In February 2013, America Achieves convened leaders of 5 “Extraordinary Authority Districts (EADs) – turnaround districts in which states  gain  legal  authority  to  take  over  and  operate  chronically underperforming schools and/or  districts. Empower Schools and Lawrence Public Schools joined from Massachusetts to engage in a discussion with teams from Connecticut, Louisiana, Michigan, and Tennessee on  common  challenges  and  opportunities with early implementation. America Achieves partnered with Public Impact to facilite the discussion and publish a report on the convening. Although some of the key takeaways from the report and discussion are particularly relevant for states considering EADs, many are worth considering for any state in the process of pursuing school turnaround strategies.
