This case was written for use in courses dealing with school administration, specifically those related to organizational change, school improvement/turnaround, and the principalship. It explores a veteran principal’s first year as a “turnaround specialist” in a low-performing middle school, where she works with a sense of urgency to achieve an increase in student achievement. Students reading the case should assume the role of the principal as they analyze and reflect on changes made during year one and determine a course of action for year two.
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Collins, J. ( 2001). Good to great. New York: HarperCollins.
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Council of Chief State School Officers. (2003 ). State support to low-performing schools. Washington, DC: Author.
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Duncan, R. ( 1972). Organizational climate and climate for change in three police departments: Some preliminary findings. Urban Affairs Quarterly, 8, 205-245.
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Fullan, M. ( 2001). Leading in a culture of change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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Marzano, R.J., Pickering, D., & Pollock, J.E. ( 2001). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
7.
Payne, C.M. ( 2008). So much reform, so little change. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
8.
Calkins, A., Guenther, W., Belfiore, G., & Lash, D. ( 2007). The turnaround challenge: Why America’s best opportunity to dramatically improve student achievement lies in our worst-performing schools . Retrieved November 11, 2008, from the Mass Insight Web site: http://www.massinsight.org/resourcefiles/TheTurnaroundChallenge_2007.pdf
9.
Duke, D.L., & Salmonowicz, M.J. (in press). Key decisions of a first year "turnaround" principal. Educational Management, Administration and Leadership .
10.
Duke, D.L., Tucker, P.D., Salmonowicz, M.J., & Levy, M. ( 2007). How comparable are the perceived challenges facing principals of low-performing schools? International Studies in Educational Administration, 35(1), 3-21.
11.
Duke, D.L., Tucker, P.D., Salmonowicz, M.J., Levy, M., & Saunders, S. ( 2008). Teachers’ guide to school turnarounds. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
12.
Picucci, A., Brownson, A., Kahlet, R., & Sobel, A. ( 2002). Driven to succeed: High-performing, high-poverty, turnaround middle schools (Vol. 1. Cross-Case Analysis). Retrieved October 17, 2008, from the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin Web site: http://www.utdanacenter.org/downloads/products/driven/ms_vol1.pdf
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Public Impact. (2008). Leaders for school turnarounds: Competencies for success. Retrieved November 10, 2008, from http://www.publicimpact.com/publications/Turnaround_Leader_Competencies.pdf
