Predicting Student Enrollment: Can Machine Learning Facilitate Effective School District Planning? (670 KB)
This infographic shares findings on whether three different machine learning methods are better than a simple regression model in making enrollment predictions.

This coaching project built on pervious work that enhanced the capacity of the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) Office of Leadership Development and School Improvement (OLDSI) to support the schools identified for Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) through progress monitoring. The coaching goals were to embed progress monitoring within the everyday work of MSDE's support systems using the tools developed in the earlier project, establish deeper collaboration between OLDSI and the local districts in which the CSI schools are located, and determine the consistency of what and how progress of school improvement is being measured across MSDE and the local school system.

This project built the capacity of the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) to analyze and use data on student mobility, defined for this project as changes or gaps in students' school enrollment within the district. At the end of the project, SDP staff were able to independently calculate mobility metrics using the district's data on student enrollment and created a plan for using student mobility data in research activities and for tracking and supporting school performance.

Predicting Early Fall Student Enrollment in the School District of Philadelphia (2.3 MB)
This study compared the accuracy of four statistical techniques for predicting fall enrollment at the school-by-grade level, using data from prior years, to assess which approach might be the most useful for planning school staffing in the School District of Philadelphia. The predictions differ little in accuracy: predicted cohort size differs from actual cohort size by roughly six students across all methods. The statistical techniques leave much student mobility unaccounted for. Even under the best prediction approach, students and teachers in 22 percent of incoming grade levels within schools might have to be reassigned because of unexpected student mobility and district rules on maximum class size.

REL Mid-Atlantic supported the Office for Leadership Development and School Improvement at the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) in identifying and sharing research and practices for high school turnaround. MSDE identified 21 high schools as Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) schools under its Every Student Succeeds Act accountability system because of low graduation rates. MSDE found there was a gap in resources, information, knowledge, and experience for staff in turning around high schools. REL Mid-Atlantic staff developed and delivered a two-session virtual workshop to the leaders of the 21 CSI high schools and the district and state staff who support them. Check out the two sessions on Addressing Chronic Absenteeism and Turnaround Leadership.

This coaching project was part of a series of intensive supports Maryland is providing or making available to schools identified for comprehensive support and improvement (CSI) under their ESSA plan. REL Mid-Atlantic worked with Maryland and CSI schools to identify indicators and measures to monitor the progress of these schools’ improvement efforts. Maryland, districts, and schools can use information on progress monitoring to adjust implementation or change plans as data indicate are necessary.

The REL conducted a workshop for schools in Maryland that built capacity for analyzing the root causes of school needs to determine action steps and areas for improvement. Participants of this workshop developed a deeper understanding of how root cause analysis supports successful needs assessment and action planning. The root cause analysis is part of Maryland’s larger continuous improvement process for conducting school improvement efforts, which includes a data collection and needs assessment, root cause analysis, action planning, and monitoring for progress toward goals.

Competencies and Strategies of Effective School Turnaround Leaders Infographic (112 KB)
The REL developed an infographic about the research-based strategies turnaround leaders can use in order to support a comprehensive turnaround initiative.

The REL worked with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to design a survey to provide feedback to the MSDE on the professional development and other support services they provide to schools and districts in need of improvement. The information will be used by MSDE for continuous improvement and planning to help support accelerated and enduring school improvement.

This workshop built on and continued a series of workshops REL Mid-Atlantic developed for the 72 schools in Maryland identified for Comprehensive Support and Improvement or Targeted Support and Improvement under the state’s Every Student Succeeds Act plan. By attending this workshop, participants learned why and how to implement effective distributed leadership practices to support rapid school improvement.

This workshop was the second in a series for school and district leaders of schools identified as needing comprehensive support and improvement (CSI). The goal of this workshop was to build school leaders’ capacities to organize resources at the school and facilitate conversations with district leaders to align district’s operational support with the Four Domains to support the necessary school improvement steps.

The REL worked with the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) to develop a tool that they can use with multiple districts to ensure districts are well positioned to support improvement in their lowest performing schools. A REL coach facilitated the development of a customized district needs assessment process for the DDOE to use in districts that include the state's lowest-performing schools. The customized process was based on a needs assessment framework developed by the Center on School Turnaround.

The REL helped York City School District officials better understand current research on teacher looping and implications for implementation, including developing a plan for a descriptive analysis of the variation in experiences with looping for various subgroups of students.

In this workshop, staff from the REL worked with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and Maryland school and district leaders on the Four Domains conceptual framework development by the Center on School Turnaround. The aim of the workshop was to provide participants with a common knowledge base and language related to leading school improvement as the state begins to work with and support schools newly identified for improvement.

During the workshop, the REL provided state, district, and school leaders in Pennsylvania with promising strategies for reducing chronic absenteeism. The workshop offered practical guidance from school- or district-based practitioners with experience implementing interventions identified in the evidence review.

In this workshop, staff from the REL Mid-Atlantic worked with the Delaware Department of Education (DEDOE) staff and district leaders to communicate findings from research and practice about successfully supporting school turnaround. The aim of this workshop was to build state and local leaders' capacity to effectively turn around low-performing schools.