VT to receive 8 million for "turn arounds". What's a turn around, you ask?

[madfloridian]

Lots of states and districts are getting money like this...but it is not to be used to improve conditions at the low-achieving schools. Unfortunately.

It is to be used "turn around" those schools. Here's what that means in Arne language:

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that Vermont will receive $8.5 million to turn around its persistently lowest achieving schools through the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program. These funds are part of the $3.5 billion that will be made available to states this spring from money set aside in the 2009 budget and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"When a school continues to perform in the bottom five percent of the state and isn't showing signs of growth or has graduation rates below 60 percent, something dramatic needs to be done," said Duncan. "Turning around our worst performing schools is difficult for everyone but it is critical that we show the courage to do the right thing by kids."

SO...what is all that turning around stuff?

School districts will apply to the state for the funds this spring. When school districts apply, they must indicate that they will implement one of the following four models in their persistently lowest achieving schools:

* TURNAROUND MODEL: Replace the principal, screen existing school staff, and rehire no more than half the teachers; adopt a new governance structure; and improve the school through curriculum reform, professional development, extending learning time, and other strategies.

* RESTART MODEL: Convert a school or close it and re-open it as a charter school or under an education management organization.

So guess who benefits so much from a "turnaround"? 3 guesses, first two don't count.

Here's more about "turnarounds".

SCHOOL CLOSURE: Close the school and send the students to higher-achieving schools in the district.

* TRANSFORMATION MODEL: Replace the principal and improve the school through comprehensive curriculum reform, professional development, extending learning time, and other strategies.

Very vague, that "other strategies" thing.

[madfloridian]

1. The link is correct, was just there. Not responding in Firefox.

used the link in IE and found it again. :shrug:

http://www2.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2010/04/04302010.html

[eppur_se_muova]

2. "rehire no more than half the teachers" -- on what basis?

Does anyone have even the most anecdotal evidence to support the notion that if a school is "failing", at least half the teachers must be part of the problem? Is "at least half" some completely, utterly arbitrary quantity, or is there some policy study somewhere -- anywhere -- that gave rise to this number? In the absence of any such citation, I'm inclined to believe that this is one of those policies that CEO's pull out of their asses to present the illusion of boldness and decisiveness and to obscure the fact that they really don't know how to fix the problem either -- they just follow a strategy of being seen to do something dramatic (however ill-considered) at a time when no one else is offering an alternative drama to dazzle the press.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

PLEASE.

I'd really *like* to be wrong on this.

[Catshrink]

3. +1

[Starry Messenger]

5. I'd like to know this too.

It sounds exactly like you say--some boardroom "hero" made this up, I'm sure.

[cali]

4. well, VT has no charter schools

there's no way that the firing half the teachers thing would fly in this state and there's no way to shut a school and send the students to other higher achieving schools in the district in most areas of this rural state.

This is going to be interesting.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. If they want federal dollars, they will have charters, and soon

Beefing up charter schools is a big part of Obama's education platform.

[cali]

8. Vermont just declined to go after the "race" funding.

we do pretty well educating our kids. And honestly, Charter schools aren't really viable here. We do, however, have several high schools in the state that are private but they serve the entire community in which they're located.. If you live in Lyndonville or the surrounding towns, you attend:

http://www.lyndoninstitute.org/
The school has more than 85 boarding students including some from Taiwan, China, Japan, Germany, Sweden, Kazakhstan, Mexico and Korea. Students from Vermont communities that are not within easy commuting distance take advantage of a five-day boarding program. The Institute is also the high school of choice for nearby small towns that pay tuition for their students to attend rather than fund a public high school. The Town of Lyndon selects this school for their children. In turn, the Institute accepts their students promoted from their eighth grade without further examination.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_Institute

Or if you're in the St. J district

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Johnsbury_Academy

[TransitJohn]

7. Hell

why keep beating around the bush and doing this stealth? Just give the no-bid contracts to KBR already...they've done so swimmingly for our troops, they can't possibly do wrong by our kids!













:sarcasm: