School Improvement Grants Seminar

Turnaround Schools: Are SIG Dollars Making a Difference?

Since 2009, the federal government has poured more than $4.6 billion into the School Improvement Grants program, one of the most ambitious attempts at education reform in recent history.

Our March 24, 2012 seminar at the University of Chicago took a close look at the federal School Improvement Grant program, the research base behind school turnarounds, and how charter schools factor into attempts to reimagine and reform chronically low-performing schools.

We also examined how states, districts and individual schools are using this huge influx of money, and whether the money is achieving the intended goal: helping improve student outcomes in the nation’s most troubled schools.

This seminar was tied to our special project, Turnaround Watch, which you can access below.

Special Project

• Turnaround Watch: The School Improvement Grant Program

Seminar Materials

• Videos

• Podcasts
  • Charter Schools’ Role in Turnaround and Transformation
  • Change in the Windy City: A Chicago Perspective

Further Reading

Educated Reporter:

• School Improvement Grants: Is the Federal Initiative Working?
• Coming to a Newspaper Near You … Are School Turnarounds Working?
• For California, the SIG Program Has Shown Some Success, Study Finds
• Obama Proposes `Master Teacher Corps,’ More NCLB Waivers Announced

EdMedia Commons:

• Nieman Journalism Lab Covers SIG Project