Research & Development
Through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we have spent the past year -- since the release of The Turnaround Challenge -- working on an extensive Research & Development effort to "operationalize" the turnaround framework. The goal is to create resources, strategies and tools for states, districts, school and potential lead turnaround partners that provide policies, organizational structures, best practices, and work plans to take on school turnaround.
Consulting Services
On a very limited basis, we have worked with selected states to research their current accountability systems, while offering recommendations to target their chronically under-performing schools. With varying levels of intensity, we have done this type of strategic consulting in California, Illinois, Texas, and Washington State.
States interested in contracting with us on school turnaround strategies should contact us.
Helping States & Districts, Partners, and Schools Meet the Turnaround Challenge
In the next few months, we will launch a three-state intensive turnaround initiative to transform the framework of The Turnaround Challenge into practice. Mass Insight has been awarded a 2-year, $1.5M grant to selectively work with three states and a small number of districts that have the capacity, leadership consensus, and readiness to reinvent the district model by transforming clusters of turnaround schools. More details about this initiative will be forthcoming.
We are also assisting the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices with a multi-year initiative that will provide four states with technical assistance and grant resources to develop plans and policies that create the conditions necessary for turnaround. The Request for Proposals for the initiative was released in early December and proposals are due January 16, 2009. This initiative is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.