Turnaround For Children Inc

Programs: During the 2014-15 school year, turnaround for children continued to dedicate its efforts to the design, development, and implementation of scientifically-grounded practices that transform the teaching and learning environments in chronically low-performing, high-poverty public schools. The organization achieved significant impact through efforts in three areas: proof and practice, tools and design, and systemic impact. [see schedule o for continuation]1. Proof and practiceduring the 2014-15 school year, turnaround worked to cultivate a safe environment with reduced stress and increased readiness to learn in its 15 partner schools, located in new york city, newark, n. J. , and washington, d. C. Turnaround's intervention model in these schools consisted of three research-based elements -- student support, teacher practice, and school leadership -- all in service of accelerating student development and academic achievement. The most recent performance data from our schools shows notable progress as a result of our work:- 98% of students with intense behavioral needs had an intervention plan in place. - severe behavioral incidents and suspensions across partner schools were down more than 40%. - classroom observations utilizing a research-based third-party framework (class) showed more than 20% increases in teachers rated highly in areas of classroom climate, productivity, and engagement. 2. Tools and designturnaround utilizes scientific research and data to design and develop tools, strategies, and resources for its partner schools. These resources can also serve educators and other organizations around the country grappling with similar challenges. During the 2014-15 school year, turnaround developed the following tools:- building blocks for learning: a framework for the development of skills children need for success in school and beyond. Each element represents a set of evidence-based skills and dispositions that have been proven by research to correlate to, and even predict, academic achievement. The framework draws from research in multiple fields to suggest movement from low-order to high-order skills and understand which skills are likely to be underdeveloped for a student experiencing adversity. - research-based program logic model: describes turnaround's theory of change from programmatic inputs to outputs in the school to outcomes at the classroom, school, and student levels. - ready for learning framework: a working set of quantitative and qualitative metrics that evaluate 22 essential qualities of a school to gauge whether it has reached a state of reduced stress and increased readiness to learn. 3. Systemic impactturnaround seeks to influence and collaborate with public school and district leaders, policymakers, practitioners, researchers, funders, and parents in broader efforts to neutralize the impact of poverty-related stress on schools. During the 2014-15 school year, turnaround took part in the following activities to drive systemic change:- turnaround was a key presenter or participant at over 20 events, including the aspen ideas festival, sxswedu, new profit's gathering of leaders, and the newschools venture fund summit. - locally, in new york city, turnaround's president and ceo, pamela cantor m. D. , was invited to serve and represent turnaround on the community school initiative's advisory board. - turnaround submitted comments and recommendations to the senate health, education, labor & pensions (help) committee, both to its leadership and to the entire committee. Turnaround has worked closely with senator murphy (d-ct) and his staff to include language on the development of non-academic skills to be included in the updated elementary and secondary education act (esea) bill. In early june, the senate passed a reauthorized version of esea, now being referred to as every child achieves act. This version included the language that turnaround developed with senator murphy and his staff. The bill is now scheduled to go to conference for full passage and signature from the president.