Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Redefining the School District in America

  • 06/10/15

In Redefining the School District in America, Nelson Smith reexamines existing recovery school districts (RSDs)—entities in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Michigan charged with running and turning around their state’s worst schools—and assembles the most comprehensive catalog of similar initiatives underway and under consideration elsewhere.

Among more than twenty recommendations gleaned from both failed and successful attempts to create and implement RSDs, Smith recommends that those who go down the turnaround path should:

  • Call your lawyer. A close reading of the state constitution is essential. Some states are so wedded to traditional forms of “local control” that setting up a state district will require fancy legal footwork, if not a constitutional amendment.
  • Decide the endgame—for both schools and the turnaround district. Apart from setting goals for school performance, other decisions must be addressed—and the earlier the better.
  • Expect course corrections. Running a statewide district is a huge, complex undertaking full of political, financial, and logistical challenges—not to mention the myriad crises and complications that always arise in institutions serving real children. Sometimes even turnaround efforts need to turn around.
  • Give the locals a chance. After taking over failing schools, reformers sent by the state may want to clean house and start fresh with a whole new cast of characters. Yet incumbent staff should be given the opportunity to apply for work under the new arrangement and prove that, under different circumstances, they can shine.

As with everything in education reform, when it comes to the design of turnaround districts, details truly matter.

This is the final brief in a three-part series. Download the second brief, Redefining the School District in Tennessee, and the third brief, Redefining the School District in Michigan, to learn more.

Register to attend or watch the event, Turnaround Districts: Lessons from Louisiana, Tennessee, and Michigan, on June 29.

Featured

  • Houston K–12 District Opens New Elementary School

    The Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (Lamar CISD) recently announced the completion of a new elementary school in a western suburb of Houston, Texas, according to a news release. Haygood Elementary School measures in at 110,000 square feet, has the capacity for 854 students, and is the first of three new schools scheduled to be built in the Cross Creek West community.

  • Miami University Approves New $242M Multipurpose Arena

    Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, recently announced that its Board of Trustees has approved construction of a new multipurpose arena at Cook Field, according to university news. The $242-million project will serve as a new centralized hub for student life and create space for economic development on campus.

  • Spaces4Learning Trends & Predictions for Educational Facilities in 2026: Part II

    As education leaders look toward 2026, the design of K–12 and higher education facilities is being reshaped by powerful, converging forces. Survey respondents point to the rapid growth of Career and Technical Education, deeper alignment with workforce and industry needs, and the accelerating influence of AI and emerging technologies.

  • Full Sail University Announces First Student Housing Facility

    Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., recently announced that development has begun on its first student housing community, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Nvision Development for construction and long-term management of the facility, which will stand five stories and have the capacity for more than 570 beds.