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School Turnaround Partnerships for CSI and TSI Schools

The Last School Turnaround Partner You'll Ever Need. Rapid Exit, Permanent Results.

The only research-validated partnership that quickly moves CSI, TSI, and state accountability schools out of status by creating systems that last long into the future. Whether you’re supporting one school or several, we tailor the work to each school’s starting point.

  1. Rapidly stabilize culture, behavior, and instruction
  2. Raise achievement, engagement, and attendance
  3. Decrease teacher burnout
  4. Strengthen family confidence and increase enrollment
  5. Build systems and capacity that prevent regression

Proven results across various districts and states:

Up to +19.5 points in math in one year
59% fewer discipline referrals
2x the national reduction in chronic absenteeism
96% drop in teacher turnover
A school turnaround leader stands near the desks of a team of six students who are engaged in an academic conversation.

Schedule a Free Consultation with a Turnaround Expert

Work with Stephanie Terrell, Ed.S., to outline a plan to get your schools out of turnaround status. As a former principal and Instructional Empowerment national turnaround coach, she brings a proven track record of turnaround results in schools like yours.

Research-Validation You Can Trust

Instructional Empowerment’s research is conducted using federal evidence standards, and this solution meets ESSA Tier 2 (Moderate Evidence) criteria (see study). The Applied Research Center is led by Lindsey Devers Basileo, Ph.D., a U.S. Department of Education What Works Clearinghouse certified reviewer.

Explore the Applied Research Center →

State-Approved Partner

Instructional Empowerment has already been approved or is eligible to provide school improvement services in most states, including for schools identified for Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) or Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI). Explore current state partnership and approval information.

View State Approval Information →

Why Most School Turnaround Approaches Lead to Regression

In most cases, schools exit accountability status only to fall back within a few years.

Why?

  • They target symptoms, not root causes
    Programs and interventions plateau and leave low-rigor Tier 1 instruction unchanged.
  • They don’t build internal capacity
    Progress depends on external support instead of developing teachers and leaders with instructional systems.
  • They lack systems to sustain progress
    Blind spots remain with no consistent way to gather real-time data and keep improving.

The Goal Is to Catch Up Quickly, Then Go Further Than Anyone Thought Possible.

Our partner schools go beyond exiting state accountability status. We build the instructional systems, leadership capacity, and culture to make each school thrive. It’s more than an exit, it’s a school the community is proud of, families choose, and staff want to stay in.

Read: The Turnaround Trap

Research insights and district examples on why short-term gains fade—and what distinguishes schools that sustain improvement.

Front cover of the report on school turnaround called "The Turnaround Trap: why Quick Fixes Fail Students" showing dim lightbulbs with one bright lightbulb to signify a new approach and strategy for turnaround.

Research-Based School Improvement Framework

Our school turnaround partnerships are grounded in the School Instructional Maturity Model (SIMM), which is supported by peer-reviewed research and field-proven with over a decade of use. Every partnership begins with a School Comprehensive Needs Assessment (SCNA) that measures where each of your school’s systems stands, so the work starts where it will have the greatest impact. From there, the framework advances your school’s six instructional systems, building a high-performing, in-demand school.

See The Framework →

Image of a circle with 6 sections. Title is School Instructional Maturity Model (SIMM) A Framework for School Improvement. Each section reads: 1. Conditions for Self-Regulation and Agency, 2. Tier 1 Core Instruction, 3. Teacher Collaboration, 4. Curriculum and Assessment, 5. Data for Improvement/Interventions, 6. Leadership (Systems). In the middle of the circle is the words "Systems Maturity." InstructionalEmpowerment.com.

Three Phases to Exit Turnaround and Thrive

Our turnaround partnerships move schools through Three Phases of Systems Improvement. Each phase is designed to deliver immediate and verifiable results while building toward long-term success through professional development and coaching for leaders and teachers, research-validated metric tools, and schoolwide routines and structures coming together to support all instructional systems. 

Phase 1

Stabilize the conditions that make learning possible

What’s Included:

  • Professional development to launch classroom routines, procedures, and behavior expectations
  • Leadership coaching to establish and monitor schoolwide systems
  • PLC launch with defined roles, protected planning time, and a focus on grade-level standards
  • An action board process for goal setting and tracking schoolwide data

Outcomes:

  • Reduction in disruptions and behavior incidents
  • Clear, consistent schoolwide systems
  • Staff aligned around routines and priorities
  • Leaders use real-time data to identify areas for growth to support schoolwide systems

Phase 2

Accelerate rigorous standards-based instruction

What’s Included:

  • Professional development on explicit, standards-aligned instruction and rigor
  • Instructional leadership coaching focused on classroom feedback
  • PLC coaching to shift planning toward standards, student work, and data
  • Classroom rigor walkthroughs and the Rigor Appraisal® to measure instructional progress

Outcomes:

  • Achievement and academic growth
  • Students engaged across classrooms
  • Leaders use schoolwide trend data to identify areas for improvement to support classroom instruction
  • PLCs focus on learning not logistics
  • Rigorous, standards-aligned planning

Phase 3

Sustain systems long term for a thriving school

What’s Included:

  • Professional development introducing student-centered learning
  • Coaching teachers to guide student teams and design rigorous, team-worthy tasks
  • Leadership coaching to grow teacher leaders and lead learners
  • Coaching walkthroughs, student surveys, and the Rigor Appraisal® to track progress

Outcomes:

  • Continued growth across all student groups
  • Students demonstrate independent thinking and ownership
  • Strong culture and staff retention
  • Increased family confidence and enrollment demand

Phase length and emphasis depend on the school’s unique starting point and progress. Typical partnerships span two school years with achievement gains in year one and continued systems advancement in year two. Each district-specific scope will specify the schools involved, services, responsibilities, measures, and contract length. 

