The document discusses reflections on resources for turning around low-performing schools. It suggests: 1) Interventions should address each school's specific needs related to breaking cycles of poor performance. 2) Districts should reconsider existing resources and staffing levels before adding new resources, using turnaround as an opportunity to move toward more equitable funding. 3) Additional resources should focus on building leadership and teaching capacity to provide short-term academic acceleration for students while the school improves.

1. Wrap up reflections
Rethinking Resources
for Student Success

2. Reflections and musings
 Intervention must be responsive to school specific needs related
to “breaking the cycle”
 Before adding new resources, reconsider existing resources
level and staff—use turnaround as opportunity to move toward
equitable funding
 Additional resources should focus on “cycle-breaking” building
leadership and teaching capacity and providing short term
acceleration support for students while the school is improving
 District needs to plan for and invest to remedy“unintended”
effects of school closure and staff reconstitution
 Ideally, the need for turnaround goes away as the district uses
turnaround at scale to accelerate system improvement in its
overall accountability and support strategy
Education Resource Strategies
2
2

3. Investments in turnaround are designed to break
cycle and build capacity for school improvement
*Note: no “bright line” between stages of turnaround
Pre-Turnaround Turnaround Post-Turnaround
School identification School Stabilization Capacity Building Continued
and deep analysis of Cultural and Creation of school improvement
student needs, staff operational “reset” design aligned to sustained primarily
capacity, and school that establishes student needs and through capacity
practices changed focused on building internal to school with
expectations, core teacher and learner monitoring and as
processes, and a safe capacity to set stage needed support from
and orderly for longer-term district; turnaround
environment improvement resources scaled
back
Education Resource Strategies 3

4. Districts must account for multiple dimensions of
need when determining funding levels and strategy
Purpose of Additional Funding Timing of Investment
Student need Meet highly concentrated Ongoing
FUNDING
student academic and non-
academic need
TIME
Teacher and Build capacity of teachers Success-based scale-back
Leader Capacity and leadership team
FUNDING
Train staff to meet high levels
of student need TIME
School Practices Build strong practices, routines Success-based scale-back
FUNDING TIME
Education Resource Strategies 4

5. Too often, schools have to work around
district and states to create these models
FUNDING
inequitable, unintelligible, rigid
TEACHING COMPENSATION
& JOB STRUCTURE
discourage effectiveness
SCHOOL DESIGN
antiquated schedules and staffing
A Few INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT
not strategic
LEADERSHIP
High Fliers
unsupported, underinvested
CENTRAL OFFICE SERVICES
inefficient, unresponsive
PARTNERS & TECHNOLOGY
underleveraged
Education Resource Strategies 5

6. To make exceptional schools the norm, we
need new systems…
FUNDING
equitable, transparent, and flexible
TEACHER COMPENSATION & JOB STRUCTURE
linked to contribution
SCHOOL DESIGN
schedules and staffing match needs
INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT High-Performing
Schools at Scale
strategically aligned
LEADERSHIP
supported and rewarded
CENTRAL OFFICE SERVICES
accountable, efficient
PARTNERS & TECHNOLOGY
leveraged
Education Resource Strategies 6