RFA to study Renaissance Schools: RFA eNews Special Edition, June 2010

SPECIAL EDITION, June 2010
Dear Friends of RFA,
Philadelphia's Renaissance Schools initiative is designed to radically restructure some of the District's most chronically underperforming schools. RFA is pleased to announce that we will be studying the implementation of this initiative.
The Renaissance Schools reform utilizes elements of the "turnaround school" approach that figures prominently in the federal Race to the Top reform effort. Despite the growing prominence of this reform model, research on its impact is mixed, and there is almost no research on the process by which these new school models are implemented. RFA looks to help fill this gap by conducting a 10-month study on the early stages of the reform's implementation. Our work is designed to provide useful, actionable research to the Accountability Review Council (ARC), which commissioned this study, and to a broader audience of parents, teachers, students, and the District.
This project is part of RFA's two decade history of investigating the major reform initiatives implemented by the School District of Philadelphia. In recent years, RFA concluded a major, multi-year research project, Learning from Philadelphia's School Reform, which examined the District's reform efforts over the last decade in Philadelphia, and which generated dozens of publications and presentations to a broad array of stakeholders. RFA has deep expertise in areas directly relevant to the Renaissance Schools initiative, including civic capacity, charter schools, effective organizational practices, and the impacts of federal policy contexts.
Improving our struggling schools requires clear vision, sustained effort, and a commitment to examining both the successes and challenges of reform efforts and adjusting as necessary. We hope to ensure that the Renaissance Schools initiative will be informed by research, and that our research will contribute to a broader discussion, both in Philadelphia and elsewhere, about the approach and the consequences of turnaround initiatives.
Kate Shaw, Ph.D.
Executive Director

Previous research on major District initiatives
Research for Action has conducted research studies on some of the most critical reform initiatives implemented by the School District of Philadelphia over the last two decades. A selection of recent examples is below.
School Choice in a City of Neighborhoods: Philadelphia's Approach to High School Reform (2007-2010)
"Going Small": Public/Private Collaboration in Restructuring High School Education in Philadelphia (2006-2009)
Learning to Learn from Data: Using Data to Inform Instructional Decisions and Improve Student Learning in Low-Performing Urban Schools (2005-2009)
Learning from Philadelphia's School Reform (2002-2009)
Which Bets Paid Off? Estimating the Effects on Middle Grades Achievement of More than a Decade of Ambitious Reform in Philadelphia (2005-2007)

Editor's Note
RFA eNews is a publication of Research for Action. Please email us your thoughts and comments at info@researchforaction.org. We respect your privacy and will not share your contact information.
Editor
Jesse Gottschalk
Copyright © Research for Action 2009
www.researchforaction.org

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