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Built to Last: The Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership, Springfield, Massachusetts

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Built to Last: The Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership, Springfield, Massachusetts
Language: English
Authors: Iyengar, Nithin, Lewis-LaMonica, Kate, Perigo, Mike, Bridgespan Group
Source: Bridgespan Group. 2017.
Availability: Bridgespan Group. 535 Boylston Street 10th Floor, Boston, MA 02116. Tel: 617-572-2833; e-mail: contact@bridgespan.org; Web site: http://www.bridgespan.org
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 9
Publication Date: 2017
Document Type: Reports - Evaluative
Descriptors: Educational Innovation, School Districts, School Turnaround, School District Autonomy, Governance, Nonprofit Organizations, Accountability, Educational Improvement, Educational Objectives, Sustainability, Public Schools, Governing Boards, Partnerships in Education, Philanthropic Foundations, Student Improvement, Empowerment
Geographic Terms: Massachusetts
Abstract: This article is part of a Bridgespan Group research project that focuses on a new wave of district-led "innovation zones" that holds promise to overcome the challenges of turning around failing schools and deliver significant improvements in student outcomes. This new wave provides a subset of district schools with control over staffing, curriculum, and budgeting. Such autonomy often is guaranteed by a contractual agreement and enabled by state law that can sustain the zone despite potential changes in district leadership. The schools are sometimes operated by a nonprofit that is held accountable to the school district for significant improvement in student outcomes. The research highlights the experiences of five school districts that are vanguards of this new wave of innovation zones--Chicago; Denver; Indianapolis; Memphis, Tennessee; and Springfield, Massachusetts. These innovation zones reveal certain design features that place a focus on improving teaching and learning over multiple years--the heart of any successful turnaround effort. Specifically promising innovation zones: (1) set ambitious goals; (2) guarantee autonomy; (3) improve teaching and learning; (4) follow the students; and (5) are sustainable, scalable, and built to last. The article looks in detail at the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership. The Partnership was formed when Massachusetts, the Springfield Public Schools (SPS), and the teachers union formed a voluntary partnership that aims to dramatically improve outcomes in a cluster of the district's middle schools. [For the full report on all five school district innovation zones, "School District Innovation Zones: A New Wave of District-Led Efforts to Improve Economic Mobility," see ED582407.]
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2018
Accession Number: ED582434
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:This article is part of a Bridgespan Group research project that focuses on a new wave of district-led "innovation zones" that holds promise to overcome the challenges of turning around failing schools and deliver significant improvements in student outcomes. This new wave provides a subset of district schools with control over staffing, curriculum, and budgeting. Such autonomy often is guaranteed by a contractual agreement and enabled by state law that can sustain the zone despite potential changes in district leadership. The schools are sometimes operated by a nonprofit that is held accountable to the school district for significant improvement in student outcomes. The research highlights the experiences of five school districts that are vanguards of this new wave of innovation zones--Chicago; Denver; Indianapolis; Memphis, Tennessee; and Springfield, Massachusetts. These innovation zones reveal certain design features that place a focus on improving teaching and learning over multiple years--the heart of any successful turnaround effort. Specifically promising innovation zones: (1) set ambitious goals; (2) guarantee autonomy; (3) improve teaching and learning; (4) follow the students; and (5) are sustainable, scalable, and built to last. The article looks in detail at the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership. The Partnership was formed when Massachusetts, the Springfield Public Schools (SPS), and the teachers union formed a voluntary partnership that aims to dramatically improve outcomes in a cluster of the district's middle schools. [For the full report on all five school district innovation zones, "School District Innovation Zones: A New Wave of District-Led Efforts to Improve Economic Mobility," see ED582407.]