STATE TAKEOVER AS SCHOOL REFORM STRATEGY

State takeover as school reform strategy

State takeover as school reform strategy

Chapter IV

Finding And Analysis The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore state takeover as a school reform strategy in a small rural school district and is intended to serve as a guide for local school boards and superintendents in developing effective organizational policies, procedures, and practices which will result in improved student achievement and decrease the number of school districts subject to state takeovers. This chapter is divided into four sections answering four primary research questions. What is state takeover as a reform strategy in a small rural school district, how does state takeover as a reform strategy generate change in a small rural school district, what are the categories of interventions used to determine when to remove a small rural school district from state takeover, and what process occurs that reflects these categories?

Takeover in a Small Rural School District

On February 7, 1985, the State Department of Education's Office of Education Performance Audit's (OEPA) announced an on-site accreditation visit scheduled for the week of April 14 - 19, 1985. The announcement also included information alerting local officials to possible problems with teacher certification. In preparation for the on-site review, the state, on March 21, 1985, sent a department of education certification coordinator to provide assistance to the school district in preparation for the upcoming on-site review. This marked the beginning of the process which eventually resulted in the takeover of this school district.

The April 1985 county accreditation report identified several key areas of non-compliance with state regulations including failing to adhere to financial reporting requirements, failure to provide required amount of instructional time for special education students, and “abundant documentation of a county-wide pattern of personnel being inappropriately assigned to positions for which they did not hold proper certification” (OEPA County Accreditation Report, 1985, p. 45).

Research Questions

This study is guided by four primary research questions:

Research Question 1: What is state takeover as a reform strategy in a small rural school district? (Describe it, what does the process look like)

Research Question 2: How does state takeover as a reform strategy generate change in a small rural school district? (How did it change the school district?)

Research Question 3: What are the categories of interventions used to determine when to remove a small rural school district from state takeover? What strategies were used and how were they implemented? (i.e. Accountability, Collaboration, Building Leadership Capacity, Professional Development, Parent and Community Involvement, etc.)

Research Question 4: What process occurs that reflects these categories? (i.e. Standards for return to local control upon the takeover and the annual performance reports)

School reform has been a reaction to conditions that often threaten the well-being of a given school district, state, or nation. State takeover has been one of the controversial accountability strategies implemented to improve a failing school (Wong & Shen,2001). This study examined teachers' and administrators' perceptions of the effectiveness of the rural districts and its effect on student ...