School Turnaround Programs
ED offers 5 levels of Tiered Academic Leadership. For schools requiring a short term outside partner to acquire governance of a school, Educational Directions offers a limited External Operator (EO) service level.
Most Intervene Schools or Schools nearing Intervene Status would start with the full Academic Management Organization (AMO) option and then design a Phase Our strategy to lessen services as school capacity is increased and the leadership and educational principles are institutionalized. Our approach has both an immediate impact but also sustainability once we are gone.
We firmly believe there is no "blanket solution" to improving results in your situation. We customize each program to maximize results.
Academic Leadership Levels
Our programs can be one of these five models, or a mixture of different service levels in order to create the most efficient and beneficial partnership for your school, district, or state school system.
The External Operator (EO) model is our highest level of support. Usually, this option is chosen when complying with state or county requirement of using an external operator for a school’s turnaround option plan.
An EO runs the school, oversees the school budget, works on staff placement, and runs much more of the operations of the school than an AMO. The goal is to be an EO intervention level for as short a time as possible and return the governance and primary control to the district. With this in mind, Educational Directions will contract many of the operations, human resources, building maintenance, transportation, food service, and ground services to the district to ease the transition back to district control, hopefully, the following year. Educational Directions will also continue to use the district as the fiscal agent for the school and maintain teacher benefits and retirement within the district.
At this level, Ed Directions sends in a leadership coach to run a school’s academic program, oversee operations of the school, set the culture and climate, and direct ad-hoc and strategic planning. The coach will work closely with district and state oversight personnel to ensure compliance with all data tracking and reporting requirements.
The coach is on site from a minimum of 80 days to a maximum of 100 days depending on the level contracted. While at the school, the coach directs academic decision making, visits classes, leads planning and data discussions, brokers targeted PD for teachers and leadership, monitors teaching and learning, manages the school data room and directs for successful transitions by staff and students. He or she is assisted by an Ed Directions support team which includes a data/technology coach, academic coaches, leadership trainers and teaching/learning trainers.
While in the program, the school receives training for the leadership team and embedded professional development (PD) for teachers and school leadership.
The Academic Management Organization (AMO) model is one of our highest level of support and is used when a school has been underperforming for a number of years, has identified climate or culture issues and has institutional or systemic barriers. At this level, ED sends in a leadership coach to run a school’s academic program and direct ad hoc and strategic planning.
The coach is on site from a minimum of 60 days to a maximum of 80 days depending on the level contracted. While at the school, the coach directs academic decision making, visits classes, leads planning and data discussions, brokers targeted PD for teachers and leadership, monitors teaching and learning, manages the school data room and directs for successful transitions by staff and students. He or she is assisted by an ED support team which includes a data/technology coach, academic coaches, leadership trainers and teaching/learning trainers.
While in the program, the school receives training for the leadership team and embedded professional development (PD) for teachers and school leadership.
The Intensive Technical Support (ITS) model is designed for schools that have underperforming students because of cultural or institutional conditions. These schools may have wide variance in scores from year to year because of situational issues, inappropriate program selections or adherence to plans that address the wrong problems.
At this level, the leadership coach is on site from 30 to 50 days to observe staff and support the school leadership team in identifying and eliminating priority barriers to improving student performance. The ED coach focuses on providing support for decision making and planning that leads to targeted support for all at risk students and staff. The lead coach is supported by data, learning and assessment coaches. While in the program, the school receives leadership training and mini sessions for the leadership team to share with staff.
The foci for all ED staff are: Focus the school on the student performance issues, examine all school systems and redesign those needing change, refocus the staff on student work and student engagement, and ensure that the school has plans for students that ensure successful transition.
The Technical Support (TS) model is provided for schools that used to be or should be high performing. Many of these schools have scores that seem fixed on a “score plateau” and have remained there even after extensive planning and intervention or have had changes of staff or students that have caused scores to drop from previous levels.
At this level, a leadership coach is on site from 20 to 30 days to advise and support school leadership, observe classes to assess teaching and learning, assist in data analysis and facilitate planning. A data coach and an academic coach are available if needed, and training is provided for the leadership team. The focus is on identifying and dealing with the conditions that prevent the school from moving to the next level.
The Leadership Support (LS) model is suitable for schools that have adequate systems and practice in place but have performance patterns that do not meet staff or district expectations. At this level, a leadership coach is on site from 12 to 20 days to advise leadership and facilitate data and planning discussions.
Training is provided for leadership and mini session packages are available for school use. The focus is on building a sense of urgency to improve and providing the direction and capacity to set and reach new goals.