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134
allocate nearly three times as many teacher resources to summer school than the
Evidence-Based Model suggests. This is an indication that intervention efforts are not
being targeted during the school year, and this has created an additional financial burden
for the schools in already difficult economic times. The use of summer school as an
intervention strategy forces students to play catch-up in the concentrated, fast-paced
nature of summer classes. Remediation efforts are falling short and an inefficient use of
class time during the school year may be the root cause.
Across the CUSD, the English Language Learner subgroup has long struggled
academically. Because of its legacy of high expectations and track record of improving
student achievement, the school district has been attractive for newly arrived immigrant
families. The sample schools also have struggled to find the resources to support these
students with language barriers. A lack of proficiency in English for this particular
subgroup has placed two of the sample schools in Program Improvement status. There is
not a clear plan at any of the sample schools for decreasing the proficiency gap for ELLs.
Finally, while professional development has been a predominant feature of the
improvement process at the sample schools and within the CUSD, there is little evidence
to support that all of the schools are able to accurately track and assess their collective
professional growth. As the sample schools worked to complete the quantitative protocol
for this study, which outlines the specific costs in terms of facilitators, trainers,
conference fees and travel expenses, it was clear that specific accounting controls were
not in place to help schools track their use of funds in this regard. Given that professional
development is a major priority for the District, there continues to be some uncertainty
Object Description
| Title | Navigating troubled waters: case studies of three California high schools' resource allocation strategies in 2010-2011 |
| Author | Landisi, Brian Anthony |
| Author email | landisi@usc.edu; blandisi@charter.net |
| Degree | Doctor of Education |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Education (Leadership) |
| School | Rossier School of Education |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-03-28 |
| Date submitted | 2011 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2011-04-28 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Picus, Lawrence O. |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Hentschke, Guilbert C. Nelson, John L. |
| Abstract | This study was conducted to examine instructional strategies and resource allocation in successful schools. The study was based on the analysis of three comprehensive high schools in one school district in Southern California. Each of the study schools increased students’ academic achievement over time as measured by sustained growth on California’s Academic Performance Index. The efforts of these study schools also contributed to narrowing the achievement gap.; Successful schools in this study were analyzed primarily through the lens of Odden’s (2009) 10 Strategies for Doubling Student Performance. In addition to effective organizational and instructional strategies, this study also analyzed human and fiscal resource allocation at the sample schools. The study used the Evidence-Based Model (Odden & Picus, 2008) to analyze how the schools allocated resources during 2010-2011, navigating a catastrophic economic crisis facing California and the rest of the nation. Interview data, student achievement data and information on school-level resource use were included in case studies on each of these successful schools.; The findings indicate that although the resource use patterns of the study schools were significantly fewer than what the Evidence-Based Model suggests, the improvement strategies showed many commonalities to those suggested in the body of literature on school improvement. Strong leadership from the district office supported the reform efforts at each of the school sites. This leadership came in the form of a single district focus combined with continuity of leadership, development and retention of talent within the district and a common school improvement framework.; A heavy investment of time and fiscal resources into professional development created a collaborative culture within and between the high schools in the study. The schools that were most successful in raising student achievement demonstrated a commitment to collaboration and embraced the role of teacher leaders. The most effective schools in the study had in place internal accountability structures to support the implementation of the school and district focus. It is the effective implementation of research-based strategies, not simply resource allocation that makes schools successful and contributes to further growth in student achievement. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. |
| Keyword | education finance; secondary education; educational leadership; budget crisis; instructional leadership; Odden and Picus; resource allocation; school finance; school reform |
| Geographic subject (county) | Los Angeles |
| Geographic subject (state) | California |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA |
| Coverage date | 2010/2011 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3797 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Landisi, Brian Anthony |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Landisi-4355 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume14/etd-Landisi-4355.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 146 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 134 allocate nearly three times as many teacher resources to summer school than the Evidence-Based Model suggests. This is an indication that intervention efforts are not being targeted during the school year, and this has created an additional financial burden for the schools in already difficult economic times. The use of summer school as an intervention strategy forces students to play catch-up in the concentrated, fast-paced nature of summer classes. Remediation efforts are falling short and an inefficient use of class time during the school year may be the root cause. Across the CUSD, the English Language Learner subgroup has long struggled academically. Because of its legacy of high expectations and track record of improving student achievement, the school district has been attractive for newly arrived immigrant families. The sample schools also have struggled to find the resources to support these students with language barriers. A lack of proficiency in English for this particular subgroup has placed two of the sample schools in Program Improvement status. There is not a clear plan at any of the sample schools for decreasing the proficiency gap for ELLs. Finally, while professional development has been a predominant feature of the improvement process at the sample schools and within the CUSD, there is little evidence to support that all of the schools are able to accurately track and assess their collective professional growth. As the sample schools worked to complete the quantitative protocol for this study, which outlines the specific costs in terms of facilitators, trainers, conference fees and travel expenses, it was clear that specific accounting controls were not in place to help schools track their use of funds in this regard. Given that professional development is a major priority for the District, there continues to be some uncertainty |
