Learning Point Associates
We HELP the people who work in education find the LEARNING POINT FASTER, more often and for more students.
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Education Recovery and Reinvestment Center
State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) Assurances
Our Services
Learning Point Associates offers three core services that apply to support for struggling schools:
- Curriculum Audits for Low Performing Schools
- Curriculum Alignment Services
- Surveys of the Enacted Curriculum
Support for Struggling Schools
Updates, New Guidance, and News
- Turning Around the Bottom Five Percent: Secretary Arne Duncan's Remarks at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools Conference (June 22, 2009)
ARRA Requirements
ARRA requires governors to submit applications to the U.S. Department of Education for funds under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF). In doing so, they must provide a number of assurances. The assurance described here addresses support for struggling schools, and this section seeks to provide supports to states as they complete their applications. According to ARRA:
The State will ensure compliance with the requirements of section 1116(a)(7)(C)(iv) and section 1116(a)(8)(B) of the ESEA with respect to schools identified under such sections. [ARRA Section 14005(d)(5)]
The U.S. Department of Education clarified this goal in their guidance to require states to use these funds to support targeted, intensive support and effective interventions to turn around schools identified for corrective action and restructuring.
School improvement is complicated work. And all the pieces-whether curriculum, instruction and assessment, professional development and leadership, or any other aspect-are interconnected. If your school is struggling to serve all students well or has been identified for restructuring, it is important to follow these steps:
A critical step on the path to improvement is to clearly understand the challenges you must address and how they connect to one another. The resources below offer insights and supports for districts tackling the challenges of comprehensive school improvement.
School Restructuring: What Works When. A Guide for Education Leaders. 
This guide provides users with a step-by-step approach to restructuring, including but not limited to organizing a district team, assessing the district's capacity to manage restructuring, conducting a school-by-school analysis, and implementing a restructuring plan. The guide includes numerous templates, checklists, and other practical tools suitable for local application.
Leadership is a critical issue in a school district's success. Superintendents and principals can benefit by developing productive partnerships with their school board members, who play an important role in supporting turnaround efforts.
This section of the Education Recovery and Reinvestment Center identifies organizations that provide important support to schools that are engaged in improvement efforts or have been identified for restructuring.
Develop a School Improvement Plan
High-performing schools engage in more collaborative decision making, work harder to connect professional development to student achievement data, and make more efficient use of time and resources. Educators need resources and supports from policymakers, leaders, and technical assistance providers to achieve excellence. Here are some resources that can help:
Planning That Matters: Helping Schools Engage in Collaborative, Strategic Problem Solving
School Improvement Process Guide. The guide takes teams through a process of planning, data collection, data analysis, and planning for implementation. Each phase of the planning process gives a detailed description of the steps and thought process that might be applied, along with ready-to-use tools to help streamline the process.
School Improvement Plan Feedback Form (MS Word). Building from research on effective school improvement, this tool provides a self-assessment on the quality of school improvement plans. The feedback form can be used as a checklist to identify strengths and weaknesses in plans and make recommendations on ways that parts of the plan might be improved.
Turning Around Low-Performing Schools
More Than Maintenance: Sustaining Improvement Efforts Over the Long Run.
The first part of this policy brief breaks down the process of sustaining improvement and examines each of its key elements. The second part offers several important strategies for protecting that process over the long term.
When a school is identified for restructuring under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, the leadership in the district must make crucial decisions about how to proceed. The following papers identify the major options available and summarize what is known about when, and under what circumstances, each of these restructuring options works to improve student achievement.
- Reopening as a Charter School
- Turnarounds With New Leaders and Staff
- Contracting With External Education Management Providers
- State Takeovers of Individual Schools
- Handbook on School Restructuring and Substantial Improvement
The Handbook on School Restructuring and Substantial Improvement gives a comprehensive view designed to assist states, districts, and schools in establishing policies, procedures, and support to successfully restructure schools.