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The Masks We Wear
What Halloween, middle school behavior, and school turnaround have in common.
Melissa France
14 hours ago9 min read
Driving Into the Storm
The sky opened up on my way to work, and I could barely see the road ahead. It was one of those unusually dark Arizona mornings when the desert looks unfamiliar. Rain hammered the windshield. The wipers struggled to keep up. I slowed down, tightened my grip on the steering wheel, and focused on what I could see. And somewhere in that downpour, it hit me: this drive felt a lot like leading a turnaround school. Limited visibility. Uncertainty around the next corner. The respons
Melissa France
Oct 74 min read
A Fresh Box of Kleenex Is Not a Mental Health Plan
Today Was Hard Today was hard. Not because my calendar was full, discipline issues needed attention, or emails were piling up. Today was hard because our youth are hurting. And some of them are hurting themselves. September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA, 2026) reminds us that connection, community, and access to support are critical parts of prevention. Thankfully, my conversations today did no
Melissa France
Sep 36 min read
The Work is Hard. Celebrate Anyway.
Turnaround work is hard, and some weeks feel heavier than others. But celebration matters—especially during those weeks. Our first schoolwide assembly reminded us that building a school isn’t only about academics, data, and improvement goals; it’s about creating a community where students and staff feel connected, supported, and excited to come back on Monday.
Melissa France
Aug 305 min read
The Work Between the Conferences
People often ask what it's like to attend education conferences. The answer is usually the same. You come home with pages of notes, a suitcase full of ideas, and enough inspiration to carry you into the next school year. This year was different. I came home with something even more valuable. Validation. Over the past two weeks, Dr. Stephanie Nardi and I have traveled thousands of miles, beginning at the Innovative Schools Summit in Las Vegas, where we had the privilege of pre
Melissa France
Jul 124 min read
This Is Our Super Bowl
There is a moment every spring when the building feels different.
You can hear it in the quieter laughter, see it in the way teachers hold eye contact just a second longer, feel it in the unspoken question sitting in every room. State testing is coming, and in a turnaround school, that does not feel like a date on a calendar. It feels like a verdict.
Stephanie Nardi EdD
Mar 283 min read
When Turnaround Holds Its Breath
Tonight, my chest feels tight. My emotions are swirling. Not because it is the night before another week of school. Not because I do not know what to do tomorrow on Day 1 of testing. But because I know exactly what is at stake. As a TOSA and the leader of our AZELLA testing team, my mind keeps circling the same questions again and again. Did I do enough to prepare them? Are the teachers ready? Are the students ready? Are they all prepared to do their best?Could I have done mo
Melissa France
Feb 223 min read
Beyond Compliance: Leading with Connection and Courage
What if discipline conversations started with relationships, not rules? That simple shift in thinking is redefining what effective leadership looks like in schools today. As educational leaders are called into classrooms to coach through challenging behaviors, the real question isn’t which new program to adopt, but rather how to think differently about the work of leadership itself. The most effective leaders are not layering on new systems. They are making intentional shifts
Melissa France
Jan 182 min read
Before the Strategy, There Are People
Before any strategy can work, people have to feel safe.
In my latest Turnaround Unscripted post, I reflect on Jubilee Ransome’s NAESP article on psychological safety and what it really looks like inside a school in the middle of change. When educators feel safe to speak, disagree, and own their growth, real improvement becomes possible. When they don’t, even the best plans stall.
Read why culture always comes before strategy.
Stephanie Nardi EdD
Jan 133 min read
Refereeing the Court of Learning
As I reflect on my week while watching a basketball game, I am struck by how much being a TOSA feels like being a referee on the court. You are constantly watching the action, listening to both sides, making judgment calls in real time and trying to keep the game moving forward in a way that is fair, safe and focused on the purpose of why everyone is there. Working with a teacher on a Professional Improvement Plan is rarely about the game plan itself. It is about listening, r
Melissa France
Jan 103 min read
Weathering the Storms
Turnaround work is full of storms that test even the strongest leaders. One moment with an eighth grade student reminded me that sometimes the most powerful leadership begins with a simple question: “Are you okay?”
Stephanie Nardi EdD
Jan 24 min read
Stay a student. Always.
The strongest leaders aren’t the ones with all the answers. They’re the ones willing to keep learning.
Leaders who ask questions, invite challenge, and allow themselves to look like beginners build trust faster and create cultures where others feel safe to grow. That isn’t weakness or uncertainty. It’s rigor. It’s mastery. It’s confidence rooted in curiosity, not ego.
Stay a student. Always
Melissa France
Dec 29, 20252 min read
Tier 2 Cannot Save a Broken Tier 1: The Hard Truth About Turnaround Work
When most students are minimally proficient, intervention systems are not the solution. That reality is hard to say out loud in turnaround work, but it matters. Tier 2 cannot carry what Tier 1 has not yet stabilized. Until core instruction is consistently aligned, rigorous, and coherent across classrooms, intervention will continue to do work it was never designed to do.
Stephanie Nardi EdD
Dec 29, 20254 min read
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