Starting Fresh: A New Strategy for Responding to Chronically Low Performing Schools
Bryan C. Hassel & Lucy Steiner, Public Impact
December 2003
In this Public Impact report, Bryan Hassel and Lucy Steiner argue that, in order to dramatically improve student achievement in chronically low-performing schools - i.e., those that continue to languish despite interventions - districts should consider "starting fresh." According to the authors, that means replacing "schools that consistently fail to meet the educational needs of their students...with 'new' schools... [that] operate in the same buildings...[but] are 'new' in every other important sense." While it sounds similar to reconstitution - where leadership and staff are replaced but the school's basic operating structure remains the same - it actually moves a step beyond, offering a more comprehensive school redesign based on the transparent decision making systems like those found in quality charter schools and their authorizers. Ideally, districts would have a "pipeline" of school leadership teams with coherent school plans that could be implemented by the time the "new" school is slated to open. Obviously, "starting fresh" isn't for all schools, but for those plagued by chronic low-performance, it could be the answer. To read more, click here.
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