Understanding Schools that Were Able to Show Sustained Improvement within the Renewal School Program

School accountability programs and turnaround schools have been in existence for a number ofyears in the United States. Such programs often require a number of resources to help showsustainable improvement in turnaround schools. One of the latest iterations of an accountabilityprogram for the New York City Department of Education has been the Renewal School program.This research study explored the commonalities reported by each of eight school principals intheir efforts to successfully turn their schools around and exit from the Renewal School program.The researcher investigated (a) leadership moves that seem to have contributed to successfulturnaround, (b) systems or resources that contributed to successful turnaround, (c) factors fromthe Renewal School program that contributed to successful turnaround, and (d) factors from theRenewal School program that acted as barriers to the turnaround process. The researcher usedthe multi-case study approach in which multiple case studies are used to explore an issue. Studiesof successful turnaround schools, such as the ones that participated in this study, can helpprovide important information to educational leaders who participate in accountability programsso that they can have similar successes