Introduction Educating the workforce of tomorrow

Providing a high-quality education to America’s the United States needs to graduate more students 3 youth is essential to our nation’s economic to retain its position in the global marketplace.38 competitiveness. In a global market predicated on knowledge and innovation, a poor education Few experts doubt that this will require is a ticket to the economic margins of society. wholesale changes in our education system.

To sustain its competitive position among world In particular, the United States needs to drive economies, America will need to radically improve much greater innovation and competition into its educational prowess. American high school education. Simply giving students more of the seniors today rank near the bottom in the Western same — more hours per day and more weeks world in math and science scores.37 Moreover, U.S. per year following status quo educational strate- college students today constitute only 14 percent gies — won’t produce the necessary change. If of the total world population of college students, the United States is to rekindle its competitive as compared with 30 percent three decades ago. edge, its schools will have to discover some entirely fresh approaches (see figure 3-1). One consequence of this decline is the growing chasm between the business demand for high-skilled The number of students pursuing careers in math labor and the supply coming out of our colleges and and science must increase in order to accommodate universities. The shortage of students pursuing math the needs of industries that hinge on these skills. The and science careers, as well as outdated teaching jobs with the fastest growth rates are in the science methods, threaten America’s competitive advantage. and technology fields.39 The United States ranks 16th With India and China enrolling almost one and a half out of 17 nations in the proportion of 24-year-olds times the number of students in tertiary education, earning degrees in natural science or engineering.

Transforming education 45 century education st Expanding focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics 49 Driving more money into the classroom 54 21 21st century education $1 billion in state aid to local districts. instateaidtolocaldistricts. $1 billion New Jersey’s statebudget,forexample,slashed eight havedonethesameforhighereducation. but FY2011 inK–12andearlyeducation,all stateshave cutservicesfor costs. Thirty-four feeling increasing pressure toreduce education are be expensive,andstatesschooldistricts Implementing reform programs forschoolscan more scienceandengineeringprofessionals. the publicaboutimportanceofnurturing training, engagingstudentsearlierandeducating can dothisbyimproving teacherrecruitment and increase studentinterest inmathandscience.It To needto satisfythisdemand,Americawill The UnitedStatesranks16 degrees innaturalscienceorengineering. in theproportionof24-year-olds earning 44 40

th outof17nations effective reforms befarmore will perilous. reform, theconsequencesofnotimplementing services. Whileeconomicsweighsheavilyonschool tives forschoolstoreduce coststhrough sharing New Jerseyandotherstateshavecreated incen- the useoftechnology. Pennsylvania, Indiana, way tocutcostswhilesimultaneouslyencouraging textbooksasa of California hasexplored digital The efficiencies outofthecurrentState system. need toexplore everyavenueforsqueezing districts In suchtightfiscaltimes,statesandschool 45 Transforming education from big ideas from to big results

Mounting momentum for radical change 9 innovation state 8

Education reform has been a national priority for

four decades. During the Reagan administration, technology reboot Bill Bennett’s Department of Education released 7 “A Nation At Risk” and even equated the crisis in our educational system to a hostile takeover by an enemy. What have decades of urgent pleas for education reform produced? Unfortunately, improving human improving services

most key education indicators have worsened. 6

More than 30 percent of American students never graduate from high school.41 SAT scores policies, along with oversight from the Orleans Parish have fallen every year since 2004.42 Of those School Board. The schools were given a clean slate. responding to health who make it to college, 60 percent of incoming reform care 5 community college students and 30 percent of Education reform is also alive in , freshmen at four-year colleges need remedial where former schools chancellor raised reading and math courses, indicating that $75 million in private funds to create the largest many high schools fail to prepare students for training program for principals in the country and college.43 Only half of those students who enroll where the city’s School of One uses personaliza- infrastructure gaps infrastructure closing state 45 44 in college end up with a bachelor’s degree. tion to improve learning. Teachers collect data 4 based on the results of classroom and virtual Rising against this backdrop of despair is an instruction as well as one-on-one tutoring to education reform movement that is more deter- develop individual plans tailored to each pupil.

mined, more bipartisan and more powerful than century education st anything seen in this country in decades. It can Likewise in high schools across the country, the 21 3 be seen in Washington D.C., where test scores Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested rose after a series of reforms were enacted. more than $250 million in grants to divide large, underperforming high schools into smaller schools In New Orleans, after Katrina struck in August through its “schools-within-a-school model.”46 2005, the state legislature swept 107 of the city’s generating jobs generating

