What makes school turnaround leaders special? State and district leaders can understand how to identify, select, and retain great leaders using the research-based competencies specific to successful turnaround leaders, with a new, free three-part professional learning module.

Developed through a partnership between the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders, the Center on School Turnaround, Public Impact, and the University of Virginia Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education, these tools build on the strong cross-sector research base on competencies in the workplace and the school-turnaround-specific work of Public Impact, the University of Virginia, and others.

Under the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states must still identify their lowest-performing schools, but how to turn them around will largely be left up to state and district leaders. Selecting the right leaders is critical to turnaround success, making training such as this module ever more important.

“Whether in the business world or in schools, turnarounds remain a challenging task even for inspired, inspiring leaders,” says Bryan C. Hassel, co-director of Public Impact. “But years of research have pointed the way toward hiring the school leaders most equipped to take on all the challenges of a persistently failing school. This module builds on that work to provide tools useful for many education leaders.”

Using detailed facilitator guides, PowerPoint presentations, and handouts, the three two-hour sessions cover:

• Understanding Turnaround Leader Competencies—focusing on the challenges of leading a school turnaround, the competencies and actions associated with turnaround success, and how to use them for selection and development
• Recruiting and Selecting Turnaround Leaders—focusing on how to recruit leaders with turnaround competencies and conduct a competency-based interview and selection process
• Developing and Retaining Turnaround Leaders—focusing on understanding the district’s role in competency-based development and support of turnaround leaders, and exploring how districts can involve supervisors of principals and others to increase turnaround school principals’ competencies.

Who should use this module?

• State education agencies—to conduct training for district turnaround officials
• Local education agencies—to train superintendents, district staff, school board members, principals, teacher-leaders, teacher association representatives, or others responsible for creating strategic plans or supporting school turnaround leaders and school teams

Public Impact and its partners can also lead trainings in this and other aspects of school turnarounds—contact us!