Chalkbeat

Education news. In context.

Chalkbeat

school turnarounds

School choice

Chicago
August 17, 2018

Secret CPS report spotlights big vacancies, lopsided options for students

An unreleased report by a school choice group backed by the business community paints in stark detail what many Chicagoans have known…

ASD Reset

Tennessee
February 8, 2017

Tennessee’s Achievement School District would return to its original purpose under a bill that its leaders support

Lawmakers will consider a bill that would stop the state-run district from starting new charter schools, rather than just overhauling struggling schools.

ASD copycats

Tennessee
November 9, 2016

Tennessee’s school turnaround leader weighs in on Georgia’s rebuff of similar model

ASD Superintendent Malika Anderson says this week's vote in Georgia shouldn't be the final word there on creating alternatives for failing public schools.

Grassroots growth

Tennessee
October 21, 2016

More local charter operators sought by Tennessee’s Achievement School District

Training sessions aimed at cultivating Memphis- and Nashville-based charter operators are part of the state-run district's efforts to connect with communities it serves.

Challenging charters

Tennessee
June 30, 2016

Report: Why the work is hard for Tennessee’s turnaround district and its charter schools

A new report outlines reasons why charter schools operating through Tennessee’s Achievement School District have struggled to achieve the initiative's lofty goals.

Reviewing priorities

Tennessee
June 6, 2016

Here’s what happened to the original 69 priority schools in Memphis

When the state issued its 2012 list of lowest-performing schools, Memphis emerged as the battleground for school turnaround work. Here's the status of those schools.

Changing course

Tennessee
May 24, 2016

ASD, Shelby County Schools try collaboration for a change

The leaders of Shelby County Schools and Tennessee's Achievement School District discuss turning a Memphis school slated for state takeover into an iZone school.

New Player

Tennessee
April 29, 2016

ASD hires Memphis native to oversee community engagement

Bobby S. White, who worked for former Memphis Mayor A C Wharton, joins the Achievement School District as chief of external affairs.

Warning List

Tennessee
April 20, 2016

Here’s where Tennessee’s lowest-performing schools stand a year before the state’s next priority list

Here's the so-called "cusp" list from the State Department of Education, along with five things to know before viewing it.

Pilot program

Tennessee
April 19, 2016

Building on Innovation Zone successes, Shelby County Schools to launch separate ‘Empowerment Zone’

Shelby County Schools' prized school turnaround initiative is getting a little sister.

Takeover pause

Tennessee
April 15, 2016

Citing TNReady transition, Tennessee’s school turnaround district to halt takeovers for one year

The Achievement School District announces it will not seek to take over more low-performing schools in the 2017-18 school year because of problems with TNReady.

iZone growth

Tennessee
March 10, 2016

Griffin hiring more top leaders for expanding iZone

As Shelby County Schools prepares to add more schools to its school turnaround initiative, regional Superintendent Sharon Griffin is putting three lieutenants in place.

getting along

Tennessee
January 26, 2016

School board vote commits Shelby County’s district and charter sectors to trying to collaborate

The agreement commits both sectors to trying to work through some sticky issues, including ones about funding and facilities, but it does not actually resolve them.
Tennessee
January 20, 2016

New ASD superintendent asks state lawmakers for patience on school turnarounds

Malika Anderson's first charge as ASD superintendent is to fend off bills to limit — or totally abolish — the district.
Tennessee
January 13, 2016

D.C. Public Schools officials tour Memphis iZone

The mounting success of Shelby County Schools' iZone attracts national attention from other districts exploring school improvement initiatives.

School in transition

Tennessee
January 11, 2016

Takeover of Raleigh Egypt Middle will test mettle of state’s school turnaround district

As disenchantment swells over the Achievement School District, the state chooses to take control of a Memphis middle school on a tight-knit three-school campus.

Turnaround work

Tennessee
December 16, 2015

Latest iZone expansion will leave few Memphis priority schools to improve on their own

Shelby County's Innovation Zone will absorb three more priority schools, growing turnaround efforts by the local district, in addition to the state's turnaround work.

Analysis

Tennessee
December 16, 2015

New federal education law gives states more flexibility — but will Tennessee use it?

Because Tennesssee only recently overhauled its education system, the replacement for No Child Left Behind likely will have a limited effect at the outset.

A Look at the Legacy

Tennessee
December 15, 2015

As Tennessee finishes its Race to the Top, teachers caught in the middle of competing changes

Teachers grapple with the competing threads in Race to the Top's legacy: higher-stakes tests and a push for richer instruction.
Tennessee
November 19, 2015

If a school is broken but appears to be on the mend, should the state intervene?

At Sheffield Elementary School in Memphis, parents and students tell the state that their struggling school is making enough strides without intervention.
Tennessee
November 2, 2015

Four years later, Tennessee’s first-ever charter ‘turnaround school’ celebrates gains

Nashville's Cameron College Prep is being heralded as a "success story" by LEAD Public Schools, state Education Commissioner Candice McQueen and Mayor Megan Barry.

Top administrators

Tennessee
October 28, 2015

iZone leader Sharon Griffin named Tennessee supervisor of the year

Sharon Griffin, who helped to create the Innovation Zone for Shelby County Schools in 2013, is Tennessee's 2015 supervisor of the year.
Tennessee
October 26, 2015

Three charter networks apply to operate five Memphis schools

Three charter networks have applied to expand next year in Memphis as part of the state's takeover and charter conversion of five low-performing schools.
Tennessee
October 12, 2015

Neighborhood councils to consider state-proposed charters for six Memphis schools

Parents and community stakeholders are to be named this week for neighborhood advisory councils created by the state-run Achievement School District.
Tennessee
September 15, 2015

Hopson proposes big changes to three historic Memphis high schools

Shelby County's school chief wants to merge Hillcrest and Whitehaven, and turn East High School into a Science Technology Engineering and Math magnet school.

Charter conversations

Tennessee
September 14, 2015

Community meetings begin this week over Memphis schools proposed for charter conversion

Parents, students and community members are invited to discuss the state of six academically struggling schools of which the state is seeking control.

Game on

Tennessee
August 19, 2015

Local district goes on offense in Memphis priority school discussion

For the first time ever, Shelby County School leaders meet with a school community to talk about what being on Tennessee's school priority list means.
New York
July 18, 2012

Union tells turnaround teachers how to return to their positions

In the days that followed an arbitrator's decision to restore teachers' jobs at so-called turnaround schools, teachers and administrators who were once told not to return received almost no guidance from the city on how to reclaim their positions. The city is appealing the arbitrator's decision in court on July 24, arguing that they will not be able to carry out rigorous reform plans for the 24 schools without first replacing many of their teachers. But until then, the staffs of those schools who would have been replaced may reclaim their positions. Yesterday evening, turnaround teachers received the first word on how to do that, in the form of an email from teachers union President Michael Mulgrew. In June, the city asked every teacher at each of the turnaround schools to reapply for their jobs and sit for interviews with a hiring committee under a contractual process called 18-D. State education officials said the city would have to use 18-D if it hoped to hit a federal quota for replacing the teachers (50 percent) and be eligible for millions of dollars in federal School Improvement Grants. The teachers union sued the city to have these plans reversed, and won. Since then, the city has seemingly balked at complying with the arbitrator's ruling. In the days that followed it, teachers said they were confused by the outcome, and administrators who led the turnaround schools until June 30 said they were still being asked to report to new assignments. Despite these complaints, yesterday city officials repeated their promise to comply with the ruling—for now.