Here I describe in detail our school turnaround methodology .  Most turnarounds in general and school turnarounds in particular are impossible.  The historical statistics bear out that chronically failing schools do not turnaround.  However, after a career spent in turnarounds, first in corporate turnarounds, then in school district turnarounds and now in school turnarounds, I would say that there are 5 pre-conditions that must be present in order to attempt a turnaround.  With these 5 conditions present, the turnaround is not impossible.  What moves the turnaround from being impossible to possible is the design of your solution and its ability to address the specific deficits in the problem you are trying to solve.  With the right design, the turnaround becomes possible.  What moves the turnaround from possible to probable, is the execution of two, possibly three core competencies.  Listen to the talk that describes this methodology.