128 public schools (most of them already closed Supporting most of these efforts, either financially 2 because of the hurricane) into the Recovery School or rhetorically, is a reform-minded president District. At these 107 schools, the move instantly and education secretary in our nation’s capital. wiped away all existing school leadership, teachers, President Obama’s Race to the Top initiative is contracts, processes, procedures, forms, rules and committed to reforming schools by investing the journey to fiscally sustainable government 1 44 45 21st century education 3-1. Source: Tom Vander Ark,edReformer(Adapted from RethinkingEducation intheAgeofTechnology andHalverson) , Collins Students outperformedtheirpeersbyasignificant Educational Testing Service,agreed withthisclaim. teachers, conductedbyHarold Wenglinsky ofthe 7,000 eighthgraders andtheirsciencemath studentsdoinschool.Astudyofmorewell than the mostimportantvariabledetermininghow Teacher considered qualityisalmostuniversally Enhance theeffectivenessofteachers of economiccompetitioninthe21 Preparing youngpeople tomeetthedemands A among stateandfederal educationleaders. principals andinsistingonbettercommunication Top fundspartlybasedontheeffectivenessoftheir priorities, choosingschoolstoreceive Racetothe Education hasalsoplacedleadershipinitstop Departmentof in educationinnovation.The R strategies shouldtopthelistforschoolreformers: require abroadfive range ofnewsolutions.These Relationship Culture Location Grouping Assessment Pedagogy Content Aspirations Expectations Responsibility Factor eforming ction Ten aboutlearning changeeverything shiftsthat P lan E

ducation for Personal bonds Adult culture Home Mixed-age Apprenticeship Observation Books Practical skills Social reproduction Parents From st century will centurywill 46 47 Authority figures Peer culture School Age cohorts Didacticism Testing Textbook Disciplinary knowledge Success forall State To as afactorinmeasuringteacherperformance. promoted; andusingstudentachievementontests reforming thewayteachersare paid,evaluatedand by changingtheculture oftheteachingprofession; get need forhighlyeffectiveteachers,whichitwill winning RacetotheTop applicationfocusedonthe just-in-time professional development.Florida’s outineffectiveteachersandoffering weeding best teachers,implementingpay-for-performance, such asreforming tenure, boostingpayforthe passed legislationtoenactfundamentalchanges, marks. Some46stateshaveoutlinedplansor measuring current outcomes toestablishbench- Improving teacher effectiveness startswith Unfortunately, teacherqualitytodayisuneven. teachers emphasizedhigher-order thinkingskills. development inlaboratory oriftheirmath skills ties, iftheirscienceteachersreceived professional they taughtorconductedhands-onlearningactivi- margin iftheirteachers majored inthesubjects the largest drop incompetitivenesscompared High schooliswhere Americanstudentsexperience Use metricstodrivehighschoolreform Social networks Mixed-age culture Anywhere Individual progress Individual Interaction Embedded assessment Learning objects Learning howtolearn Individual choice Individual Individuals/parents To 49 48

47 The “bridge year” — the first year of schooling after

high school — is the make-or-break year for many big ideas from to big results 9 students’ college careers. About 30 percent of students who start college do not return for a second year.50 innovation state 8

to their peers in other Western, industrialized Possibly the most powerful example of turning countries. A student drops out of a high school around low-performing schools is in New Orleans. in America every 26 seconds.51 The two factors Roughly two-thirds of the schools are run by

most at fault for the falling rate of graduation independent charter operators, up from less technology reboot

from U.S. colleges are the high school dropout than 2 percent prior to Hurricane Katrina. The 7 rate and the inability of many high schools to improvements in student performance have been adequately prepare students for higher education. encouraging. Sixty-four percent of the city’s schools were considered academically unacceptable before To get high schools to focus more on college Katrina; by 2009, that number had fallen to 42 improving human improving readiness, states could begin comparing, school percent. Also, the number of seniors who graduated services 6 by school, the percentage of students who go to from the Recovery School District increased from college to those who drop out. The Center for 50 percent in 2007 to 90 percent in 2010. The American Progress suggests that measuring the number of New Orleans students who scored at rate of “college proficiency” — how quickly a high or above the basic level in English increased from 54 responding to health school’s students finish one year of college-level 37 percent in 2007 to 52 percent in 2010. reform care

