$3.5B for school improvement will benefit charters/services

This EdWeek blog is a good summary of the USED guidance $3.5B Title 1 school improvement fund. Each state will receive an allotment and will distribute it to districts that agree to enact one or more of the four prescribed strategies:

· Turnaround: replacing at least half the staff and launch a new program

· Restart: close and replace with a new charter

· Closure: send students to better schools

· Transformation: improving instruction, curriculum, and extending learning

Restarts will prove to be the most productive but least used option given likely union opposition. The rapid growth in the number of charter management organizations has created capacity for more than 300 new schools annually. Several of the virtual providers will use this opportunity to step into management of physical schools.

The huge T1 program will also be a boon to existing school improvement groups like America’s Choice, expanding school improvement capabilities like Pearson School Services, and non-profits like MLA Partner Schools (LA) and New Visions for Public Schools (NYC).