Using AI to combine relevance and rigor while empowering students and teachers
AI allows us to do what would have been inconceivable just a year ago. I had a student who loved art. She would have never considered taking a course on computer-integrated manufacturing—challenging even for engineering nerds—until she learned it could help her create a laser-cut flower. Another student passionate about music used computer-aided design and […]
Teachers alone can’t address the literacy crisis
This commentary was originally published by EdSource. Improving literacy instruction is once again in fashion among America’s policy circles. Between 2019 and 2022, state legislatures passed more than 200 bills that sought to push and pull public schools to embrace the “science of reading.” But one year into closely following a big city school district’s effort to remake […]
A future beyond test scores alone: Innovative schools need support to measure other learning outcomes
Imagine a time traveler from 1924 arrives in 2024. She’s overwhelmed by how the world has changed, from ubiquitous smartphone use to widespread vaccine access. Then, she steps into a typical school, and she’s confused. While the kinds of jobs Americans work in are barely recognizable to her, classroom learning still feels much like it […]
Ten predictions about learning recovery, innovation in public education in 2024
This piece was originally published by The 74. The ever-quotable Yogi Berra said it well: “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” Nevertheless, we at the Center on Reinventing Public Education are jumping into the deep end with 10 predictions about the prospects for learning recovery and innovation in public education in 2024. […]
Crossing the chasm: How one district is moving its innovative staffing model from pilot to mainstream
This blog is part of our series profiling three school systems several years into implementing workforce innovations or strategic staffing solutions. Scaling up innovations within school systems is a notoriously difficult process. While new instructional approaches or staffing strategies may catch on within a few classrooms or schools, they often fail to become integrated system-wide. […]
If we’re serious about pandemic recovery, we need summer school at scale
For everyone committed to educational equality, an ambitious new analysis from researchers at Stanford and Harvard today brings grim news. In most states studied, the gap in student achievement between low-income and high-income districts grew dramatically between 2019 and 2023, in many cases by a half-grade or more. We have long known that student performance […]
Breaking the teaching mold—with help from the teachers union
This blog is part of a three-part series profiling school systems that have been implementing workforce innovations or strategic school staffing models for several years. Through innovative and strategic school staffing solutions, efforts to reimagine the teacher workforce have grown over the past several years. This is in response to prolonged teacher shortages and consistently […]
Literacy for all: The story of Sobral
The scorching, arid northeastern state of Ceará, Brazil has long been known for growing cashews and coconuts. Now, it’s defied expectations by cultivating one of the world’s best public elementary school systems, despite high rates of poverty. How Sobral transformed its public school system and attained near-universal literacy offers lessons for communities everywhere. With 85 […]
The rise of unconventional teaching roles: How do educators in these roles feel about them?
Many are talking about ways to rethink the role of teaching these days, whether by reorganizing teachers into teams, leveraging community educators, or allowing teachers to teach in unconventional school models like micro-schools. In the past, the motivation to experiment with new staffing models was sometimes in response to teacher labor shortages, teacher burnout, or […]
ChatGPT turns one today: Seven reasons why education leaders should step up on AI
It’s been a year since OpenAI released ChatGPT. Educators (and the rest of the world) were caught off guard by this new technology that could write college essays, plan vacations, and even compose a new poem or song based on the style of an original author. As we said back in May, “This changes everything.” […]
