ERIC Number: ED580944
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Feb
Pages: 16
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Passing Notes: Learning from Efforts to Share Instructional Practices across District-Charter Lines
Maas, Tricia; Lake, Robin
Center on Reinventing Public Education
Through research and policy analysis, the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) seeks ways to make public education more effective, especially for America's disadvantaged students. CRPE helps redesign governance, oversight, and dynamic education delivery systems to make it possible for great educators to do their best work with students and to create a wide range of high-quality public school options for families. Today, an increasing number of districts and charter schools are collaborating across sector lines to improve teaching and learning. CRPE's research has identified three core ways districts and charters are partnering to share key instructional practices: (1) colocating schools to encourage learning from each other; (2) creating residencies and fellowships to train teachers and leaders in a particular approach; and (3) sharing resources and providing professional development trainings and workshops. In the (CRPE) assessment of the national landscape on instructional collaboration, case studies of three programs that promote the sharing of high-impact professional development were conducted: (1) the Summit Learning Program in Chicago Public Schools; (2) the Boston Educators Collaborative in Boston; and (3) Uncommon Schools' Impact partnership in New York City. In each, staff reported improved district-charter relationships at the system level and willingness among educators to collaborate across sector lines. Additionally, in the Summit Learning Program and Uncommon Schools' Impact work, CRPE found early evidence of improved student engagement and outcomes. Significant challenges included extending the work beyond early adopters, transferring discrete instructional practices to less coherent environments, and addressing district-level policy barriers. For education leaders who are starting efforts to share instructional practices, CRPE recommends: (1) Paying attention to local contexts; (2) Clarity on non negotiables; and (3) Secure commitment from district, charter, and other partner organizations. At the moment, collaboration efforts are successfully engaging early adopters. Moving forward to meaningfully improve students' educational experiences will require district leaders to rethink structures like staffing guidelines, grading systems, and scheduling systems. CRPE's ongoing ongoing work on district-charter cooperation will continue to track promising instructional collaborations.
Descriptors: Educational Cooperation, Public Schools, Charter Schools, School Districts, Educational Practices, Faculty Development, Case Studies, Teacher Collaboration, Program Effectiveness, Elementary Secondary Education
Center on Reinventing Public Education. University of Washington Bothell Box 358200, Seattle, WA 98195. Tel: 206-685-2214; Fax: 206-221-7402; e-mail: crpe@u.washington.edu; Web site: http://www.crpe.org
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Authoring Institution: Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE)
Identifiers - Location: Illinois (Chicago); Massachusetts (Boston); New York (New York)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A