School Turnarounds

I mentioned how busy it was last week for the Department – it was also a busy week for me personally, as I traveled to California to take part in several conferences and events!

In particular, I had the privilege of attending a conference on school turnarounds, which brought together school, district, and state leaders from Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. The conference focused on sharing research available on school turnarounds, and provided valuable information on how to apply these research-based practices on the ground. This sharing and learning from one another will be critical as states and districts move forward with the important work of turning around low-achieving schools to better serve our students.

As I mentioned in my first post, I recently visited schools and celebrated back to school time out west.

I had the pleasure of visiting a school in Tacoma, Washington – Lincoln High School – on its first day of school. Specifically, I toured the high school’s Lincoln Learning Center program – a small program in its 3rd year that offers its students extended learning time and a strong dose of college-prep support. Any Lincoln High student who wants to be a part of Lincoln Learning Center is accepted into the program, and both Lincoln High and Lincoln Learning Center serve populations that are high minority and high poverty.