Kentucky School Superintendent to Give Lecture on School Turnaround

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Keith Look

Keith Look, superintendent of Danville, Kentucky, schools, will give a lecture titled "What Degree Rotation Constitutes School 'Turnaround'" at noon Friday, Jan. 26, on the University of Arkansas campus.

The lecture is part of the Department of Education Reform lecture series. RSVP online for lunch on the lecture website. Deadline to RSVP is 1 p.m. the Wednesday before the lecture. It will take place in Room 343 of the Graduate Education Building.

Look has worked as superintendent of the district since 2014. It reported enrollment of about 1,900 students in the 2016-17 school year.

"There is nothing formulaic in turning around a low performing school," Look said. "Factors influencing performance stretch far beyond the use of a research-based curriculum, teacher experience, and student eagerness to learn. A school board's political will, district staffing systems, community endorsement of education, and scaffolds to reach high expectations — to name a few — influence the rate, degree, and sustainability of change. Even when the process 'works,' the definition of turnaround may center more on demarcating improvement rather than signifying a specific level of achievement."

Look formerly worked as a school principal in Louisville, Kentucky, and as a senior associate in program practice and innovation at the Council for Opportunity in Education in Washington, D.C. In 2008, he led the turnaround effort at Shawnee High School, the lowest-performing high school in Kentucky.