Since the outset of Utah’s School Turnaround and Leadership Development Act (SB235), there have been a number of stories told about the program. None of these stories have shared how the bill stemmed from months of listening and collaboration or how this collaboration led to improved learning for a vast number of students in Utah’s lowest-performing schools. As a new school year approaches, it’s worth revisiting how this program came to be and its results so far.
The story begins with listening. In 2014, the Utah Legislature created the Educational Task Force to better understand the complex issues facing our state’s schools. Early on in our work we identified several schools that far exceeded the performance of neighboring schools with similar highly affected demographics. These outliers served students who faced barriers such as poverty, refugee status or learning a second language. Despite these pervasive challenges, their students were achieving at high levels. Curious to find out what set them apart, we arranged a time to listen and learn from them. A few trends stood out. First, these principals and their staff believed that all students could achieve at high levels. In addition, school leaders had undergone advanced education or extensive training and coaching with external experts, beyond their district administrators, to learn how to improve student outcomes. Third, they took a team approach to addressing students’ learning challenges.
After learning from these principals, it became clear that schools facing complex challenges could dramatically improve. We knew there were schools throughout Utah that had not discovered the solutions necessary to address the barriers inhibiting their students’ performance. As we listened, we felt an urgent need to find a way for these schools to implement similar processes and strategies.
In order to design a program that would work for Utah’s schools, the Legislature’s task force sought input from a powerhouse group of educational experts. This group included the state superintendent, members of the State Board of Education, representatives from the Parent Teacher Association and the Utah Education Association, district superintendents, private sector school turnaround experts, charter leaders and charter association members, and a national expert who had advised two governors on educational issues. The group spent months discussing, debating, and reviewing drafts of proposed plans in order to design SB235: The School Turnaround and Leadership Development Act. What resulted was a bill that would provide principals of underperforming schools with fantastic support, training, and on-the-ground coaching for both themselves and for their staff.
The School Turnaround and Leadership Development Act included several of the fundamental principles that I heard over and over again. These resulted in a program that would:
- Produce results: Many states have tackled the problem of improving underperforming schools — even investing millions more than Utah — without measurable success. We researched systems that worked elsewhere and looked for examples of success in our own state to design a program that would produce results.
- Develop the expertise of local school leaders and teachers: We knew that the Turnaround process in other states often included reducing the local authority of schools and districts through unfunded mandates or taking control of transferring, hiring or firing school staff. It was important to our team that we empower our local schools and districts by maintaining their authority. Rather than hiring and firing, the bill provided support to educators through state-funded external experts who would build the capacity of local school leaders and teachers.
- Focus on the basics: Flashy technology and complex curricular materials do not always equate to increased student learning. We found that there is greater impact in schools selecting and implementing evidence-based practices to best address their student’s needs.
- Disrupt the status quo: There were naysayers throughout the process who claimed that money should be provided to the districts themselves. However, we knew that many of these districts had tried for decades to improve student learning in these schools, even with increased funds, and had not yet found solutions that worked. It wasn’t simply a matter of resources; there was a need for disruption. Providing carefully vetted external experts for each school was viewed as a potentially powerful solution.
Ultimately, students are at the center of this story. As a result of SB235, 85% of the schools participating in the program demonstrated significant growth in student proficiency, most of whom progressed one full letter grade or more, based on the state’s school grading system. Mont Harmon Middle School improved three letter grades, while Mana Academy, Granger Elementary, West Lake Junior High, Bonneville Elementary and Monument Valley High each improved two letter grades. Most importantly, the improved instructional practices implemented because of the bill will impact students for years to come.
The School Turnaround and Leadership Development Act was about increasing access to high quality education for students attending Utah’s lowest-performing schools. Through a process of discovery, collaboration and debate, a group of expert educators and politicians were able to design a program that was economically viable, sustainable and that produced results.
Some may suggest letting the program lapse for a year in light of recent testing issues. As they consider the future of School Turnaround, I urge my fellow lawmakers to think about the students who will be entering classrooms this month. Even without perfect data, we know that in too many of Utah’s schools, students are far less likely than their peers to be successful. It’s the state’s responsibility to give those schools the support and resources they need to ensure that our students thrive — our kids don’t have a year to wait.
Wayne Niederhauser is a Utah politician and former president of the Utah State Senate.