Blog: The Hard Work Begins

Critics, and even simply concerned citizens who want the best for their students but aren’t sure exactly how to address underperforming schools, raise legitimate questions about the best paths for success. Our approach is to collaborate with communities to design...

Blog: Proactive Partnerships

Educators are charged with the opportunity and the obligation to prepare young people for healthy and productive futures. They are expected to do this with skill, expertise, and finesse. In too many instances, schools lack adequately-equipped staff, access to...
Blog: School and District Turnaround in Lawrence

Blog: School and District Turnaround in Lawrence

On the day that the most recent MCAS data is to be released by DESE and a day after Secretary Arne Duncan visited, this article looks at the progress being made in one of the most innovative district turnarounds in the country, Lawrence, MA. The upward trajectory of...
Blog: Lawrence Case Study release

Blog: Lawrence Case Study release

One of the things we hope to do at Empower Schools is inform the field by capturing and sharing practices that can drive success across education systems, communities and states. The turnaround of Lawrence Public Schools in Massachusetts is a project that we have been...

Blog: Lawrence schools and union ratify new contract

After extensive discussions and more than three years without a contract, Lawrence Public Schools and members of the Lawrence Teachers’ Union ratified an agreement that reinforces features critical to the turnaround of the district while also providing the union and...