work and how well those students perform later on 5 in their college careers — gives educators key data Encourage education innovation they can use when deciding how to improve high schools.52 Successfully tracking the college profi- Paul Vallas, the individual recruited to lead the ciency of high schools can better prepare students Recovery School District in New Orelans, is a veteran infrastructure gaps infrastructure closing state for college and increase the number of graduates. education reformer, having been superintendent 4 in Chicago and Philadelphia. In both Chicago and Philadelphia, Vallas had to take over an existing Improve the lowest performing schools system and try to reform it. In New Orleans, he Some states are implementing aggressive reforms has been able to start virtually from scratch, freed century education st

aimed at the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools of the pretzel logic that dominates so many urban 21

in the country. The U.S. Department of Education school bureaucracies. The ability to start anew 3 is spending billions of dollars to refocus resources is part of what attracted Vallas to New Orleans. and attention on the worst-performing schools. “Without question, this is the easier job,” says Many low-performing schools are being closed Vallas. “You can come and, with no restraint on or turned into charters. Others are experiencing who you hire and no institutional obstacles blocking generating jobs generating a much-needed uptick. The Green Dot program, you, change the whole curriculum, the length 2 for example, is transforming low-performing of the school day, length of the school year.”55 schools in Los Angeles and .53 Vallas did all that and more in his first two years. the journey to fiscally sustainable government 1 46 47 21st century education 3-2. Keeping Pace withK-12 OnlineLearning:AReviewofState-Level Policy andPractice. Source: Technology Counts 2008STEM, Education Projects Week inEducation Research Center, andEditorial Watson, J., &Ryan,J. (2007). in bringingaboutnewapproaches toeducation. learning andfor-profit playa schoolscanall role virtual charterschools,competition,choice,blended robbed ofaneducation?Disruptivechangeslike watch generation aftergeneration ofchildren Orleans —ispainful,butisn’titmore painfulto tive change—acleanslateapproach likeNew 92,235 students. in 18statesserving virtual charterschools There aremorethan173 Results havebeenmeager. Nodoubt,transforma- results fromway togetdifferent thesamesystem. existing structures and desperately yearnfora itself. Manyreformers remain anchored tothe system work,rather thanreexamining thesystem focusedontryingtomakethe have historically Over thelast40years,publiceducationreforms http://www.nacol.org/docs/KeepingPace07-color.pdf Keeping pace withK-12 onlinelearning:Areview ofstate-levelpolicy andpractice. RetrievedJanuary24,2008, from Sources: Technology Project Counts 2008STEM, inEducationResearch EducationWeek Center, andEditorial Watson, J., &RyanJ. (2007). Figure programs. charter 1.State that haveandvirtual establishedstate-led States haveestablishedstate-ledandvirtualcharterprograms that HI AK CA OR WA NV ID AZ UT MT WY NM CO 48 SD ND TX NE KS OK MN presents opportunities forstatestosavemoney. technologies, suchasnetbooksandbroadband, of slowing. in K–12educationandcurrently showsnosigns Online learningisgrowing 30percent annually Promote onlineandpersonalizedlearning performance toensure continuedprogress. requiring teacherstotrack metricsofstudent one teacher/studentmodalities,simultaneously technologies offervirtualtutoringandone-on- annually. Textbooks costtheState ofCalifornia $350million student engagementandimprove learning.Its to recommend activitiesandlessonsthatmaximize York City’s SchoolofOneusesspecial algorithms personalized learningintostudents’curricula.New assembly-line educationmodels,integrating Schools are beginning tobreak free from traditional in virtuallearningwhilereducing textbookcosts. state hopestoencourage students’participation IA LA MO AR WI IL MS 57 Both Virtual programState-led By transitioning toonlinetextbooks,the 56 IN AL The adventoflow-costcomputing The TN MI KY OH GA N WV SC FL NC PA VA MD NY VT DE NH NJ MA CT ME RI 49 Expanding focus on science, from big ideas from to big results technology, engineering 9 innovation state

and mathematics 8 Promoting STEM is key to our nation’s competitiveness technology reboot 7 Economists don’t agree on much. One area of Reports such as the National Academies’ Rising little debate, however, is that future American Above the Gathering Storm argue that unless competitiveness will depend on producing a skilled America vastly improves K–12 mathematics and workforce with significant abilities in math and science education, it will not be able to compete improving human improving science. American colleges and universities are not in the future in scientific and technological areas. services 6 graduating enough scientists and engineers to meet Compared with the growth in industries related the expected needs of our future economic growth. to math and science, the number of students responding to health care reform care 5

