School Turnaround

Overview 

The Division of School Turnaround (DST) supports Tennessee’s highest-opportunity schools and districts with developing and implementing strategies directly aligned to the Best for All priorities of Academics, Student Readiness, and Educators. Through ongoing planning, technical assistance, and data collection, DST ensures that schools and districts utilize evidence-based programs and supports that contribute to sustained improvements and set all students on a path to success.

Purpose

The Division of School Turnaround (DST) provides school improvement planning support, grant funding opportunities and school turnaround resources for the state’s highest opportunity schools and districts designated as Priority/Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI), and Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) based on prioritized needs.

• DST supports Tennessee’s highest opportunity schools and districts with developing and implementing improvement plans that include the use of high-quality instructional materials to ensure that all children have access to the best academic resources. This includes providing school improvement grant funding to assist with the structure and development of turnaround supports.
  
• DST assists schools and districts with developing strategies to support student readiness. Strategies include but are not limited to supporting high-quality programs for students with exceptionalities as well as addressing chronic absenteeism, mental health supports, trauma-informed practices, and wrap-around services.
  
• DST supports districts with professional learning opportunities to build educator and leadership capacity in the design, implementation, and monitoring of school improvement strategies to assist in developing, retaining, and recruiting highly effective teachers and leaders in our highest opportunity schools. 

School Designations

Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) and Priority schools are identified at a minimum of every three years, but are eligible for yearly exit according to the department's District and School Accountability criteria. Priority schools are identified at a minimum of every three years, but are eligible for yearly exit according to the department's District and Accountability criteria. Focus school identification includes two categories of federal school designations: Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) and Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI). Both ATSI and TSI are considered focus schools and are designated as such due to the underperformance of one or more subgroups. The department identifies TSI schools each year and ATSI schools every three years, coinciding with the CSI/priority cycle. For more information on school designations see the Accountability Protocol.

Funding Criteria

DST awards both federal and state grant funds on a competitive and non-competitive basis. The DST regional directors work with districts to ensure that grant funds are spent on evidence-based turnaround strategies that improve student outcomes.

• Federal Grants

Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides financial assistance to local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools with high numbers or high percentages of economically disadvantaged students to help ensure that all students have the opportunity to participate in a high quality education.  The School Improvement Grant program, authorized under section 1003(g) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, allocates funds to states to enable the awarding of grants to school districts for the purpose of providing assistance to schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring under section 1116, to meet accountability requirements.

• State Grants

The Governor and General Assembly have invested a significant amount of funding to support Priority schools. The allocation of these funds varies from year to year and are awarded based on the availability of funds.

School Turnaround Pilot Program

The School Turnaround Pilot Program Act (Public Chapter 578, now codified at T.C.A. § 49-6-3601, et. seq.) requires the department to create and develop a four-year school turnaround pilot program beginning in the 2021-2022 school year for five schools that are in need of intervention. Under this bill, the department will select five schools in need of intervention that are diverse geographically and diverse in grade levels for the pilot program. These schools will partner with an approved outside vendor to conduct a comprehensive school analysis.  The schools, along with the vendor and a School Turnaround Committee, will develop a School Turnaround Plan.  The School Turnaround Plan will be implemented in years two through four of the pilot. The progress of schools in the pilot program will be compared to progress of priority schools not in the pilot program to determine success.   

In compliance with state procurement laws and rules, the department conducted a formal competitive request for qualifications (RFQ) process to identify and approve the school turnaround experts for the School Turnaround Pilot Program.  This RFQ was conducted to ensure that each qualified school turnaround expert possesses the following qualifications:

• Has a credible track record of improving student academic achievement in public schools with various demographic characteristics, as evidenced by statewide assessment result
•  Has experience designing, implementing, and evaluating data driven instructional systems in public schools
• Has experience coaching public-school administrators and teachers on designing and implementing data-driven school turnaround plans
• Has experience collaborating with the various education entities that govern public schools
• Has experience delivering high-quality professional development and coaching in instructional effectiveness to public school administrators and teachers
• Is willing to travel to a school in need of intervention regardless of the school's location

The approved school turnaround experts for the School Turnaround Pilot program and their contact information are here.

Resource Allocation Review

The Resource Allocation Review (RAR) is a federal requirement that helps to ensure districts with school(s) that have a Priority/Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) designation and/or school(s) that have an Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) designation are identifying the needs of the schools, prioritizing those needs, and addressing the needs with resources that are equitable across high opportunity schools as cited in the Every Student Succeed Act (§ 1111(d)(3)(A)(ii) and § 200.23(a).

The Division of School Turnaround has committed to a periodic review of resource allocations to ensure sufficient support for school improvement in each district serving a significant number of schools identified as CSI/Priority/and or ATSI. Districts will participate in the RAR on a three-year cycle.

School Turnaround Contacts

Assistant Commissioner of School Turnaround

• Robin Copp Robin.Copp@tn.gov
  

Turnaround Directors

• Etta Gentry Etta.Gentry@tn.gov
• Gina Rawson Gina.Rawson@tn.gov
• Beth Reynolds Beth.Reynolds@tn.gov
• Penny Tubb Penny.Tubbs@tn.gov

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• DST Website FAQs

Tiered Intervention System

Overview of the Tiered Intervention System for Priority/Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) Schools

The tiered intervention system is a progressive, three-tiered intervention system for Priority/CSI schools designed to provide varying levels of support to Priority/CSI schools based on their performance and needs. This system ensures that schools receive the appropriate level of support to improve their performance and meet educational standards. In Tier one, local education agencies (LEAs) may choose to implement evidence-based interventions or contract with school turnaround experts. Tier two offers more intensive options, such as rebuilding school leadership, partnering with an approved school turnaround expert, transferring school operations to higher education institutions, or converting schools to charter schools. Tier three is the most intensive intervention level and involves potentially closing the school or completely rebuilding its support structure.

• Tier one includes the following intervention options:
  • The LEA implements an evidenced-based school turnaround intervention.
  • The LEA contracts with an independent school turnaround expert.
  • The LEA implements one of the intervention options from tier two or tier three.
• Tier two includes the following intervention options:
  • The LEA implements an intervention program at the Priority/CSI school, which includes, at a minimum, the following:
    • An intervention committee for the Priority school.
    • A contract between the local board of education and an independent school turnaround expert, and
    • A written intervention plan developed by the contracted independent school turnaround expert.
  • The LEA rebuilds the Priority school's support structure by replacing some or all the school's leadership and by replacing specific instructional staff as identified by the LEA as part of a turnaround strategy.
  • The LEA transfers the operation of the Priority school to a public institution of higher education pursuant to a contract between the LEA and the public institution of higher education.
  • The LEA converts the Priority school to a public charter school; or
  • The LEA implements one of the intervention options in tier three.
• Tier three includes the following intervention options:
  • The LEA closes the Priority school and develops a plan approved by the Tennessee Department of Education (department) to reassign all students enrolled in the Priority school to a higher performing school; or
  • In communities for which school closure is not feasible, the LEA rebuilds the Priority school's support structure by replacing some or all the school's leadership and by replacing specific instructional staff as determined by the department, in consultation with the LEA. Tier Intervention Placements for School Year 2025-26