Four States Approve WestEd for SchoolTurnaround, Transformation, and Improvement Services
Research-based strategies support rapid and sustainable improvement
San Francisco, Calif. — June 8, 2010 — Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Washington state recently selected the WestEd School Turnaround Center as an approved provider of federally supported school turnaround, transformation, and improvement services.
The federal School Improvement Grants (SIG) program recently made available an unprecedented $3.5 billion for states to implement intervention models designed to improve the lowest-performing schools and boost student achievement. According to the U.S. Department of Education, there are approximately 5,000 chronically low-performing schools in the country spread across urban, suburban, and rural districts.
For more than ten years, WestEd has provided successful school and district improvement services. By drawing on research-based strategies, building local stakeholder support, and creating sustainable, context-specific action plans, the WestEd School Turnaround Center uses a comprehensive approach to significantly and quickly improve student learning.
For example, at Creighton Elementary School District in Arizona, WestEd helped raise all seven of its underperforming or failing schools to performing or performing-plus in a single year. Charlotte Boyle, superintendent of Creighton Elementary School District, said, "The training provided by WestEd has been outstanding. WestEd staff asked tough questions, referenced our data, and helped us realize that more directive and comprehensive reforms must be implemented to exit School Improvement."
Dr. Fred Tempes, director of the Comprehensive School Assistance Program at WestEd, said, "The WestEd School Turnaround team comprises experienced former school and district leaders with proven track records in reform, backed by WestEd's 40 years of experience and research. We look forward to collaborating with schools in these four states to build sustainable excellence for all students."
More information on the WestEd School Turnaround Center is available at www.wested.org/SchoolTurnaroundCenter.
###
CONTACT:
Matthew Spaur
415-615-3219
mspaur@WestEd.org
About WestEd
WestEd, a national nonpartisan, nonprofit research, development, and service agency, works with education and other communities to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve learning for children, youth, and adults. WestEd has 17 offices nationwide, from Washington and Boston to Arizona and California. Its corporate headquarters are in San Francisco. More information about WestEd is available at WestEd.org.