Stop Ignoring the Innovation That Happens in Traditional Public Schools
Schools across the United States are leading change from within. Why don't we know more about them?
When students at Childersburg Middle School head to the library, there's far more to do than read a book. Two summers ago, their teachers divided the space into a cozy reading area and the "GRID," a hands-on engineering lab where students work in groups and learn through the process of design. Back in their regular classrooms, teachers guide projects that build on that learning, and that continues online at home.
Though Childersburg sounds like an independent school with lots of freedom and funding, it is actually a traditional public school in rural Alabama. What's going on there is showing how teachers and students in a variety of district public schools are embracing innovation. But we've only just recently learned about Childersburg through the Canopy project, a new effort by the Clayton Christensen Institute to identify promising practices in schools across the United States that have, to date, largely escaped notice.
As program officers at three national education foundations, we know that educators everywhere are making big changes in teaching and learning. But the education community—funders like us, along with state and federal decision-makers, district and school leaders, researchers, and advocates—has not had a ready source of detailed information about innovators outside established networks or major urban centers. As a result, only a few schools gain widespread attention, and models that are relevant to educators working in a variety of contexts remain under the radar.
"As program officers at three national education foundations, we know that educators everywhere are making big changes in teaching and learning."
That inspired our support of Canopy, which invites local educators and education experts to nominate their peers for inclusion in a detailed registry of innovation. Canopy has introduced us to schools like Stilwell High School in Oklahoma, where students combine academics with internships and career-readiness coursework, and Barrington Middle School in Rhode Island, where teachers serve as mentors and students design and complete collaborative projects. This group of 235 schools, nearly three-quarters of which had never before appeared on well-known lists or databases, is helping CONTINUE READING: Stop Ignoring the Innovation That Happens in Traditional Public Schools - Education Week
