Worcester on the “Front Edge” of Innovation School Success
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
District Superintendent Melinda Boone and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Marco Rodrigues shared a three-year evaluation of the innovation schools last week, saying that each of the five schools that began in 2011 have either met or exceeded the expectations set forth by both the district and the state.
“Worcester is on the front edge of seeing these successes with innovation schools,” said Bridget Rodriguez, the Director of Planning and Collaboration at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Education. “There are 46 innovation schools in Massachusetts right now, but a lot of them have limited data. Worcester does not have such a problem; the data shows that students are achieving at a high level and are either meeting or exceeding expectations.”
Eight innovation schools are currently in the Worcester Public School District, the largest amount among any municipality. It was also announced in the beginning of May that $75,000 in grant money had been awarded to Claremont Academy for another innovation school in Worcester, which will focus on early college preparation and will partner with Clark University.
Model of Success
Although there are eight currently approved innovation schools in Worcester, only five of them were highlighted in the report, because they were the original five for the area.
Chandler Magnet School, Goddard School of Science and Technology, Goddard Scholar Academy (which is housed in Sullivan Middle School), University Park Campus School, and Woodland Academy are the five schools highlighted in the report. Since the original five, Lincoln Street Early Literacy School, The Academy of Science, Health, and Technology at Worcester East Middle School, and the STEM Early College & Career High School at Worcester Technical High School have all made the transition to become an innovation school.
The increase in the number of schools using this model can largely be attributed to the recent stories of success on both a local and state level.
“We have seen what the Innovation School model can do to boost student achievement,” said Matthew Malone, the Massachusetts Secretary of Education, in a press release. “Empowering local districts to thoughtfully plan for this type of work will allow teachers and school leaders to be a part of the process from the very beginning.”
According to the report released by the Worcester Public School District, the five original innovation schools have either met or exceeded expectations. An example of such achievement would be the Chandler Magnet School, where the dual language program in kindergarten through third grade has been so successful that they will be expanding the program to the fourth grade next year.
At the University Park Campus School – which focuses on better preparing students for college – the school has seen a boost in graduation rates, from 89.7-percent to 100-percent. They have also doubled their AP course offering for students in the past three years.
“I think that the innovation schools have been very successful in the district,” said Dr. Rodrigues. “These schools have definitely enhanced our school district in a few ways. These programs allow for more creativity and allow for students to thrive in an education system that interests and engages them. I think that innovation schools are definitely doing what they were set out to do, which is lower the achievement gap.”
A Different Type of School
Innovation schools can be either their own school or can be a part of another school. The largest difference between an innovation school and a typical public school is the amount of freedom that faculty and administration are given to set forth a curriculum.
“Innovation schools have much more autonomy and flexibility than a normal public school,” said Dr. Rodrigues. “These schools offer a great ownership to the staff which furthers the commitment from the staff. It has really transformed the school setting to help teachers and everyone else in the community.”
This autonomy and flexibility gives teachers and administrators more freedom to create their own curriculum and to work around things like scheduling and assessment, things that are typically locked in for the average public school. Rodriguez and Dr. Rodrigues both agree that this system creates an environment that promotes commitment at all levels, from administration to the students to the various members of the community.
This commitment from everyone involved within the innovation schools stems from an underlying requirement that is established at the beginning of the school: mutual agreement. In order for an innovation school to be created and approved, it must be agreed upon by all of the stakeholders involved in the process.
“Innovation schools have high levels of both student and family engagement,” said Rodriguez. “Because the initiative is locally grown and driven, it requires a lot of voluntary efforts and an actual desire for the system. Ultimately, it is up to the community to decide whether or not it is something that they want. But with 46 innovation schools – eight of which are in Worcester – people are obviously pretty accepting of the concept.”
Looking to the Future
Innovation schools may have been a success story in the past three years, but a small sample size makes it hard to definitively say whether or not the schools will be a future model for all public schools or something that can be maintained in larger numbers either state or nationwide.
“I think that right now, we are seeing a lot of positives for these innovation schools,” said Rodriguez. “We are still a little hesitant to declare definitively as to whether or not these schools are an ultimate success story because we don’t have the amount of data available yet to be able to make those claims.”
The growth of not only the individual innovation schools but the number of schools converting to such initiatives would point to an overall success since the Innovation Schools program was established in 2010 by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. The program was installed as a part of an effort to narrow the widening achievement gap seen in the state’s education system.
Although the data isn’t quite up to par yet in terms of volume, it should be duly noted that all current data available points to innovation schools being able to be labeled as a success. It is because of this that many think that innovation schools have a bright future.
“All evidence points to the innovation schools moving to the next level,” said Dr. Rodrigues. “We still have a ways to go but all of the trends point to us moving forward. I think that a lot of the emphasis for the success of these schools in the hands of the teachers and staff who are putting the effort in. It may be in part because of the flexibility of the schools, but it really is the hard work of the teachers and the commitment that they have that makes all of this work.”
Concerns with Innovation Schools
Chief among concerns to the program is the funding. The schools are represented in the same way that any other public school in the district would be, meaning that they have the same access to funding, but the additional flexibility and other curriculum expenses do increase the need for funding that other traditional schools may not need.
There are currently many competitive grants offered for innovation schools throughout the state, but after the grant money runs out, schools have the potential to be forced to find new avenues for money.
“Funding is definitely a challenge,” said Rodriguez. “This is a problem that any education based initiative could face. We have $4 million available as part of a statewide line item, but none of that was included in the budget this year.”
Other concerns pointed out by those observing the innovation school model include the approval process (having to have everyone on board for the approval to go through), having a program that relies so heavily on data, and with it being such a new and flexible system, having educators, students, teachers, and community members properly understand how it works.
Whether innovation schools are good, bad or in-between, some are on the fence purely because they don’t see any additional benefits for students. This isn’t to say that they aren’t being offered a slightly different education, it merely points out the initiatives and programs that Worcester already has in place to help students.
“I think that the Worcester Public School District does a great job of offering great opportunities across the board, even before you look at the innovation schools,” said Dianna Biancheria, a member of the Worcester School Committee. “I think that what the innovation schools offer is a greater concentration for the staff. I don’t see a tremendous difference in the education that a student would receive at either school; I think it has a lot more to do with the mechanisms of how the school is run.”
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