| The purpose of this multi-case, Appreciative Inquiry, is to discover the strengths of Kansas Reward schools and compare them with practices included within the Turnaround Principles. Data, collected through focus groups, includes staff opinions regarding the Reward schools' successes. This study comprises themes that participants believe have had an effect on school success and that align with the Turnaround Principles. Practical implications of this study suggest using Reward school practices to frame future statewide technical assistance improvements and opportunities for high-progress and high-performance schools, or other schools with distinguished practices and to use Reward schools to mentor lower-performing schools in order to demonstrate effective practices.;Keywords: school improvement, high-performance school, high-progress school, Reward school, Appreciative Inquiry, Turnaround Principles: (a) provide strong leadership, (b) enable effective educators, (c) maximize learning time, (d) ensure rigorous curriculum, (e) utilize data analysis, (f) establish safe environment, and (g) grow family and community engagement (KSDE, 2013). |
