Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
Reauthorization Recommendations: Innovative
Schools
Policy Recommendations
- Support federal policies that strengthen and support innovative school models that transform student learning opportunities, such as magnet schools, pilot schools, and career academies, as well as charter schools.
- Encourage expanded learning opportunities within both charter schools and other innovative schools.
- Ensure federal regulatory and funding flexibility in exchange for high performance in the highest-need areas in high-performing, innovative schools, including charter schools and those operated by Charter Management Organizations, in addition to all other high performing, innovative public school options.
- Support innovative approaches in charters and other schools such as workplace learning, student internships, career themed curriculum, service-learning, public and private sector partnerships, and collaborative teacher teams in all public schools.
Rationale for Improvements
Our state and the nation have recognized
the critical need to try new and innovative approaches to improving student
achievement in our public schools, while holding all public schools accountable
for how students learn. Innovative schools can help bring light to high quality
and effective practices for increasing student achievement that all schools can
adopt. Not only do innovative schools give parents options within the public
school system, but the flexibility afforded to them spurs new ways of improving
learning that, if proven effective, can be shared with the broader public school
system to benefit all students.
Currently, in California and many other
states, there is no state financial support for magnets. Magnet programs and
other innovative schools receive the regular funding for instruction, but still
lack some of the key resources to startup and expand. The federal government
only provides limited support in the form of grants to school districts that
apply. Charters, magnets, and other innovative schools need additional support
and flexibility in developing and maintaining their programs in order to ensure
that the needs of all children and families are met.
California Overview
California was one of the 12 states awarded
a charter school grant from the U.S. Department of Education in August 2010. The
federal government invested a total of $136 million in this program, whose
purpose is to increase financial support for the startup and expansion of public
charter schools, build a better national understanding of the public charter
school model, and increase the number of high-quality public charter schools
across the nation.
The California Department of Education was awarded a
total of $51,769,620 through this grant. In addition, Aspire, a public charter
school system in California, received an additional $5,587,500 for its proposal
to create 15 new schools serving an additional 4,500 students in California
through the Charter School Grant Program.
Beyond charter schools,
California has also developed innovative programs such as the California
Partnership Academy model. The California Partnership Academies represent a high
school reform movement that is a three-year program (grades ten-twelve)
structured as a school-within-a-school with a focus on smaller learning
communities with a career theme.
Academies also emphasize student
achievement and positive postsecondary outcomes. Academies have been carefully evaluated and shown to have positive impacts on
school performance. Key components of the Academy model are:
- Curriculum focused on a career theme and coordinated with related academic classes.
- Voluntary student selection process that identifies interested ninth graders.
- Team of teachers who work together to plan and implement the program.
- Motivational activities with private sector involvement to encourage academic and occupational preparation, such as: integrated and project-based curriculum, mentor program, classroom speakers, field trips, and exploration of postsecondary and career options.
- Workplace learning opportunities such as job shadowing, student internships, and work experience.
California also has various magnet programs and schools that are designed by local authorities to attract parents, guardians, and students who are free to choose, subject to local rules, the school in which they enroll. These programs and schools are established by district Governing Boards who can make a wide range of choices depending upon the needs, demands, board purposes, and available funding. Magnet schools and programs include those that provide unique instruction in the arts, in various sciences, and in career education. When one or more magnets are established at a particular school, students from across the district may select the magnet, subject to available space.
