tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post3776497040234647407..comments2023-11-07T06:56:59.563-05:00Comments on Ann Arbor Schools Musings: Death Spiral, or Revival?Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10531344380743742801noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-19090344465831939502010-10-06T10:59:51.139-04:002010-10-06T10:59:51.139-04:00Great Point!Great Point!Sam Raschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14222818288945942614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-11584166488271385812010-09-29T15:24:57.735-04:002010-09-29T15:24:57.735-04:00Thanks Steve for your comments. I agree with you t...Thanks Steve for your comments. I agree with you that the turnaround models do operate on a "scorched earth" model, and that is not a good thing. On the other hand--not every school that met the bottom 5% criteria applied for grant money, and my experience with applying for grants is that if you don't try to match your proposal to their criteria, you won't get funded--so if you don't want to try to match them, you are better off not applying at all.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10531344380743742801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-50449849627319207452010-09-29T01:44:34.865-04:002010-09-29T01:44:34.865-04:00As for the turnaround models, they all seem to ope...As for the turnaround models, they all seem to operate on the scorched earth principle. It's a bit like the tech companies which are always in hope that the next "reorg" will re-energize the company.<br /><br />An article in yesterday's NY Times is an interesting commentary on how it can be done from inside - what it takes is commitment and ideas.<br /><br />http://tinyurl.com/2warxz8<br /><br />While the focus is on the size of the Boston school, I found the description of the process itself most interesting.Steven Nortonhttp://mipfs.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-15603524045897675562010-09-29T01:37:28.453-04:002010-09-29T01:37:28.453-04:00The real motor of the "death spiral" is ...The real motor of the "death spiral" is that the money lost with each lost student is more than the savings from not having to educate that student. <i>That's</i> what drives districts into the ground, because they have to cut services yet further, leading to more student losses, and so forth.<br /><br />The opposite is true for growing districts; they benefit from a "virtuous cycle" of rising revenues that exceeds their marginal increased cost for each student. Districts that abruptly stop growing find this a difficult transition - I believe Saline is a good example.<br /><br />One good idea for reforming the foundation allowance system is to make some allowance for fixed costs.Steven Nortonhttp://mipfs.orgnoreply@blogger.com