Reform: The Supplemental Turnaround Market

Will turnarounds be the new supplemental services?  I sure hope not.  But there aren't a lot of folks out there who can do a turnaround (or want to), and meantime there's an awful lot of new money pouring in before much groundwork has been done in terms of proven models and reliable providers.  On Tuesday, six states (Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and New York) signed onto a three-year, $75-million effort organized by the School Turnaround Group at Mass Insight Education & Research Institute.  That's money in addition to the RTTT dollars, the i3 money, and the school improvement funding that's coming down the pike. 

Comments

[Sharon]

Leadership Sponsors of MassInsight:

1. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

2. Barr Foundation

3. The Boston Foundation

4. National Math & Science Initiative: Exxon Mobil Corporation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Michael & Susan Dell Foundation

5. Nellie Mae Education Foundation

6. NewSchools Venture Fund

Mass Insight Board of Directors

1. Mr. Frederick Breimyer, Regional Economist, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

2. Dr. Carole A. Cowan, President, Middlesex Community College

3. Mr. William Guenther, President, Mass Insight Education & Research Institute

4. Mr. R. Jeffrey Lyman, Esq., Partner, Goodwin Procter LLP ("At Goodwin Procter, you'll find a collective determination and an entrepreneurial spirit. We're business-oriented lawyers equally comfortable in the boardroom and the courtroom.")

5. Mr. Richard W. O’Neill, President & Founder, Renaissance School Services, Inc. (Renaissance School Services, "a leading service provider in school turnaround, charter school operations, and research" was founded in 2006 by Richard O'Neill, a former General Manager and Senior Vice President at Edison Schools, where he built, developed, and operated schools K-12 in the eastern half of the United States.) And we know how well that went.

[Tom]

The answer to that question is "yes."

[CarolineSF]

So how many schools have those folks turned around? It's pretty rich that someone from Edison Schools, whose official motto should be "fool me twice shame on me," has snagged himself a spot on the board. It's really a shame to see these con jobs going on and on and on.