“There is a path out, but it doesn’t come from adding another program.”
District leaders, school leaders, and teachers are all too familiar with the biggest challenges in education:
- Low student proficiency rates
- Chronic absenteeism
- Gaps in student achievement
- High teacher and leader turnover
Leaders of schools that fall under state accountability systems feel the pressure to quickly address these and other issues that turnaround schools face. However, what some district and school leaders might not realize is there’s an associated cost to these common quick fixes, including:
- Short-lived student gains in achievement that quickly plateau, or in some cases, decline further than before.
- Teacher and school leader burnout, which leads to high turnover and difficulty recruiting qualified faculty and staff.
- Community distrust, which can lead to parents transferring their children to other schools.
In the report The Turnaround Trap: Why Quick Fixes Fail Students, experts in K-12 education discuss what the data reveals: quick fixes come with costs. The report also explores what drives lasting and effective improvements.
Included are insights from current and former superintendents, as well as a success story of how a school once ranked in the lowest in its state transformed Tier 1 instruction and, with the support from Putnam County School District, spread the success districtwide until not a single school was left in turnaround status.
Learn how Putnam County School District turned proven practices into lasting achievement and sustainable results. Download the full report.
About Instructional Empowerment:
Instructional Empowerment’s mission is to end generational poverty and eliminate achievement gaps through redesigned rigorous Tier 1 instruction that ensures deeper learning for ALL students.
We partner with school and district leaders to build schools’ capacity and instructional systems. Our goal is for schools to achieve rapid, measurable outcomes for their students by focusing on rigorous classroom instruction and deeper learning for lasting school improvement.
About the Authors
Michael D. Toth |
Michelle Fitzgerald, Ed.D.
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Merewyn Lyons, Ed.D.
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| Michael D. Toth is founder and CEO of Instructional Empowerment (IE) and leads IE’s Applied Research Center. He is also the author of the multi-award-winning book The Power of Student Teams with David Sousa; author of Who Moved My Standards; and co-author with Robert Marzano of multiple books. Most recently, he co-authored peer-reviewed research articles published in academic journals in collaboration with researchers Lindsey Devers Basileo, Merewyn Lyons, Barbara Otto, and Natalie Vannini. Michael is a keynote speaker at conferences and coaches superintendents on creating a bold instructional vision, designing and launching a high-functioning cabinet team, transforming Tier 1 core instruction, and leading systems-based school advancement. | Michelle Fitzgerald, Ed.D., serves as the Executive Director of Networking and Advocacy for Instructional Empowerment. She has been an educator for more than 30 years and has served as an area superintendent – principal supervisor, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, director of curriculum, building administrator, and middle school teacher. Michelle has built instructional leadership in district leaders, principals, and assistant principals capitalizing on her extensive experience in curriculum, instruction, and assessment. | Merewyn Lyons, Ed.D. is a Senior Research Analyst with Instructional Empowerment’s Applied Research Center. Her primary research interest is educational psychology, with a focus on understanding the effect of motivation on teaching, learning, and educational leadership. She is co-author of peer reviewed articles in Frontiers in Education, Quality Education for All, and Sage Open. Dr. Lyons is a member of the Center for Self-Determination Theory, the American Educational Research Association, and the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction. She is also a retired officer of the United States Navy and a retired K-12 educator. |
For media inquiries, please contact:
Ava Champion, Public Relations Specialist
achampion@instructionalempowerment.com
(309) 204 2132