Can chronically low-performing schools dramatically improve in a short period of time? That was the question that the Renaissance Schools Initiative – Philadelphia’s approach to the turnaround school reform model – sought to answer when it was implemented in 2009.

Eighteen months into the Initiative, as the School District of Philadelphia and the School Reform Commission deliberate its future against the backdrop of severe budget cuts, RFA has released results of its evaluation of the Renaissance Schools. RFA’s research represents the most exhaustive study of school turnarounds – a key element in federal and state education reforms – in the commonwealth and region to date. The study focused on determining whether the first group of 13 schools – both District-run Promise Academies and Charter-managed schools – made early progress toward the longer-term goal of dramatically improving student outcomes.

Read RFA’s full report, released publicly today.

• Or read the executive summary.
  

Media Coverage

• Research study gives good marks to Phila.’s school turnaround effort – Philadelphia Inquirer, February 22, 2012
• Philadelphia School Reforms Show Positive Early Results – Education Week, February 22, 2012
• Study Says Some Philadelphia are Doing Better with More Attention – CBS/KYW NewsRadio, February 22, 2012
• Report shows gains in Renaissance Schools – Philadelphia Public School Notebook, February 22, 2012