about the project

The WestEd School Turnaround Center partners with districts nationwide to provide comprehensive school turnaround and transformation services leading to rapid improvement in low-performing schools.

• We help districts and schools implement the turnaround and transformation intervention models outlined in the federal School Improvement Grant guidelines.
• We use research-based and results-driven strategies to increase the academic achievement of all students.
• We value a true partnership approach. We build local stakeholder support for our work and engage in a communitywide effort in which all stakeholders, including ourselves, are held accountable for student achievement.

WestEd knows from research and decades of experience that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work. That's why the WestEd School Turnaround teams begin each partnership with a comprehensive and efficient needs assessment that results in a customized turnaround or transformation action plan.

While each school's action plan will differ due to unique characteristics and needs, all will focus on seven key areas that a school must address in order to significantly improve its performance:

• Effective school leadership
• High-quality teaching
• Rigorous, standards-based curricula and formative assessments to guide instruction
• Targeted, ongoing professional development
• Safe school environment and a supportive climate
• Alignment of fiscal and human resources to support student achievement
• Engagement of families to support the education of their children and to work in partnership with education personnel

We provide intensive professional development and job-embedded coaching to ensure high-quality implementation of the action plan, and regularly monitor progress toward achieving agreed-upon goals.

An annual evaluation provides both summative data to assess and report the effectiveness of the turnaround effort, as well as formative data to guide future work.

WestEd has helped numerous low-performing districts and schools significantly increase student performance. Check out a sample of our successful partnerships.

Download the WestEd School Turnaround Center brochure (PDF).