The Formula: Transforming a Failing School in One of the Nation's Deadliest Zip Codes from War Zone to Winning Institution in One Year

In 2017, a high school located in what the FBI had labeled "one of the most dangerous zip codes in the U.S." was failing. Nearly everyone had written it off as a lost cause, and state administrators had given the school one year to meet state testing benchmarks or close forever.

In one last desperate effort to save it, the school district sent a 5’4" stiletto-wearing, no-nonsense, high-performing educator who had established a reputation for doing the impossible: turning around failing programs in record time through transformational leadership. By then, she had worked as a teacher, an administrator, and a principal at several campuses. She was also a principal leader who supported more than 20 campuses in the district. Campbell-Rhone was well-known for her transformational abilities.

This assignment would be no exception. In only one year, Dr. Khalilah Campbell-Rhone led the failing campus to success. For the first time in nearly a decade, the school met its state benchmarks and was able to keep its doors open! For her efforts, she was named the 2019-2020 Principal of the Year and received numerous awards for her work in leading the Sunnyside community campus.

The Formula is about how a priority for children, combined with sound transformational leadership principles, a mind to work, and a willing team, can turn around any educational environment, regardless of its history. Prepare to not only be amazed by Dr. Campbell-Rhone's formula that produced "The Turnaround Miracle," but to learn how to utilize the formula in your context to produce a turnaround of your own!