This document discusses an organization's school turnaround investment strategy. It has invested in waves, first supporting charter management organizations (CMOs) and then funding CMOs asked to restart low-performing schools. Successful turnaround operators emulate high-performing CMOs but must also focus more on culture, community engagement, and incremental staff. However, turnarounds face hurdles like district inefficiencies, leadership pipelines, and limited startup funding. The organization's third wave of investments includes new models in various cities focusing on STEM, hybrid approaches, and traditional turnarounds.

1. SCHOOL TURNAROUND
INVESTMENT STRATEGY
October 13, 2011

2. ERS SCHOOL TURNAROUND SUMMIT
Our Mission
To transform public
education through powerful
ideas and passionate
entrepreneurs so that all
children – especially those
in underserved communities
– have the opportunity to
succeed.
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3. ERS SCHOOL TURNAROUND SUMMIT
NewSchools’ Work in School Turnaround
• History of supporting high-
performing charter management
organizations (“CMOs”)
• Increasingly, CMOs asked to
partner with local districts to
restart low-performing schools
• Given demand, NewSchools
began to fund development of
school turnaround operators.
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School Turnaround Investment Strategy

4. ERS TURNAROUND SUMMIT
Our Investments
Wave One Wave Two Wave Three
(2003-2010) (2009-2011) (2011-)
School Turnaround Investment Strategy 4

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Mastery Charter Schools
Year
Year 6
Year 5
Percent Students Proficient
Year 4
1
Year
Year
1 Before
1
Mastery
2010-2011
School Turnaround Investment Strategy 5

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Academy for Urban School Leadership
Before AUSL
Year 2010-2011
Year
3
Year 3
4 Year Year Year Year
Percent Students Proficient
Year
5 2 2 1 1
Year Year
2 1
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ReNEW Charter Management Organization
Year
1 Year
1
Percent Students Proficient
Before
ReNEW
2010-2011
School Turnaround Investment Strategy 7

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What We’ve Learned
Successful turnaround operators
emulate practices of high-
performing charter management …but the unique challenges of
organizations… turnaround schools require
more:
Central organization Intense focus on culture
Regional concentration Greater community engagement
Org design for scale Additional / incremental staff
Mission-driven staff Supplemental resources
Commitment to high expectations Varied school design models
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9. ERS TURNAROUND SUMMIT
Hurdles to Success
• Inefficiencies at district
partner
• Inadequate school leader
pipeline
• Federal funds don’t flow
directly to operators
• Unsettled policy
environment
• Limited pre-turnaround
startup funding
School Turnaround Investment Strategy 9

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Wave Three Pipeline
Traditional
New Paradigm for Education (Detroit)
Generation Schools (Brooklyn, Denver)
STEM
Carmen High School of Science and
Technology (Milwaukee)
TBED21 (Philadelphia)
Hybrid
Project GRAD USA (Houston)
Schools for the Future (New York)
Firstline Schools (New Orleans)
Matchbook Learning (Detroit)
Future is Now Schools (LA, New York)
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Pipeline Geography
School Turnaround Investment Strategy 11

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The Achievement Gap Persists Through College
We cannot be two
nations – one with
access to high quality
schools and another
with failing schools and
limited options.
~ Cory Booker, Mayor of
Newark
Mortensen (2007), Pell (2007)
School Turnaround Investment Strategy 12

13. ERS TURNAROUND SUMMIT
Visit Us Online
www.newschools.org
www.facebook.com/newschools
www.twitter.com/nsvf
http://newschools.org/blog
School Turnaround Investment Strategy 13

14. ERS TURNAROUND SUMMIT
Contact Information
Deborah McGriff
(617)589-9454
dmcgriff@newschools.or
g
School Turnaround Investment Strategy 14