3-3. U.S. competitiveness and education

U.S. competitiveness & education infrastructure gaps infrastructure closing state 4

Workforce/college readiness century education st 21

Weakness in math & science education 3

Shortage of Too few qualified teachers engineering, science and of science and math math students compared to requirements

Science education not jobs generating

Repetition in courses – keeping pace with current 2 taking time away from developments in field, learning new concepts causing students to lose interest in the subject

Source: Deloitte Research the journey to fiscally sustainable government 1 48 49 21st century education FIRST’s manycorporate supportersincludeDelphi,General Motors,Motorola, Xerox, AbbottandFedEx. arein itschallenges more thantwice aslikelyotherstudentstopursueacareer inscienceandtechnology. over 130,000participatingstudentswith60,000volunteers.FIRST hasshownthat studentswhoparticipate compete againstteamsfrom across theU.S. andaround theworld.Nowinits18 a robotics ofthesegivestudentsachanceto andtheLEGOleague;all competition,thetechchallenge and tohelpstudentsdevelopself-confidence,leadershiplifeskills.FIRST signature programs include goalsare tobuildaninterestfor elementaryandhighschoolstudents.The insciencetechnology For Inspiration andRecognitionofScienceTechnology (FIRST) designsaccessible,innovativeprograms What works:FIRST, competitivespirit building to reflect theneedsof21 worse, schoolcurriculahaven’tbeenupdated a growing gapintheworkforce. Makingmatters pursuing careers inthoseareas leaving issmall, of mathandsciencestudentshavefocusedon To date,mosteffortstoaddress theshortage might otherwisespendlearningnewconcepts. repetitive coursestakeuptimethatstudents st century, and 50

to adoptnewapproaches toincrease student But whatofthedemandside?Governmentsneed and improved teacherrecruitment andtraining. assessment toolstomeasure studentprogress Other strategies haveincludedbetterandearlier and sciencecurricularequired coursework. have focusedonenhancingrigorinthemath the supplysideofissue.For example,they th year, theprogram has 51 from big ideas from to big results 9 innovation state 8

engagement in math and science. The Science, Forge public-private partnerships

Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) technology reboot The National Science Foundation’s Math and Education Coalition has developed a learner- 7 Science Partnership program awards competi- centered philosophy. It emphasizes a 24x7 learning tive, merit-based grants to teams comprised culture that encourages questions, creativity of institutions of higher education, local K–12 and possibilities through concepts such as “after school systems and their supporting partners. school must become school.” Another essential improving human improving Partnerships develop and implement new ways to services

element of this kind of new approach is to engage 6 advance math and science education by bringing businesses and the community in providing each innovation, inspiration, support and resources to young person with the best education possible. educators and students in local schools, colleges and universities. Such programs can help schools to provide challenging curricula for all students responding to health care reform care

Action plan for and encourage more students to succeed in 5 increasing STEM advanced courses in math and the sciences. graduation rates Intel works with governments and educators to

Getting all the key education, government and improve teaching and learning in more than 50 infrastructure gaps infrastructure closing state business stakeholders to focus on improving the countries, offering programs in formal and informal 4 demand side of STEM won’t be easy. These five strat- K–12 education. Also, to expand elementary and egies can form the foundation for such a change: secondary students’ knowledge of and enthusiasm for science, mathematics and engineering, Intel sponsors a number of competitions, including century education the Intel International Science and Engineering st 21

