Examining Three School Systems’ Actions Linked to Improving Their Lowest-Performing Schools

Abstract

ABSTRACT Given that school districts have considerable discretion over the schools they lead and serve, it follows that district actions can influence school turnaround. Using data from three districts that successfully oversaw transformation efforts in their lowest performing elementary schools, this article provides evidence on how district leaders can orchestrate improvement through supporting and supervising principals and teachers. Using an analytic premise capturing leadership practices derived from the literature, we employed first cycle coding on over 800 pages of documents. Then, using emergent coding we identified “sub practices” within each literature-derived practice. Using second cycle coding, we analyzed the extent to which district leaders work with or through others. Findings provide specifics that better convey how district leaders enact their work with schools. Findings also suggest that these districts work in facilitative roles alongside school leaders. Implications for principal supervision and support are discussed.