Turnaround Readiness at a Glance

Turnaround Readiness includes all of the elements of full turnaround at a small but intense scale. It is a good fit for schools that may strongly relate to our approach but not be ready for the intensive intervention program. This includes setting and hitting a target that reverses decline in one key metric reflecting low performance.

The Turnaround Readiness program uses a seminar, technical support and follow-up approach. It is best used with a group of principals from the same district. The program asks principals to select some specific point or reflection of very low performance in their schools that they believe must be reversed.

Readiness Training

At a one to two-day seminar (which can be organized to fit in-service days or weekends), each principal begins by looking at his or her leadership style with the help of instruments we provide. Each principal is typically accompanied by one other critical person from the school. Attention at the seminar is geared toward a specific focus for each school (generally schools are clustered around similar grade bands and content areas). Included are one or two of the key turnaround strategies of the core program, such as Data Use, Alignment of Resources, and Creating Successful Classrooms.

Undertaking the Turnaround

Each principal leaves the workshop and takes one immediate step: initial presentation of the turnaround intention and approach to all staff that are in a direct position to help make it succeed or not succeed.

During implementation, a Turnaround Specialist communicates with each principal weekly to discuss problems and challenges and specific performance relative to the milestones set and to all aspects of the Turnaround Design. Special training and support from other staff are provided as needed and possible within the budget worked out with the district. In many instances this includes a one or two mid-project technical assistance days provided by Turnaround Specialists. In general, the implementation period to achieve the target is no longer than two months.

Assessment and Learning

The implementation period ends at the time set in advance for project completion. The cohort of principals is reconvened and each principal verifies the new level of performance experienced in the school for the metric selected. Principals also use this opportunity to reflect on how the tools they have used might be expanded to broader issues of academic achievement. At this second one-day workshop, and in follow-up individual consultations, each principal looks at this mini-turnaround experience and his or her own desire and ability to lead a more comprehensive turnaround.