Fair and the Intel Science Talent Search. The 3

What works: College Summit

Not-for-profit College Summit aims to create lasting change by helping high schools and their jobs generating

surrounding communities develop college-going cultures in underrepresented areas. The 2 program worked so well in that it has been replicated at hundreds of high schools across the country. College Summit combines teacher training, community outreach, coaching and counseling, and robust data tracking that facilitates accountability in high schools. Workshops serve 12,000 students, 79 percent of whom end up enrolling in college.58 the journey to fiscally sustainable government 1 50 51 21st century education organization’s Web site,orbypurchasing DVDs. movies, plusrelated classroom activities,through the abouttheirwork.Educatorscanobtainthese talk in whichscienceandtechnologyprofessionals Futuresgeneration. The Channelcreates movies engineers, explorers andvisionariesthenext to promote abondbetweentoday’s scientists, technologies FuturesThe Channelusesnewmedia science extensivelytoachievetheirsuccess. people whouse(orhaveused)mathand teaching children aboutfamousandsemi-famous in tive wouldalsoengagethepopularmedia between scientistsandstudents.Suchaninitia- contact engineers and,asappropriate, direct contact betweenteachersandscientists forumsshouldfacilitatedirect schools. These and engineersasrole modelsandresources for to establishprograms thatprovide scientists canpartnerwithbusinesses Local schooldistricts Introduce mentorsandrole models their schoolsforpromoting mathandscience. accomplishments ofstudentsandtorecognize aim ofthesecompetitionsistorecognize the not are or college in subject the in major not did either who and students mathematics school high of percent 30 Almost 52 of test-takers. upper-income studentsinthebottom25percent aboutasfrequentlytests applytocollege as students whoscore inthetop25percent on may helpclosegapsinthelabormarket. to programs thatteachhigh-demandskills, Improving accesstoeducation,particularly schools andlackofinformationaboutcollege. by socioeconomicissues,lackofguidancein receiving anadequateeducation. Some ofAmerica’s brighteststudentsare not Target underrepresented students of theiremployees,toenrichstudents’learning asthetimeandtalents science activities,aswell and logisticalsupporttoextracurricular mathand States canengagebusinessestoprovide financial mathandscience tothereal world Tie sented undergraduate studentsintheSTEM pipeline. underrepre- their effortstosupporttraditionally should bereplicated. Governmentsmustredouble sented groups ofstudentsinK–12STEM courses underrepre- high achievementamongtraditionally Programs thathaveproven effectiveinpromoting 60 This problem isfrequently This caused 59 Low-income 61 certified toteachit. teachers have science physical in enrolled those of percent 60 53 from big ideas from to big results 9 Almost 30 percent of high school mathematics students and 60 percent of those enrolled in physical science have teachers who either did not major in the subject in college or are not certified to teach it. innovation state 8

experiences. Educators could organize student Engage students through new learning

groups to participate in such activities, if they do technologies such as gaming technology reboot 7 not already exist, and work to integrate business Gaming technologies can be used to develop support into these programs. Such community- higher-order thinking skills such as strategic based learning initiatives could also include a thinking, interpretative analysis, problem solving, significant technology component, using a blend plan formulation and execution, and adaptation to of low-cost, Web-enabled applications to engage improving human improving rapid change. Gaming can enhance personalized services

students and mobilize community-based projects. learning and help bridge the growing attention 6 gap that seems to be contributing to the dropout One promising model is the partnership between rate. A University of Wisconsin study shows The Manufacturing Institute and Discovery that gaming, in some cases, increases cognitive Communications to help nurture a new generation learning and literacy.62 Downtown High School in responding to health care reform care of manufacturing engineers and technologists Columbus, Ohio has improved student test scores 5 through experience-based learning. The initiative through collaborative e-Learning software.63 will use multiple platforms in programs designed to excite students and build competency through One of the most successful education game project-based learning. Components of the program initiatives underway today is Carnegie Mellon include: “How To Week,” a series on Discovery’s infrastructure gaps infrastructure University’s Alice program, currently in use at a closing state

Science Channel that spotlights the latest in science couple hundred colleges and some high schools. 4 and engineering in manufacturing; “Inventor’s Alice focuses tightly on sparking greater interest Workshop,” a national program to celebrate young among young women in computer science. Because inventors; “Head Rush,” a STEM curriculum that Carnegie Mellon has formed a strong partner- century education integrates on-air, online and in-class learning; ship with a leading game company — Electronic st and “Dream It! Do It!,” a video competition in 21

Arts — to enhance the game’s evolution and 3 which students solve real-world STEM puzzles. development, Alice could serve as a model for math and science games with a more general focus. generating jobs generating 2 the journey to fiscally sustainable government 1 52 53 21st century education shared servicesandcooperative purchasing. non-instructional costsincludeconsolidation, Strategies toachieveeconomiesofscaleandreduce of supportandadministrative servicesin-house. expensivetoprovide arrayextraordinarily afull find it managerial expertise—manydistricts economies ofscale—andoften, sufficient utilized fornon-instructionalpurposes.Lacking spentoneducationis 40 centsofeverydollar to reduce non-instructionalcosts.Currently, cantakesteps Second, statesandschooldistricts arethat educationaldollars deliveringvalue. enough attentiontoefficiencyorensuring to focustoomuchoninputswithoutpaying results. Policymakersdisappointing havetended return ontheirinvestmentwhileotherstatesshow Utah andNorthCarolina posta200percent return oninvestmentvariesgreatly across states. showsthat with astate’s educationspending National Assessment ofEducationalPerformance outcomes. Comparingstudents’scores onthe the correlation and betweeneducationdollars theycanplaceagreaterFirst, emphasison adversely affectingeducationalperformance? today’s unprecedented fiscalpressures without respond to How canstatesandschooldistricts is alwayslimitedandrarely keepspacewithcosts. without large budgetdeficits,moneyforeducation up tohalfofmanystatebudgets.Eveninstates pressure toreduce educationcosts,whichconstitute are underincreasingStates andschooldistricts Squeezing inefficienciesoutofthesystem into theclassroom Driving more money 54 districts into80,saving$365million. districts In 2008,Maineconsolidated260school districts shared certainservices. districts could savemore ayearifschool than$40million Oregon’s ResetCabinet Reportestimated the state (see figure 3-4). resources, technologyservicesandadministration finance andpayroll, facilitiesand real estate,human tion, safetyandsecurity, healthservices,purchasing, transportation, foodserviceandnutrition,instruc- to share servicesacross arange ofschoolfunctions: orwithoutsideentities within large schooldistricts amongschools be madewithotherschooldistricts, Arrangements can of servicesacross schooldistricts. coststhrough greater sharing instructional spending One promising approach istoreduce non- Provide incentivesforshared services and drivemore moneyintotheclassroom: gies are availabletoshrinknon-instructionalcosts improving capacities.Avarietyofproven strate- identify everymeansofsavingmoneywhile results andaccountability, schoolsneedto In thisera for oftightbudgetsandloudcalls costs non for reducing A ction - instructional

plan

55 from big ideas from to big results 9 innovation state 8

States can help in a variety of ways to identify best In Ohio, Governor Ted Strickland chose Greene

practices and drive innovation in shared services County, Ohio in 2009 to conduct a pilot program technology reboot at the district level. The New Jersey Regional in shared school services. The idea for the initiative 7 Efficiency Aid Program, for example, provides tax came from a private citizen, a school board member credits directly to homeowners as a way to publicly who volunteered to approach local foundations for reward school districts and municipalities for sharing money to help fund the initiative. No tax dollars services. would be used. Plans called for the county’s six improving human improving services 6

3-4. School functions amenable to shared services Savings Fit for Shared Capability potential service responding to health (Comparative) reform care 5 Direct (Services to students)

Transportation

Food service and nutrition infrastructure gaps infrastructure closing state Instructional 4

Safety and security

Health services century education Indirect (Services to staff or infrastructures) st 21

