The Center on School Turnaround (CST) at WestEd is hosting a series of online Thought Leadership Forums for state education agency (SEA) officials who are members of the Leadership Council of the Network of State Turnaround and Improvement Leaders. The forums are intended to highlight the major considerations of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) for students in chronically low-performing schools and explore how turnaround plans impact SEAs’ broader improvement efforts and ESSA implementation efforts.
The initial forum, held on December 19, 2016, focused on the definition and application of evidence-based criteria within the context of ESSA. The forum featured presentations from Sylvie Hale, Director of Program Development and Strategic Planning for WestEd’s Innovation Studies program, and Rebecca Herman, Senior Policy Researcher and Distinguished Chair in Education Policy at the RAND Corporation (RAND).
This brief summarizes the key ideas from the February 13 forum, offers recommendations to help SEA officials maximize the potential of federal funding, and lists the key resources shared.