WASHINGTON, D.C. — The education landscape has shifted dramatically since the COVID-19 shuttered schools and upended classroom routines. Eight months later, lack of nimbleness and innovation continues to hamper school districts in their efforts to deliver student-centric teaching and learning. The crisis exposed what we’ve long known but failed to remedy: America’s public schools are stuck in systems designed 100 years ago around an industrial economy that bears little resemblance to today’s world.
If we learned anything from 2020’s massive twin traumas − the pandemic and the rage and despair that boiled over after George Floyd’s (and too many others before him) murder − it is that Black and brown communities are disproportionally harmed by the failure of antiquated systems. This includes centralized, one-size-fits-all school systems that perpetuate inequities for low-income, minority children.
Across the country, however, some urban school districts are moving beyond industrial-era systems, by creating “innovation” or “partnership” schools that have the freedom to reinvent the way they educate students. The Progressive Policy Institute today released a how-to guide for legislators, district leaders, and advocates who want to make more of these 21st century schools a reality: The Third Way: A Guide to Implementing Innovation Schools.
From Texas to New Jersey, from Colorado to Indiana, about 20 urban public school districts around the country—and a few rural ones—are giving schools real autonomy, so school leaders make the key decisions, such as hiring and firing and controlling the budget. They are then holding these schools accountable for their performance and replacing them if they fail their students; encouraging them to diversify their learning models; and letting families choose the schools that best fit their children.
The results have been impressive. In Indianapolis, “innovation network schools” are the fastest improving group of schools in the district. In Camden, N.J., reading proficiency in the district’s 11 “Renaissance schools” doubled and math proficiency quadrupled in their first four years.
The guide draws lessons from the experience of these and other districts, discusses key “success factors,” lays out implementation steps, and includes model state legislation to allow and encourage districts to create such schools.
“America needs new, innovative ways to meet students where they are and offer learning environments in which different students will thrive,” said David Osborne, the director of the Reinventing America’s Schools Project at PPl and co-author of the guide. “This moment requires leaders who are ready to put words into action by building a more equitable educational system, where every student in America has the opportunity to succeed.”
“This is a tool for legislators and policymakers who want to help Black and brown kids get out from under the historical inequalities in our public schools, added PPI’s Tressa Pankovits, who co-authored the guide. “We are offering a real-world guide to achieving change in a profound way, at a moment when the dire need for progress in how we educate our children has the nation’s attention.”
“High-quality education opportunities are critical to student success,” said Indiana State Representative Bob Behning (R-Indianapolis), chair of the House Education Committee and chief author of Indiana’s Innovation Network Schools bill. “Innovation network schools are one more option for parents looking to take control of their child’s education and enroll them in a classroom that best fits their needs. These schools provide educators the freedom and flexibility to shape their own curriculum, and in Indiana, we have seen several successful innovation network schools really raise the bar and meet the unique needs of students.”