Purchasing 3

Finance and payroll

Facilities and real estate

Human resources jobs generating 2

Technology services

Administration

Source: Deloitte Research the journey to fiscally sustainable government 1 54 55 21st century education gas, electricity, equipment,services andsupplies. wastewater programs andthepurchasing ofnatural municipalitiesshare servicesforwaterand The duringthefirstyearofprogram. public buildings resulting ina5percent savingsonelectricityfor offering townsaggregate natural gaspurchasing, programtive purchasing. The beganin1998by reduce dailyoperating expensesthrough coopera- awayto that supportsthetownsbyproviding Countymunicipalities effort amongMiddlesex Jersey’s Shared ServicesProgram isacooperative utilities, equipment,servicesandsupplies.New reducing operating expensesforsuchitemsas andtheirpartnersby savings forschooldistricts Pooling purchasing powercanyieldsubstantial Promote cooperative purchasing instruction andprograms, andtransportation. services andagreements, specialeducation financial services,informationtechnology, contracted instruction andprograms, administrative and sharing servicesinsixareas: advancedplacement formed committeestoexplore thepotentialfor inform astatewidestrategy. schooldistricts The services andassessthefiscalimpactsinorder to pilot, whichwouldhelptodefinemodelsforshared Center forUrbanandPublicAffairstoconductthe to work with Wright Stateschool districts University’s potentially yieldsavingsintherangeof$9billion. Shifting just a quarter of tax dollars spent by school districts 56 government assumesresponsibility forteaching. transport, foodservicesandcleaning,whilethe provideusually non-core servicessuch asschool 20–30years.Businesses given timeperiod,usually school underacontract withthegovernmentfora finance, design,constructandoperate apublic modernization objectives.Privatefirmstypically be structured inanumberofwaystomeetschool Innovative partnershipswiththeprivatesectorcan planned. budget andayearearlierthanoriginally under to obtaintwonewschools,$20million leaseback arrangement withaprivatedeveloper Houston IndependentSchoolDistrictusedalease- In1996,the and leasesitbacktothedistrict. surplus landtoadeveloperwhobuildsschool orlease sell In thesesolutions,schooldistricts and sale-leasebackorlease-leasebackarrangements. the saleofdevelopmentrightsonunusedproperty, Common public-privatepartnershipmodelsinclude and byprivateclientsoutsideschoolhours. centers thatare usedbystudentsduringtheday have provided someschoolfacilitieswithfitness example, inexchangeforland,privatepartners tap intounderutilizedassetssuchasland.For Partnering withbusinessescanhelpschooldistricts Tap underutilizedassets on non-instructional operations to shared services could services shared to operations non-instructional on 57 from big ideas from to big results Shifting just a quarter of tax dollars spent by school districts on non-instructional operations to shared services could 9 potentially yield savings in the range of $9 billion. innovation state 8

Reduce energy costs of 501 districts in the Commonwealth participated

in the initiative. The Pennsylvania Department of technology reboot The Pennsylvania Department of Education Education estimates $14.4 million in potential 7 Common Cents Shared Services Initiative piloted savings for the 49 Common Cents districts. a program to implement cost-savings strategies Participating districts in Pennsylvania’s Riverside through several shared service opportunity areas Intermediate Unit 6, for example, saved 55 percent for school districts, including energy efficiency. on copiers. Meanwhile, Redbank Valley School improving human improving Common Cent’s cost-saving models were derived services

District projected annual recurring savings of $10K 6 from data and analysis provided by the school on fuel tank installation with bulk fuel purchasing. districts and then tested for efficacy. Forty-nine out responding to health care reform care

What works: James Oyster School’s 5 public-private partnership

Built in the 1920s, Washington’s James F. Oyster Bilingual Elementary School was on its last legs by the early 1990s — leaking roofs, building code violations and accompanying shutdowns, lack of computer infrastructure gaps infrastructure hookups, and limited space. The District of Columbia simply didn’t have the $11 million required to build closing state 4 a new school, nor did it have the borrowing power. Lacking money and borrowing power, officials got creative. What the city lacked in financial assets, it made up for in physical assets; the school sat on 1.67 acres of century education st

