School Restructuring Under No Child Left Behind: What Works When?

Publisher: Learning Point Associates
Publication Date: 2006
Publication City: Naperville
Publication State: IL
Full text available online at: http://www.centerforcsri.org/files/RestructuringGuide.pdf

Abstract (written by WestEd)

Written explicitly for educational leaders that must choose the best restructuring options for schools in which substantial numbers of children are failing to learn enough — and more specifically, failing to meet standards set by states under NCLB — this guide provides options for choosing change strategies that can produce rapid and obvious success, even if complete culture change follows in the years to come. The four major steps (and their associated tools) in the guide are:

1. Take Charge of Change — Big Change (Tools 1-10 including Restructuring Roadmap, Overall Organizer Checklist, and decision trees)
   
2. Choose the Right Changes (Tools 11-22)
   
3. Implement the Plan (Tool 23)
   
4. Evaluate, Improve, and Act on Failures (Tool 24)

The guide specifically addresses four of the five alternative governance arrangements (the fifth being "other" restructuring): chartering, turnarounds/replacing staff, contracting, and state takeovers. The appendices provide summaries of the What Works When papers on which the guide is based for each of these options.