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A recent EdWeek article celebrated Cincinnati's Taft Information Technology High School. Less than ten years ago, this inner-city high school--where 95% of students are African-American, over half receive free or reduced price lunch and 29% (more than double the state average) have a disability—was one of the worst in the state. Just 25% of students graduated.

Today, Taft is a national Blue Ribbon School with a 95% graduation rate. How did they do it? According to EdWeek, by focusing on relationships.

When Anthony G. Smith took over as principal in 2001, he went door to door in the neighborhood surrounding the school, connecting with residents and asking for their support. He met with teachers individually, listened to them, and helped them grow. And he formed a relationship with an external partner, Cincinnati Bell. The company now wires students’ homes for high-speed internet. It provides use of a cellphone and laptop to every student who maintains a 3.3 grade point average. It also runs a tutoring program in which employees help prepare students for state tests.

Of course, the school has made other changes that have helped it thrive. It ended two-hour lunch periods, and the principal now keeps kids at school as long as he can, through sports, study clubs and more. But Smith’s success has been defined by his focus on relationships.

I was so happy to learn of Taft. We too rarely hear about high schools that have been able to make substantial changes in student outcomes.

But I was discouraged, in the article about Taft, to read the following:

Smith also did something counterintuitive: He kept the staff he inherited.

I am not exactly sure why keeping staff in place is counterintuitive. To me, that makes sense. We know that relationships make a difference in the lives of young people (they've told us so themselves). One could argue that keeping staff in place is intuitive, allowing students some continuity in a time of change.

But aside from that, education research doesn't support the replacement of staff in school improvement efforts. To quote from the Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide Turning Around Chronically Low-Performing Schools:

The school turnaround case studies and the business turnaround research do not support the wholesale replacement of staff.

That guide recommends school leaders get to know teachers and their skills and personalities, using what they learn to ensure teachers are in classrooms that are a good fit. It appears Smith did this at Taft.

The fact that the government's research arm supports this practice, and yet the replacement of staff is considered "intuitive" by some in the education media and is actually making its way into federal policy is concerning. It reminds me of how far we have to go in our reform and policy discussions. But hopefully success stories such as Taft’s will help us refocus the conversation on what actually works in turning around low performing schools.