and a powerful case study of Newark, New Jersey.

Charter School City

Charter School City PDF Author: Douglas N. Harris
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022669478X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
In the wake of the tragedy and destruction that came with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, public schools in New Orleans became part of an almost unthinkable experiment—eliminating the traditional public education system and completely replacing it with charter schools and school choice. Fifteen years later, the results have been remarkable, and the complex lessons learned should alter the way we think about American education. New Orleans became the first US city ever to adopt a school system based on the principles of markets and economics. When the state took over all of the city’s public schools, it turned them over to non-profit charter school managers accountable under performance-based contracts. Students were no longer obligated to attend a specific school based upon their address, allowing families to act like consumers and choose schools in any neighborhood. The teacher union contract, tenure, and certification rules were eliminated, giving schools autonomy and control to hire and fire as they pleased. In Charter School City, Douglas N. Harris provides an inside look at how and why these reform decisions were made and offers many surprising findings from one of the most extensive and rigorous evaluations of a district school reform ever conducted. Through close examination of the results, Harris finds that this unprecedented experiment was a noteworthy success on almost every measurable student outcome. But, as Harris shows, New Orleans was uniquely situated for these reforms to work well and that this market-based reform still required some specific and active roles for government. Letting free markets rule on their own without government involvement will not generate the kinds of changes their advocates suggest. Combining the evidence from New Orleans with that from other cities, Harris draws out the broader lessons of this unprecedented reform effort. At a time when charter school debates are more based on ideology than data, this book is a powerful, evidence-based, and in-depth look at how we can rethink the roles for governments, markets, and nonprofit organizations in education to ensure that America’s schools fulfill their potential for all students.

The Politics of Institutional Reform

The Politics of Institutional Reform PDF Author: Terry M. Moe
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108686664
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
In this ground breaking analysis, Terry M. Moe treats Hurricane Katrina as a natural experiment that offers a rare opportunity to learn about the role of power in the politics of institutional reform. When Katrina hit, it physically destroyed New Orleans' school buildings, but it also destroyed the vested-interest power that had protected the city's abysmal education system from major reform. With the constraints of power lifted, decision makers who had been incremental problem-solvers turned into revolutionaries, creating the most innovative school system in the entire country. The story of New Orleans' path from failure to revolution is fascinating, but, more importantly, it reveals the true role of power, whose full effects normally cannot be observed, because power has a 'second face' that is hidden and unobservable. Making use of Katrina's analytic leverage, Moe pulls back the curtain to show that this “second face” has profound consequences that stifle and undermine society's efforts to fix failing institutions.

Powerful Reforms with Shallow Roots

Powerful Reforms with Shallow Roots PDF Author: Larry Cuban
Publisher: Teachers College Press
ISBN: 0807774375
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 191

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Book Description
Drastic reform measures are being implemented in growing numbers of urban communities as the public’s patience has finally run out with perpetually nonperforming public schools. This authoritative and eye-opening volume examines governance changes in six cities during the 1990s, where either mayoral control of schools has occurred or where noneducators have been appointed to lead school districts. Featuring up-close, in-depth case studies of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, Boston, San Diego, and Seattle, this book explores the reasons why these cities chose to alter their traditional school governance structures and analyzes what happened when the reforms were implemented and whether or not teachers and students performed better because of them. “Provides useful perspectives on the complexities of educational change that is relevant to all kinds of school systems . . . of interest to elected officials, other policymakers, business leaders, and educators.” —Richard W. Riley, Former U.S. Secretary of Education “A ‘must-read’ for policymakers intent on improving the academic performance of children in America’s urban centers . . . offers important insight and an excellent overview of the reforms being tested in the six urban centers.” —Ted Sanders, President, Education Commission of the States “Every urban political official, indeed, every governor, business leader, and state legislator should study the urban school reforms described in this book” —James B. Hunt, Jr., Former Governor of North Carolina and Chairman, James B. Hunt Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy “A ‘must-read’ for educators. This book clearly defines what it takes to make significant changes in urban districts” —Floretta McKenzie, Former Superintendent, District of Columbia Public Schools

