The precise term is “turned,” a diminutive of “turnaround,” I presume. Turnaround being the latest and greatest craze in school reform.

I believe the term is used in the espionage business as well. As in she “turned rogue.”

So, in short order:

A middle school in the well-to-do Georgetown section of DC fails to attract students from its zoned area. Those parents choose to send their kids to private schools.

Responding to a directive from the then Board of Education, the school develops a strong arts program and institutes a screened process for admission.

The school becomes a “gem” in the system, with a winning arts program and comparative high performance on standardized tests.

The school gets a new building.

The economy tanks, leading more parents from the predominantly white neighborhood to look at the school as an option for their students.

Oh, I forgot to mention, the school’s student population is more than 70% African American.

So, here comes the Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, ready to “turn” this school in ways not yet announced officially, but clearly targeting how the a repositioning of the school as a feeder for the local families.

It’s a great story of the how difficult it must be to be a school system leader, an educator, and a parent. What is coherent and successful one day, is incoherent the next, particularly in terms of policy. And, this is also a great example of the relationship between policy and practice.

Certainly worth the read.

Not Eager to March to Rhee’s Drum–Parents and Staff Fret over Schools Chief’s Plan for Hardy Middle, The Washington Post

Nearly three-quarters of its students are proficient in reading,
according to last spring’s standardized test. Its acclaimed fine arts
and instrumental music program, built by longtime Principal Patrick
Pope, draws students from across the city and has helped develop
artists such as bassist Ben Williams, winner of the 2009 Thelonious
Monk jazz competition.

What needs to turn, she said, is the attitude of the school’s
leadership, which she said has not always been welcoming to
neighborhood families. The school has an application process, which
includes a letter of recommendation and “evidence of experience” in
art, music or theater in the form of a portfolio or program from a
school performance. Students also must take a 90-minute “workshop” with
the school’s arts and general education teachers.

That has left the misimpression, Rhee said, that Hardy is specialty
school not open to the surrounding community. “We need to do a lot of
clarifying,” she said. “Hardy has an arts component, but you don’t have
to think you have the next Whitney Houston on your hands to send your
kids to this school.”