Comprehensive School Reform

What does it take to turnaround an “underperforming” district? This question becomes more urgent every day as the number of districts earning this designation grows—and the consequences get tougher.

For EDC’s Barbara Miller, “turnaround partner” for the Winchendon (Massachusetts) Public Schools, the answer begins with some hard thinking about where an outside advisor like herself can have the biggest impact quickly.

Turning around “underperforming” schools or districts is difficult work. And it becomes more urgent every day as the number of schools earning this designation grows—and the consequences get tougher.

The island region of Mindanao in the Philippines has been home to a minority Muslim population for more than five centuries. Much of Mindanao’s history has been marked by war, poverty, inter-clan fighting, and ethnic marginalization. Armed conflict has pulled boys out of school and disrupted the local economy. Today, about half the children in the region do not attend school, and only one in six teens enrolled in high school will graduate.

“Creative and joyful” were the adjectives President Bush used to describe classroom lessons he observed in Indonesia while visiting with students and teachers taking part in EDC’s national education program there.

EDC’s initiative to decentralize and revitalize Indonesia’s schools by improving the quality of teaching has taken root in 535 schools and will ultimately include more than 2,000 schools in the world’s fourth most populous country. The USAID-funded project, Decentralized Basic Education 2 (DBE2), is moving schools away from a rote-memorization tradition to a more “interactive approach with students working together on projects,” says EDC’s seven provinces.”

EDC’s work with eight Rhode Island middle and high schools to improve student performance on state standardized tests has produced initial successes, according to Leslie Hergert of EDC’s Center for Family, School, and Community.

EDC has begun work to help ensure that special education students with disabilities in Hartford, Connecticut, are getting the services they need.

EDC’s initiative to decentralize and revitalize Indonesia’s schools by improving the quality of teaching has taken root in 535 schools and will ultimately include more than 2,000 schools in the world’s fourth most populous country.