prime real estate within walking distance of the 21

National Zoo. The city converted its underutilized 3 physical assets into a financial asset by dividing the property: Half for a new school and half for a new apartment building — designed and built by the private sector. In return for the sale of the land, generating jobs generating Washington got its first new public school in 20 2 years — a state-of-the-art facility with double the space — without spending a single public dollar. the journey to fiscally sustainable government 1 56 57 21st century education of graduating from that sameschoolsystem. theyhaveover a75percent chance indicators, tenth grade ontime,track withnooff-track class sixyearslater. Butiftheycangettothe a 25percent chanceofgraduating withtheir is inahighpovertyschool,they have lessthan in thesixthgrade and those off-track indicators in mathorenglish.Ifthechildhasevenoneof high absences,poorbehaviorsandcoursefailure drop eventually that achildwill outofhighschool: are theearlywarningindicators has discovered We workagainstwhatJohnsHopkinsUniversity through theextendeddaytotutorstudents. models duringtheschooldayandthenstay members serveastutors,mentorsandrole turn around lowperformingschools.Ourcorps address thenation’s dropout crisisandtohelp urban communitiesacross thenationtohelp intohighpovertyschoolsin adults full-time send teamsofidealisticandwell-trained young City Year isanationalyouthservicecorps.We Q Q What isCityYear, andwhodoesitserve? Interview with Michael Brown Chief ExecutiveOfficerofCity Year 58 at the Feltonville School of Arts and Sciences, a middle at theFeltonville SchoolofArtsand Sciences,amiddle mented a collaborative program called Diplomas Now Secondary andCommunitiesinSchools, weimple- Last year in Philadelphia, with Talent Development City Year corpsmemberscome in? Q percent ofthekidswhoare likelytodrop out. schools inmosturbancenters,youcanreach 50 found thatifyoucanreach 25percent ofthe impact.We’vegoing tohaveadisproportionate and theschoolsthatfeedintothem—you’re highest need—theworstperformingschools the country. Soifyoucanserveintheplacesof schools produce 50percent ofthedropouts in whichshowthat12percent ofthehigh studies into them.JohnsHopkinsUniversityhaspublished rates anddeterminedwhichschools,K–8,feed ties where weservethathavethehighestdropout We’ve analyzedthehighschoolsincommuni- you’re goingtogointo? Q Q Q How do you decide which schools How doyoudecidewhichschools How muchdoschoolsimprove when 59 school with 750 students. In one year, we were able QQTo what extent does the average big ideas from to big results 9 to reduce the number of kids who were off track on school have data at the student level that attendance by 52 percent, and the number of kids that would allow for customized learning? were off track on behaviors by 48 percent. The number Schools are at various degrees of capability with of kids who were failing English fell by 80 percent, regard to data. The ones making the biggest gains

and the number failing math dropped by 83 percent. innovation state are led by principals or school district leaders that 8 Now tie that to Northeastern University studies that get it and say, “I’m going to make sure that we say that every student who drops out of high school have data walls and we’re reviewing the data.” in America costs the country about $300,000 — in Governors can help by bringing in organiza- lost wages, in incarceration rates, in lost taxes and in tions at the cutting edge of building electronic

poor health. Every single grade that you keep a kid technology reboot data systems. They can use the bully pulpit in, you’re talking about huge savings in social costs. 7 to say to superintendents around the state, “Let’s have a race to see who’s going to build QQWhat kind of data do you have about the best data approach to learning.” And of which learning approaches work best for course, they can give out innovation grants. improving human improving which individual students? And how are you services

able to use that data to help students? 6 QQWhy is it so hard to scale these educational Because City Year corps members are with students and social innovations? What are some of the all day, every day they get a comprehensive picture lessons you’ve learned for how to do it? of students’ academic and socio-economic needs, One, you need to invest both in your outcomes, responding to health which they can use to help improve student learning reform care your product if you will, and in your systems,

working hand in hand with teachers and other service 5 your capacity to deliver. Those dollars for capacity providers. For example, every two weeks we sit at a building are sometimes the hardest to get. table with a list of every single student in the sixth Government, in particular, likes to fund one more grade in a school, and we go through that list with unit of end product. And only very sophisticated the sixth grade teachers, the social workers and philanthropists understand the need for dollars infrastructure gaps infrastructure the City Year corps members. They talk about every closing state to train, to create human resources capacity, 4 single child and how they’re doing against the early to build an IT infrastructure — all of these warning indicators of dropping out of school. And things that it takes to actually provide scale. more importantly, what did we decide to do two weeks ago, and is it working? Is there something Another barrier is that government has a hard century education st

else we can learn about this child that can work? time picking winners and losers. There’s often 21

political pressure to give everyone a little bit of 3 That’s where you get into best practices. You might support, and create a series of small ecosystems find that this child’s a kinetic learner, so we give them of mom-and-pops. It’s harder for government something to manipulate. Or this child has something to say, “I’m actually going to pull on a big lever going on at home that until a social worker inter- and scale something.” Governments need to venes, they are not going to be able to learn. jobs generating think about that and maybe even create a tiered 2 What this shows is that schools need data investment system that says, “We’re going to coordinators. It’s one of the highest needs that have a certain pool of funds for innovation, but I’ve seen in the country. If we could collect and we’re going to have a second one for scale.” use the data well, it would be a revolution. the journey to fiscally sustainable government 1 58 59