More than 70 percent of schools participating in the federal School Improvement Grant program are using the relatively flexible option known as “transformation” to make academic upgrades, according to an analysis of the $3.5 billion federal program.
Published by Education Sector, a Washington think tank, the analysis uses a new, online tool the organization developed that allows users to track the flow of money in the program and the strategies of participating schools.
SIG schools choose from four models for school improvement: closing a school; turning it over to a charter operator or school management group; turnaround, or replacing the principal and some staff; and transformation, which involves changing leadership and providing more supports for teachers, more-demanding academic standards, and other options.
