1. Turning Around 1,000 Schools: The Story of Success for All
Kristin Anderson Moore Lecture
Child Trends
Robert E. Slavin
Johns Hopkins University

2. The Goal
Create whole-school reform approach for high-poverty elementary and middle schools that is:
Effective
Comprehensive
Replicable
Exciting for kids
Accepted by teachers

3. Professional Development Approach in Success for All
Extensive professional development and coaching in:
Cooperative learning
Phonics
Comprehension strategies
Vocabulary
Classroom management

4. Structural Elements of Success for All
Supportive materials, software
Regrouping
School-wide progress monitoring and goal-setting
Tutoring (now computer-assisted)
Facilitator
Embedded multimedia
Schools vote to adopt

5. Solutions Team Family support Integrated services
Behavior, attendance, cooperation, conflict resolution
Social-emotional development

6. Current Status of Success for All
1000 schools in 47 states
Average school in program 10 years
About 80% free lunch, Title I schoolwide projects
National network of 120 trainers, total of220 staff
Recently received $50 million i3 grant

7. Research on Success for All
35-school randomized evaluation
120-school University of Michigan study
Many smaller matched studies
Positive effects on reading maintained to 8th grade
Reductions in special ed, retentions
Only whole-school program to meet standards of Social Programs That Work

8. Precursors of Success for All
: Walking in the rain, WorldLab
: Basic cooperative learning research
: TAI Math
: CIRC Reading
: Cooperative Elementary School; Reviews of research
: Invitation from Baltimore to create SFA

9. Early Development, Research, and Scale-Up
: Initial implementations: Baltimore, Philadelphia
: New American Schools grants
1997 Spin-off from Johns Hopkins University, founding of Success for All Foundation

10. Scale-Up Issues in the 1990’s
Problem: Maintaining quality in a time of rapid growth
Added 50% to network each year
Experimented with partnerships
Capital problems
Hiring problems

11. Disaster: Reading First
Success for All not supported by Bush administration
Problems with Reading First
Result: Rapid drop-off, 60% cut in staff, financial problems

12. Stabilization and Innovation in the 2000’s
Substantial refinements to model:
Computerized monitoring
Solutions Team
Embedded multimedia
Interactive whiteboards
Improved middle school, high school
Math programs
Writing program
Leadership programs
Social-emotional learning and cognitive regulation

13. Investing in Innovation (i3)
Goal: 1100 additional schools over 5 years
Partnerships with districts, states
Grants to Title I schoolwide projects
Building capacity
MDRC evaluation

14. What Have We Learned? I. Coaching
Build national coaching capacity rather than relying on partners
Provide adequate coaching and monitor quality
Be explicit but adapt to local needs
Obtain informed buy-in from teachers
Use school-based facilitators

15. What Have We Learned: II. Operations
Stay non-profit
Obtain adequate capital
Avoid depending on grants for ongoing operations

16. Implications for Policy
SFA demonstrates that reform can happen in ordinary Title I schools at scale
Fund and encourage promising programs
Insist on rigorous evaluations
Help with expertise, capital
Provide grants to schools to adopt proven programs
Proactively disseminates information on proven approaches, effective methods fairs

17. Vision for the Future
All Title I schools should have opportunity to choose among proven programs
Constant process of development, evaluation, and scale-up of promising approaches
Results: Progressive, irreversible improvement in outcomes for vulnerable children