1. SCHOOL TURNAROUND
INVESTMENT STRATEGY
October 13, 2011

2. ERS SCHOOL TURNAROUND SUMMIT
Our Mission
To transform public
education through powerful
ideas and passionate
entrepreneurs so that all
children – especially those
in underserved communities
– have the opportunity to
succeed.
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3. ERS SCHOOL TURNAROUND SUMMIT
NewSchools’ Work in School Turnaround
• History of supporting high-
performing charter management
organizations (“CMOs”)
• Increasingly, CMOs asked to
partner with local districts to
restart low-performing schools
• Given demand, NewSchools
began to fund development of
school turnaround operators.
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School Turnaround Investment Strategy

4. ERS TURNAROUND SUMMIT
Our Investments
Wave One Wave Two Wave Three
(2003-2010) (2009-2011) (2011-)
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5. ERS TURNAROUND SUMMIT
Mastery Charter Schools
Year
Year 6
Year 5
Percent Students Proficient
Year 4
1
Year
Year
1 Before
1
Mastery
2010-2011
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6. ERS TURNAROUND SUMMIT
Academy for Urban School Leadership
Before AUSL
Year 2010-2011
Year
3
Year 3
4 Year Year Year Year
Percent Students Proficient
Year
5 2 2 1 1
Year Year
2 1
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7. ERS TURNAROUND SUMMIT
ReNEW Charter Management Organization
Year
1 Year
1
Percent Students Proficient
Before
ReNEW
2010-2011
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8. ERS TURNAROUND SUMMIT
What We’ve Learned
Successful turnaround operators
emulate practices of high-
performing charter management …but the unique challenges of
organizations… turnaround schools require
more:
Central organization Intense focus on culture
Regional concentration Greater community engagement
Org design for scale Additional / incremental staff
Mission-driven staff Supplemental resources
Commitment to high expectations Varied school design models
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9. ERS TURNAROUND SUMMIT
Hurdles to Success
• Inefficiencies at district
partner
• Inadequate school leader
pipeline
• Federal funds don’t flow
directly to operators
• Unsettled policy
environment
• Limited pre-turnaround
startup funding
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10. ERS TURNAROUND SUMMIT
Wave Three Pipeline
Traditional
New Paradigm for Education (Detroit)
Generation Schools (Brooklyn, Denver)
STEM
Carmen High School of Science and
Technology (Milwaukee)
TBED21 (Philadelphia)
Hybrid
Project GRAD USA (Houston)
Schools for the Future (New York)
Firstline Schools (New Orleans)
Matchbook Learning (Detroit)
Future is Now Schools (LA, New York)
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11. ERS TURNAROUND SUMMIT
Pipeline Geography
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12. ERS TURNAROUND SUMMIT
The Achievement Gap Persists Through College
We cannot be two
nations – one with
access to high quality
schools and another
with failing schools and
limited options.
~ Cory Booker, Mayor of
Newark
Mortensen (2007), Pell (2007)
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13. ERS TURNAROUND SUMMIT
Visit Us Online
www.newschools.org
www.facebook.com/newschools
www.twitter.com/nsvf
http://newschools.org/blog
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14. ERS TURNAROUND SUMMIT
Contact Information
Deborah McGriff
(617)589-9454
dmcgriff@newschools.or
g
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