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1 Sep 2017
Brief

Supporting English Learners and Students with Disabilities: Strategies from Turnaround Schools in Massachusetts

Andrea Boyle, Laura Stein, and Alexandra Kistner

Meeting the needs of English learners (ELs) and students with disabilities (SWDs) is a critical yet challenging responsibility for all schools. Turnaround schools that are engaged in wholescale efforts to improve school performance may be hindered in their ability to focus on the specific needs of ELs and SWDs due to the pressures they face in quickly improving the outcomes for all students. In addition to these demands, the staff at turnaround schools may be limited in their organizational capacity, resources, and leadership structure impeding their ability to recognize and appropriately address specialized student needs.

This brief discusses successful academic interventions for ELs and SWDs implemented in seven exemplar schools highlighted during Massachusetts School Monitoring Site Visits conducted in 2015-16. Ratings on monitoring indicators as well as interview and focus group data was examined to identify common promising practices for serving ELs and SWDs.

The four key strategies that emerged were building staff capacity to meet the needs of ELs and SWDs, continuously using data to identify student needs and monitor progress, fostering staff communication and collaboration around student support, and providing differentiated support and interventions.

PDF icon Supporting English Learners and Students with Disabilities: Strategies from Turnaround Schools in Massachusetts (PDF)

Related Work

1 Oct 2017
Report

Lessons Learned in Massachusetts High School Turnaround: A Resource for High School Leaders

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has an ongoing commitment to improve support provided to all schools, with an emphasis on the lowest performing schools. This report summarizes findings from AIR’s qualitative analyses of turnaround practices that appear challenging for low-performing high schools, as well as promising practices used by improving and higher performing high schools in the state.
Topic: 
Education, District and School Improvement
21 Sep 2016
Report

Evaluation of Level 4 School Turnaround Efforts in Massachusetts - Part 2: Impact of School Redesign Grants

In April 2010, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) adopted regulations to formalize the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s approach to engaging with all schools to improve student performance. This impact study found that the disbursement of federal Title I School Improvement Grants in the process designed by ESE have consistently positive effects on student academic achievement.
Topic: 
Education, District and School Improvement
7 Mar 2016
Blog Post

Ghandi,_Allison_new.jpg

Image of Allison Gandhi

What Can Massachusetts’ Wraparound Zones Teach Us About School Turnaround?

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) gives states the authority and flexibility to turn around their lowest performing schools. In this blog post, Allison Gandhi asks if states can succeed where federal policy requirements have run into walls, using the success of the Massachusetts Wraparound Zone initiative as an example.
Topic: 
Education, District and School Improvement, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Trauma-Informed Care
21 Nov 2016
Spotlight

Spotlight on School Turnaround

Better schools help make better communities and improve students’ chances of success. But what does research tell us about what works in school improvement? Explore what our researchers are learning about turning around struggling schools.
Topic: 
Education, District and School Improvement

Further Reading

  • A Focused Look at Schools Receiving School Improvement Grants That Have High Percentages of English Language Learner Students
  • Lessons Learned in Massachusetts High School Turnaround: A Resource for High School Leaders
  • Nine Conditions That Helped Massachusetts Turn Around Its Schools
  • Spotlight on School Turnaround
  • Building Teacher Capacity to Support English Language Learners in Schools Receiving School Improvement Grants
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Contact

Andrea Boyle

Senior Researcher
Alex Kistner

Alexandra Kistner

Senior Researcher

Susan Bowles Therriault

Managing Researcher

Topic

Education
District and School Improvement
English Learners
Special Education

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