Where Will You Be in Five Years?

“We have kids whose older siblings never had the opportunity to take honors classes and their parents may not have gone to college. Now, so many of our students are able to get on the honors track as they enter middle school because of their own efforts and results on the statewide test. It’s so amazing. So many doors are opening for our students.“

Bridget Harden
First-grade teacher, Lakewood Elementary

Lakewood Elementary School shows what’s possible when a school is built to hold its gains. After years of struggling, Lakewood now has the systems in place to keep succeeding. Those are the systems we create with every partnership.

See the Lakewood Elementary Case Study

Talk with a Turnaround Expert

Schedule a free consultation with Stephanie Terrell, Ed.S., to discuss your schools and map out where a partnership could start.

Schedule a Free Consultation

Go Further and Faster with Proven Turnaround Results

  • Rapidly Exit Turnaround
    Track record of improvement within one year, including double-digit achievement gains, stronger attendance, and fewer behavior incidents.
  • A Higher Standard of Evidence
    Validated through applied research, peer-reviewed studies, and predictive metrics that show impact on student outcomes in real time.
  • Built for Lasting Success
    Strengthen your capacity with expert guidance and instructional systems so improvement continues after turnaround.
  • Strengthens Your Existing Work
    Aligns with your curriculum and priorities while advancing your systems to a higher level of performance.
  • Rebuild Enrollment and Community Confidence
    Create a school where families want to enroll, attend, and stay—driving long-term stability and growth.
Graph with the title "From persistently low achievement scores to highest 6% in state" math achievement increased from 22% to 62% an ELA achievement increased from 18% to 41% from 2018 to 2021.

See the Turnaround Case Studies

Two figures, each with two arrows, both showing a relationship between higher rigor appraisal scores and lower student behavior referrals and suspension. Each set shows the statistical significance, which is indicated as very strong for both. Behavior referrals is -.730 and suspensions is -6.36, negative indicating a higher scores meant fewer negative behavior incidents.

See the Turnaround Research Validation

What Leaders Are Saying About Our School Turnaround Partnerships

Partners in Success 

“Each time I collaborate with Instructional Empowerment, I walk away from the meeting feeling that they’re just as invested in the success of our schools as we are.“

Brandon C. White, Ph.D.
Harvard Community Unit School District 50 Superintendent

Hitting the Ground Running

“It really felt like the Instructional Empowerment coaches were part of our school’s team. I was able to hit the ground running and be excited for this upcoming school year with a clear, precise plan.”

Dee Ramos
School Leader, Colorado Springs School District 11, CO

Practices That Outlast Programs

“One of the things that drew us to this partnership was that it was not program-based. Over time, we could substitute or replace curriculum materials or different programs but the practices would remain because the partnership helps to change educators’ way of work, their classroom practices, and their expectations for students.“

Jonathan Hinke
Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives, Putnam County School District

Frequently Asked Questions

Instructional Empowerment's School Turnaround Partnership is a research-validated school improvement service for CSI, TSI, and state accountability schools. Each partnership combines a School Comprehensive Needs Assessment (SCNA), principal and teacher coaching and capacity building, standards-aligned core instruction and planning tools and guidance, and real-time metrics including RigorWalk®, guided by the School Instructional Maturity Model™ (SIMM). The goal is to quickly move schools out of accountability status by creating a thriving school through strong instructional systems.

Yes. Our partnership strengthens and aligns with your existing curriculum, programs, and initiatives rather than replacing them. We focus on transforming how instruction and systems function and building the capacity of the leaders and teachers.

Every partnership begins with our School Comprehensive Needs Assessment (SCNA), which diagnoses your school's systems across the six pillars of the School Instructional Maturity Model™ (SIMM). That assessment tells us exactly where to focus first, so we can prioritize the highest-leverage changes, rapidly stabilize school conditions, and move achievement quickly.

Most partner schools exit turnaround status within two years. Achievement gains typically appear in the first full partnership year, which is what positions the school to exit. In year two, the school is ready to shift classroom instruction from teacher-centered to student-centered while continuing to build all instructional systems. That shift is what allows the school to thrive long after the partnership ends.

Most partnerships span two school years. One-year and custom-length partnerships are also available based on district and school needs.

Now. Both the readiness phase and full implementation can begin at any point in the school year.

Support doesn't need to stop at the exit line. By Phase 3, your leaders and teachers have the systems and capacity to sustain the changes in your school. However, we offer continuing support for schools that want to take their classrooms further. Track your progress to higher achievement in real time through our metric tool RigorWalk®, and provide professional development, coaching, and other tools to your staff through our instructional system Model of Instruction for Deeper Learning®.

Photo of Stephanie Terrell, Ed.S, Executive Director of School Transformation for Instructional Empowerment.

See What This Could Look Like in Your Schools

Stephanie Terrell, Ed.S., Executive Director of School Transformation, brings more than 30 years of experience as a former principal and national turnaround leader, helping districts move their schools from turnaround to thriving. Schedule a free consultation with Stephanie to ask questions, explore options, and move toward lasting improvement.

Schedule a Free Consultation