Reinventing Public Education

Reinventing Public Education PDF Author: Paul Hill
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226336530
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
A heated debate is raging over our nation’s public schools and how they should be reformed, with proposals ranging from imposing national standards to replacing public education altogether with a voucher system for private schools. Combining decades of experience in education, the authors propose an innovative approach to solving the problems of our school system and find a middle ground between these extremes. Reinventing Public Education shows how contracting would radically change the way we operate our schools, while keeping them public and accessible to all, and making them better able to meet standards of achievement and equity. Using public funds, local school boards would select private providers to operate individual schools under formal contracts specifying the type and quality of instruction. In a hands-on, concrete fashion, the authors provide a thorough explanation of the pros and cons of school contracting and how it would work in practice. They show how contracting would free local school boards from operating schools so they can focus on improving educational policy; how it would allow parents to choose the best school for their children; and, finally, how it would ensure that schools are held accountable and academic standards are met. While retaining a strong public role in education, contracting enables schools to be more imaginative, adaptable, and suited to the needs of children and families. In presenting an alternative vision for America’s schools, Reinventing Public Education is too important to be ignored.

Educational Leadership

Educational Leadership PDF Author: Marsha Carr
Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing
ISBN: 9783844396201
Category : Educational change
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
No major social institution has been under more scrutiny or under such pressure to change than the American public school system. One of the most recent initiatives in educational reform has been district takeover of public school systems. A takeover is the commandeering of day-to- day control of district operations and decision- making in an unsuccessful or failing school district. Despite attempts by state departments and governments to takeover failing school districts, success is often short-lived and unsustainable in the absence of the takeover. As a result, efforts to either abandon takeovers as an effective reform strategy or to create long-term sustainable results need to occur. A public school district in Logan County, West Virginia is one of only three school districts reported nationwide to have sustained- success. Seven key characteristics that contributed to the sustainability of this district takeover were identified. Only through a relentless pursuit of sustained-success will answers be found to solve some of the problems facing public education in America.

Who Governs Now?

Who Governs Now? PDF Author: Mary L. Mason
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 22

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Book Description
State takeovers were an infrequently applied strategy to address the problems of financially and academically troubled schools for many decades. Although 23 states had the right to take over individual schools and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) required states to address persistently low-achieving schools, only five states had exercised their power by 2005. By 2006, a new state takeover model had emerged in Louisiana. Following Hurricane Katrina's devastation of New Orleans, state legislation adopted in November 2005 brought the majority of the city's public schools under state Recovery School District (RSD) jurisdiction. Since 2006, the RSD has moved aggressively towards creating a portfolio management model by authorizing numerous charter management organizations (CMOs) to operate its schools. The opportunity for a more extensive state role in taking over troubled schools grew further with the announcement of the federal Race to the Top (RTTT) program in 2009. RTTT required states to develop plans to turn around their lowest achieving schools. In this report, the authors examine how Michigan and Tennessee have developed and implemented plans for school turnaround districts partly inspired by Louisiana's RSD. The comparative case studies focus on Michigan's policies and involvement in Detroit schools through the Education Achievement Authority (EAA) and Tennessee's policies and involvement in Memphis schools through the Achievement School District (ASD). Although state-level, philanthropic, and charter school leaders in both states initially drew upon the RSD model, Michigan and Tennessee have diverged from the RSD--and from one another--in many respects. These differences highlight some challenges to replicating the RSD in other contexts and, more generally, raise questions about school turnarounds primarily led by networks of outside actors. The authors examine divergence in state legislation and leadership, resources (federal and philanthropic), engagement with charter schools, and district-level leadership. The EAA and ASD have faced additional challenges due to their policy and political contexts, including a city-county merger in Memphis and an ongoing fiscal crisis in Detroit. Local school leaders in both cities have also developed their own reform plans, and may be reluctant to expend political capital on controversial state-led efforts. The analysis sheds light on whether outside investment and leadership can spur sustainable reforms in urban districts. A table comparing the ASD and EAA is appended.