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Designing your dream school and getting the funding to make it a reality

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XQ: The Super School Project is a national movement to reimagine high school. #RethinkHighSchool

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Spacelab Initiative - Redesigning Schools

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Spacelab Initiative - Redesigning Schools

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Colorado Education Initiative

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Wonder what the future of education in Colorado looks like? Follow the exciting efforts of the Network through our blog posts on Learners of Colorado or by joining us on Twitter.

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Place-based education: Teton Science Schools

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Over the last few years we've been going long on Place-Based Education (PBE). Now we have a book to prove it. This is the dedicated page for our PBE exploration, thought leadership campaign and book.

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TED talk by Eddy Zhong, successful technology entrepreneur

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How School Makes Kids Less Intelligent | Eddy Zhong | TEDxYouth@BeaconStreet

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TED talk by a 13-year old

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Hackschooling makes me happy | Logan LaPlante | TEDxUniversityofNevada

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Finland is getting rid of school subjects for a more interdisciplinary, project-based approach

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Finland is getting rid of school subjects for a more interdisciplinary, project-based approach

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Finland Will Become the First Country in the World to Get Rid of All School Subjects
Finland's education system is considered one of the best in the world. In international ratings, it's always in the top ten. However, the authorities there aren't ready to rest on their laurels, and they've decided to carry through a real revolution in their school system. Finnish officials want to remove school subjects from the curriculum. There will no longer be any classes in physics, math, literature, history, or geography.
The head of the Department of Education in Helsinki, Marjo Kyllonen, explained the changes:

"There are schools that are teaching in the old-fashioned way which was of benefit in the beginning of the 1900s - but the needs are not the same, and we need something fit for the 21st century."

Instead of individual subjects, students will study events and phenomena in an interdisciplinary format. For example, the Second World War will be examined from the perspective of history, geography, and math. And by taking the course "Working in a Cafe," students will absorb a whole body of knowledge about the English language, economics, and communication skills.

This system will be introduced for senior students, beginning at the age of 16. The general idea is that the students ought to choose for themselves which topic or phenomenon they want to study, bearing in mind their ambitions for the future and their capabilities. In this way, no student will have to pass through an entire course on physics or chemistry while all the time thinking to themselves "What do I need to know this for?"

The traditional format of teacher-pupil communication is also going to change. Students will no longer sit behind school desks and wait anxiously to be called upon to answer a question. Instead, they will work together in small groups to discuss problems.

The Finnish education system encourages collective work, which is why the changes will also affect teachers. The school reform will require a great deal of cooperation between teachers of different subjects. Around 70% of teachers in Helsinki have already undertaken preparatory work in line with the new system for presenting information, and, as a result, they'll get a pay increase.

The changes are expected to be complete by 2020.

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Finland Will Become the First Country in the World to Get Rid of All School Subjects Finland's education system is considered one of the best in the world. In international ratings, it's always in the top ten. However, the authorities there aren't ready to rest on their laurels, and they've decided to carry through a real revolution in their school system.

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Getting Smart website

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School visits are a great way to learn and key to developing an innovation mindset. Based on a couple thousand school visits and with help from colleagues and readers, we've compiled a list of 100 schools worth visits. Far from exhaustive, our list includes schools that achieve extraordinary results, create powerful learning experiences, and/or have created innovative technology blends.

Elementary Schools

2. KIPP Empower in LA ( profiled here) was the first blended school in the KIPP network. The station rotation model runs on a Education Elements and Agilix platform and features DreamBox, Istation and Compass Learning. All 5 elementary schools in this region have implemented similar models with success. For example, KIPP Comienza Community Prep scored an API of 978, making it the third highest performing school in LAUSD and was also the #1 performing school serving at/above 60% ELL in the California.

4. Ingenuity Prep, in Washington, D.C, is a NGLC winner that will serve K-1 students next year. They plan to grow into a K-12 school in DC with a four-tiered staffing approach (from resident to master teacher) and small-group blended learning instruction.

5. Bricolage Academy in NOLA (@ BricolageNOLA) is new blended elementary school founded by Josh Densen. A recent Mini Maker Faire builds on an innovation culture.

11. Cornerstone Madison-Carver Academy is a k-6 school in Detroit ( featured here). Cornerstone features a lab rotation in primary grades and a class rotation in intermediate grades-and a strong culture and well developed character development program K-12.

