States Should Support and Address Low-Performing Schools Before They Hit Rock Bottom
March 4, 2020
ESSA was signed into law four years ago, “giving states more flexibility in their approaches to accountability,” yet for the lowest-performing schools, “policy leaders still operate from an old and harmful paradigm,” according to Susan F. Lusi in a piece published by The 74. Instead of waiting for schools to fail “before creating conditions of reform,” we should be working to change conditions earlier, Lusi argues. That includes giving students additional learning time; allowing teachers more time to collaborate; providing greater flexibility to schedule and regroup students throughout the year; and ensuring greater flexibility for staffing, programming, and allocating budgets.