In January 2010, Governor Deval Patrick signed historic education reform legislation that provides educators and other stakeholders in all districts across the state with the powerful opportunity to create new "Innovation Schools," in-district and charter-like schools that will operate with greater autonomy and flexibility with regard to curriculum, staffing, budget, schedule/calendar, professional development, and district policies.
A wide range of applicants (including teachers, school and district leaders, community members, business partners, non-profit organizations, and institutions of higher education) can convert an existing school or create a new school in accordance with a locally-based approval process. In collaboration with local superintendents, school committee members, union representatives, and other stakeholders, the applicants develop an “innovation plan” that includes the specific strategies that will be implemented.
An innovation plan can include strategies to use different curricular and assessment tools or lengthen the school day and year, and can also include waivers to or modifications from the local collective bargaining agreement.
The innovation plan must include measurable goals to assess student achievement and school performance, and the operators are held responsible through a contract with the local school committee for meeting annual benchmarks.
All Innovation Schools receive the same per pupil allocation as any other school in the district, and operators can secure other types of supplemental funding to implement the innovation plan.
The Innovation Schools initiative offers eligible applicants with another opportunity to create autonomous schools in Massachusetts. Since the mid-1990’s, districts have had the option of creating Horace Mann chartered schools. In Horace Mann chartered schools the teachers remain members of the collective bargaining unit, but any waivers to or modifications from the collective bargaining agreement must be included in the charter that is approved by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
To date, only nine schools were established with Horace Mann status statewide and only eight retain that status today. The small numbers are due in part to difficulties of motivation on the part of applicants, incentives, and in some cases challenges related to negotiating necessary agreements with local union and district officials. The Innovation Schools are seen as a more likely innovation sector for districts
Commonwealth chartered schools operate statewide. They are overseen by the state board of education, and each school’s board of trustees has complete authority over operations. Teachers are not union members and the schools are fully independent of district regulations, and may develop their own procedures related to evaluation, staffing, pay, and professional development. However, there are also certain limitations: Commonwealth charter schools that operate within a district’s boundaries cannot exceed a 9 percent share of the total funds spent on K-12 education in that area. In the legislation that was enacted in January, however, in the 10 percent of lowest-performing districts (as measured by district performance on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System), that share will be increased over time to 18 percent.
Horace Mann charter schools are similar to Commonwealth chartered schools in that they are also authorized by the state board of education, and each school’s board of trustees has complete authority over operations—but there are some critical functional differences. For example, in Horace Mann chartered schools, union and district leadership must agree to allow the school to exist inside district boundaries, and funds for the school flow through the local district’s central office. As with Commonwealth chartered schools, teachers are not union members—although they have the option of joining or remaining with the local collective bargaining unit.
The third alternative platform for the establishment of autonomous schools in Massachusetts is the Pilot Schools model in the Boston Public Schools, a much stronger mechanism for that district. Instead of having to opt out of regulations one by one, Pilot Schools are entitled to exemption from a slate of rules and regulations by virtue of their status. The schools function within the Boston Public Schools, and their teachers are members of the Boston Teachers Union, which agreed at the outset of the Pilot Schools initiative to waive mandates of their collective bargaining agreement if teachers at the site provided appropriate consent during their application for pilot status.
The fourth option for establishing autonomous schools in Massachusetts is the Innovation Schools initiative, as described above. In contrast to the two types of charter schools, Innovation Schools are authorized by the local school committee, and operate in accordance with an innovation plan.
Policies:
Here are some of the essential materials, pertaining to the Innovation Schools component of the bill:
Guidance documents and other information about the Innovation Schools initiative
Education Reform Package: Readiness Schools legislation
Contacts:
Saeyun Lee
Deputy Policy Director, Executive Office of Education
(617) 979-8351
Saeyun.Lee@state.ma.us
*Image: Governor Deval Patrick describes Readiness Schools bill (2009), Massachusetts Executive Office of Education
