Why I’m More Optimistic
By Stacey Childress, CEO, NewSchools Venture Fund
Today, along with three co-authors, I released a paper, “Still Dissatisfied, More Optimistic, Fully Committed.” My co-authors Diane Tavenner, Aylon Samouha, Jeff Wetzler and I share a common belief: the traditional model of school was designed for a different era, when the purpose of education was to prepare an elite few for professional careers and everyone else for industrial and local work. We imagine schools where learning goals include a strong academic foundation as well as expanded skills and competencies that prepare young people for success in life. And we want to see many more of them.
This combination of a shared belief and a shared dream was the impetus for our original project, “Dissatisfied, Yet Optimistic,” also co-written by the four of us. Released in 2015, it’s the prequel to today’s release “Still Dissatisfied.” In that paper we offered our thoughts on why better models of schooling are necessary, our vision for what they might look like, and a shared theory of change for how we might get there.
Three years later, much has changed in the world around us. And, while there is progress in education on many fronts, there is still much to do. For this reason, we are still dissatisfied.
Our three organizations — NewSchools, Summit Learning and Transcend — work with educators in more than 500 district, charter and independent schools serving more than 150,000 students. These schools are located in many different types of geographic areas, ranging from rural communities and mid-sized suburban towns to large urban centers in more than 40 states. The students who attend them are just as diverse, representing many races and ethnicities, English Language Learners, and students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunch. In fact, some schools are intentionally designed to foster environments with diverse student bodies.
And as different as these schools are, they have some critical things in common. First, and perhaps most importantly, they have teams of educators who hold high expectations for every student and make sure outcomes are not predictable for groups based on factors like race, family income or where they live. In addition, learning goals include a strong academic foundation as well as an expanded set of skills and competencies that prepare young people for success in life. These are schools where students build the skills to take ownership of their learning; where learning activities and pathways are tailored to each student’s needs, while always stretching them towards excellence; and where diverse groups of students, educators, and families work together toward a shared vision.
So why, specifically, are we still dissatisfied? Because innovative schools — while promising — serve too few communities.
But we believe this can change. That’s why we want to share what we’ve learned so far and help support others who share our vision. The primary purpose of this paper is to share what makes us more optimistic and offer a set of observations and lessons about how to support communities everywhere in their quests to build the kinds of schools that prepare students to create and live fulfilling lives. We will focus on three core lessons about what it takes to realize this aspiration:
- Communities must be in the driver’s seat as they build the “conditions” necessary to reimagine their schools and implement the changes required over the long-term.
- Organizations called “model providers” can play a crucial role in helping communities accelerate their progress towards reimagining their schools so that every single student has the educational opportunities they deserve.
- Creating the opportunities all young people deserve will take concerted action from many in the field, including educators, school and system leaders, families and community members, committed funders, and policymakers.
In closing, even though there is much to be done we are more optimistic because the momentum for change is growing. The hard work of educators around the country is showing what it takes to reimagine schools effectively. And that’s a powerful story to tell.
We invite you to read the paper and share your thoughts with us. What are you seeing in your community? And, even if you’re still dissatisfied like we are, are there things that make you optimistic? We’d love to hear about them.
