Testimonials
Here is what people are saying about TurnAround Schools' Institutes.
Video Testimonies
Ed Rafferty
I wanted to take a minute to let you know how much we in Schaumburg, Illinois, value and appreciate the work that Damen Lopez and Jeff King have been doing. Schaumburg District 54 is the largest elementary district in Illinois. We have 27 schools with a wide variety of students who come from families with high incomes to those who are in need of financial assistance. We serve students who speak more than 36 languages, etc. – similar to what most large districts throughout the country are facing.
A powerful movement is taking place across our district that is in large part due to the ideas and support that we have gleaned from Damen, Jeff and their staff…
My staff wanted me to share with you that they are thrilled to be part of Damen and Jeff's growing network of support. We know that this will make a huge difference in the lives of so many students. Thanks again for the standard of excellence that you have established for other districts to emulate.
Ana Gomez del Castillo
Our attendance at the TurnAround Schools Institute this past summer has changed our school! The transformation has been amazing! I wanted to share letters that I sent to the staff and to our parents before the school year began.
(Following is an excerpt from Ana’s letter to her staff.) “I am just SO excited about what we (grade level teachers and administration) learned at a recent TurnAround Schools Institute. Wait until you hear from the entire group that attended this training! Caution: We are highly contagious!”
(...and an excerpt from Ana’s letter to her parents) “We believe that all students can learn and it is OUR job to make this happen! We are committed to creating a school that knows no limits to the academic success of each student. We want our school to be known as an exemplary school where every student, without exception and without excuse, will be proficient or advanced in reading, language arts and math due to the collaborative efforts of our staff and families!”
Carol McEwen
We were all so inspired by all of you and your passion for every child to learn and succeed. It truly was the best conference I have ever attended in my entire educational career.
Rob Adams
I truly appreciate your hands on approach and passion for your work. During collaboration time with my team, everyone was truly impressed by the handouts and examples of "exceptional systems" that your schools have created. Once again, thank you for sharing your experiences and ideas with us. We came back highly motivated to make specific changes in our programs in order to directly effect student achievement at Redding School District.
Doug Curry
The sheer audacity of San Jacinto Elementary essentially becoming a college preparatory school was just the radical avenue that I knew we needed. I didn't even have to present this idea to my teachers. The teachers who attended the institute did this for me… Because of the proven success of Los Peñasquitos (the elementary school where Jeff King and Damen Lopez, co-founders of TurnAround Schools, share a principalship), we were willing to take a stand and take the risk of saying that our students will be college bound.
Cassandra Willis
The best way to describe my experience at the TurnAround Schools Conference is: ‘Inspiring! Life changing!'… Thanks Jeff and Damen for not keeping this to yourselves, but rather choosing to share it with others. It is a message that we all need to hear over and over again.
Sandra Souza-DeSimone
The Institute presentations were the most valuable ones I have ever attended. There is so much to be said for good ol' common sense!
Tom Ziegler
You really lit a fire under the 16 folks from Flagstaff's Thomas Elementary School at the Scottsdale conference!
Bobbie Plough
Just wanted to share our success story with you because I know you'll be SOOOO happy for us. Our district grew 50 (count 'em, 50!) points in our API this year — we found out that we are 30th in API growth this year out of 1,011 school districts in CA. All of this has been tremendously confirming for staff – and you need to know that many of our lessons learned from you guys have been applied in our schools. Los Peñasquitos is one of those models we often refer to when we're talking about success with students.
Juan Rodriguez
We are very encouraged by the student response and public response [to the No Excuses University program introduced at your institutes]. Thank you so much for your leadership. I understand that you will be coming to our neighboring city of Novato. I hope that you will have a chance to stop by and see how No Excuses is being manifested at Bahia Vista.