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Eric Thomas: The Whole Student: Georgia's Unique Approach to Turnaround

In an effort to improve performance in dozens of the state's most challenged schools, Georgia lawmakers took the unprecedented step in late 2017 of appointing the state's first Chief Turnaround Officer.

Now, responding to data indicating that out-of-school issues like poverty are closely tied to in-school performance in many districts, school officials are also working to build a collaborative network of stakeholders to address a wide spectrum of student needs and challenges.

Click here, to watch Policy Matters.  

In this edition of Policy Matters, Georgia's Chief Turnaround Officer Eric Thomas speaks with CPRE Research Co-director Jonathan Supovitz (University of Pennsylvania) about his efforts to rally stakeholder engagement and address the "non-academic challenges" of Georgia students.   

Interview conducted during the 2018 National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) Legislative Conference in Washington D.C.

Eric Thomas was unanimously selected to serve as Georgia's first Chief Turnaround Officer in October 2017. A Savannah native and former Chief Support Officer for the University of Virginia's Darden/Curry Turnaround program, Thomas works with Georgia school districts and the state Department of Education to devise turnaround plans for low-performing schools.