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1 Oct 2015
Report

Descriptions of State-Developed Alternative Intervention Models for School Improvement Grants in Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, and Texas

Angelica Herrera, Beth Howard-Brown, Debra Meibaum, Robyn Madison-Harris, Kat Theodore, Chris Times, and Trent Sharp

School Improvement Grants are provided by the Department of Education to state education agencies that, in turn, award competitive subgrants to local education agencies that demonstrate (a) the greatest need for the funds and (b) the strongest commitment to use the funds in ways that will substantially raise the achievement of students in the state’s lowest-performing schools. The purpose of this report is to describe several state-developed alternative intervention models approved by the Department of Education.

The five states featured in this report have seized this opportunity and created state-determined models that target specific needs of their school districts and schools.

  • Colorado’s Secondary School Success Model focuses on high schools and includes dual enrollment in postsecondary level courses, thematic learning academies, credit recovery and intervention programs, and re-engagement strategies.
  • Minnesota’s State Model requires schools that implement it to (a) address school leadership issues; (b) have school staff receive intensive TA to address institutionalized race-, income-, cultural-, and/or language-based inequities in student academic opportunities and outcomes, student and teacher behaviors, and student discipline policies and practices; and (c) use data to identify and implement an instructional program that targets at least one full academic content area, among other requirements.
  • In New York State, the Innovation Framework Model provides three options: the College Pathways School Design and the CTE School Design target middle schools and high schools, while the Community-Oriented Design is aimed at all school levels. In the College Pathway School Design, schools must partner with IHEs, which provide students the opportunity to earn tuition-free college credits along with a high school diploma. The CTE School Design focuses on postsecondary education and career development through rigorous academic content that is closely tied to career/technical subject matter.
  • Using a totally different approach, Rhode Island’s School Empowerment Model provides complete transparency between the school, district, and RIDE. Through this model, school leadership can make autonomous decisions regarding school budget, staffing, as well as curriculum and instruction.
  • The Texas Education Agency chose to focus its efforts on expanding its Early College High School program. As part of this model, participating high schools provide dual credit at no cost to students and offer rigorous instruction and accelerated courses as well as academic and social support services for all students.

Although the five states discussed in this report are using varied approaches, there is one overarching goal—to raise student  achievement in the lowest-performing schools.

PDF icon Descriptions of State-Developed Alternative Intervention Models for School Improvement Grants in Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, and Texas (PDF)

Related Projects

Project

Study of School Turnaround

The U.S. Department of Education has invested substantial funds in turning around the nation’s lowest performing schools and has contracted with AIR to examine how schools’ receiving federal school improvement grants (SIGs) are changing over time.

Related Work

29 Sep 2015
Report

Usage of Policies and Practices Promoted by Race to the Top and School Improvement Grants

In response to the Great Recession, the U.S. Congress passed, and President Barack Obama signed into law, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Education received a total of $100 billion, including $7 billion for two of the Obama administration’s signature grant programs: Race to the Top (RTT) and School Improvement Grants (SIG). This report addresses the following questions: Do states and schools that received grants actually use the policies and practices promoted by these two programs? Does the usage of these policies and practices differ from states and schools that did not receive grants?
Topic: 
Education, District and School Improvement
5 Oct 2014
Brief

Operational Authority, Support, and Monitoring of School Turnaround

In recent years, there has been an increased focus on turning around our nation’s low-performing schools, with substantial investments from the U.S. Department of Education into new and continuing awards under the federal School Improvement Grants (SIG) program. This brief focuses on the implementation of SIG by examining three interrelated levers for school improvement: school operational authority, state and district support for turnaround, and state monitoring of turnaround efforts.
Topic: 
Education, District and School Improvement
22 Jul 2014
Report

Working Together: Building Effective School Turnaround Partnerships

For struggling schools, partnerships with external experts can seem like a critical lifeline. The reality of school turnaround partnerships, however, does not always resemble the ideal. What qualities of an external partnership indicate a greater likelihood for success? What actions by school administrators may make these relationships more effective?
Topic: 
Education, District and School Improvement

Further Reading

  • Mississippi Department of Education Sharing What Works Framework
  • Ensuring Educational Equity Through Accountable Leadership
  • A Civil Rights Learning Journey
  • Time to Proficiency for Hispanic English Learner Students in Texas
  • AIR Experts to Discuss Education Research Issues at Association for Education Finance and Policy Annual Conference
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Robyn Madison-Harris

Robyn Madison-Harris

Senior TA Consultant

Topic

Education
District and School Improvement

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