Katharine Strunk, associate professor of education and policy at USC Rossier and USC Price, and Julie Marsh, associate professor at USC Rossier and co-director of Policy Analysis for California Education, are part of a research team that has been awarded a $1 million Lyle Spencer Research Award from the Spencer Foundation. The grant will fund a two-year study examining the implementation and early outcomes of portfolio governance models in Los Angeles, Denver and New Orleans. Strunk and Marsh are co-principal investigators with Katy Bulkley (Montclair State University) and Doug Harris (Tulane University). The study is one of 10 highly selective national grants awarded under the 2015 Lyle Spencer Research Awards: Advancing Understanding of Education Practice and Its Improvement.
“As the traditional ‘one best system’ of schooling evolves to meet the needs of today’s students and communities, it is vital to examine how these new governance structures do or do not foster innovation, enhanced choice and increased quality.”
—Katharine Strunk, associate professor of education and policy
“As the traditional ‘one best system’ of schooling evolves to meet the needs of today’s students and communities,” says Strunk, “it is vital to examine how these new governance structures do or do not foster innovation, enhanced choice and increased quality.”
More school systems have been shifting to a Portfolio Management Model (PMM) of governance; instead of a traditional governance structure in which school district administrators operate a set of local public schools, school districts and other entities operate as “portfolio managers,” overseeing schools that operate under varied governance models (e.g., charter schools, pilot schools and traditional public schools). In theory, this new model more successfully holds schools accountable for achieving results and fosters innovative, locally driven practices that better serve students. Strunk and Marsh’s team will examine if this theory holds up in reality in three major cities across the country.
“We are grateful to have the opportunity to work with such a talented team of researchers studying these three interesting and diverse cities. We are also thrilled to continue our long-standing partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District to study the important work of our home district.”
—Julie Marsh, associate professor of education
“We are grateful to have the opportunity to work with such a talented team of researchers studying these three interesting and diverse cities,” says Marsh. “We are also thrilled to continue our long-standing partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District to study the important work of our home district.”
Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, the team will analyze three case-study cities to investigate 1) the ties between the PMM infrastructure and practices of system-level actors, educational management organizations, and schools, and 2) the key intermediate outcomes these ties are intended to generate. Through this study, the team seeks to provide further insight into how the government can best develop high-quality, publicly funded schools and position students for success.
