Turnaround schools serve high populations of students of color, and those from low-income backgrounds face persistent challenges such as low academic achievement, high staff turnover, and student behavioral concerns (Heissel & Ladd, 2018).Following major federal initiatives like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, school turnaround efforts have aimed to address these challenges using comprehensive reforms. These reforms often include changes to staffing, instructional strategies, school climate, and leadership. Among these factors, the role of the principal has been consistently cited as essential to the success or failure of turnaround efforts (Weiner, 2016). Yet, despite this awareness, limited research has been conducted on the specific competencies, behaviors, and strategies that principals use to lead successful school turnaround initiatives. This qualitative case study addressed that gap by exploring the competencies and strategies employed by four principals who have led measurable improvements in historically low-performing schools in an urban school district. Grounded in the transformational leadership framework, this research examined how these principals enacted change, built staff capacity, and fostered cultures of high expectations and accountability. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, observations, and document analysis. Findings highlighted the importance of key leadership competencies, including reasoned and intentional decision-making, maintaining high expectations for students, rejecting the status quo, demonstrating people-centered leadership, and serving as determined purveyors of hope. High-leverage strategies identified in the study included collaborative planning for data-driven instruction, maintaining a strong focus on curriculum implementation, fostering a positive school culture and climate, establishing a clear vision with supporting structures and systems, and providing robust support for teachers.