12. All students at Wade King Elementary School, Bellingham Washington, are learning Chinese. Students are able to work at their own pace, and benefit from individualized instruction, access from home, and coaching from a native speaker. King Elementary was featured in recent paper, The Next Generation of World Language Learning.

13. Colvin Run Elementary School, Fairfax County Virginia (also featured in the world language paper) expanded their existing Spanish curriculum in blended classrooms. After 13 weeks, 90% for the students improved oral proficiency by at least one level. They also used Rosetta Stone to create an independent study program for languages like Chinese.

15. Hartland School of Community Learning ( profiled here), also west of Milwaukee, is a grade 3-5 multiage charter school use trimester targets to set weekly and monthly academic goals for themselves to guide their learning. Each day students stop, drop, reflect for the last 40 minutes of the day.

16. St. Louis Language Immersion Schools (@SLLIS) include a French, Spanish and Chinese immersion elementary schools, and plan to open an IB secondary school next year. We agree: every student should be globally competent, world language fluent.

18. Cornerstone Academy Preparatory School, San Jose, was a traditional high performing elementary school founded in the Building Excellent Schools network that was recently transformed to blended learning and is getting exceptional results with a low income, ELL population.

19. Quitman Elementary School in Newark is making good strides in a tough place. Blended partners include Education Elements, Core Knowledge and Expeditionary Learning (love that), GoMath, FastMath , Reading Eggs, Study Island and BrainPOP.

20. Randle Highlands in Washington DC recently hosted a visit from the League of Innovative Schools visited recently and they were impressed. In 2013-14 the school worked with Education Elements to to deploy eight computers. ST Math, Lexia, MyON, and i-Ready. Each school day has 90 minutes of blended math instruction and 120 minutes of blended ELA instruction. (See an AEI paper that details blended learning in DC and also features Kramer Middle School, and Ketcham Elementary School.)

22. Lake Forest Elementary School, Fulton County (Atlanta) is a high poverty, high mobility, high ELL school. It's a great example of blended learning, student access, student centered instruction, personalized professional development, and a great school culture.

K-8 Schools

24. Burns Elementary/Middle School, also part of the EAA (and formerly the lowest performing school in Michigan), is operated by Matchbook Learning ( profiled here and featured here) also using the Buzz platform with Compass Learning, ST Math, and ALEKS.

28. Da Vinci Innovation Academy is a project-based NGLC winning school in Hawthorne, California ( profiled here). Students usually spend two days per week on campus and have another optional day on campus for electives.

29. After co-founding Da Vinci, Nicole Assisi headed south and opened Thrive, another NGLC winning K-8 school that combines project-based learning, blended learning, and social emotional learning.

30. Burley School is a Chicago literature, writing and technology magnet school. Visitors see students discussing, reading, thinking, exploring, questioning, experimenting, creating, and collaborating. Students have access to iPads and laptops and a full art and music program.

31. Acton Academy is a small student-centered private school in Austin. It is so impact-oriented it claims, "Each person who enters our doors will find a calling that will change the world." ( See feature.)

32. Caliber Beta is a new school in Richmond California with a personalized learning plans, a flexible rotation model for math and English, and project-based learning for science and social studies. Students participate in computer programming, engineering, and robotics classes.

34. Washington K-8 school in Lindsay Unified (outside of Fresno) is doing great things with blending and competency. They use multiple resources to assist students in pursuing personal learning plans and students transition as they demonstrate competency at the course level-a great example of developing and engaging student agency and social emotional learning. (Watch district video.)

35. Magnolia Montessori for All: Magnolia Montessori is a champion of both blended learning and the potential of a school dedicated to true college and career readiness for all its students. The school opened its doors as a public charter in the fall of 2014 with grades pre-K through 3. It will reach full capacity in 2019 with students through grade 8. It is a unique blend of Montessori practice and the high expectations of the no excuses charter model.

36. Environmental Charter School in Pittsburgh uses their theme to to building systems thinkers, explore complexity, and develop problem solving skills.

38. The Environmental Charter School at Frick Park in Pittsburgh develops students into critical thinkers, thoughtful innovators, and well rounded scholars (more after my visit next week.)

Middle Schools

39. KIPP Ascend Charter School and KIPP Create College Prep worked with Anirban Bhattacharyya (now at the KIPP Foundation) to led the develop large and flexible lab rotations instead of traditional lab rotations or station rotations giving teachers the flexibility of either being in the lab, working with small groups in their classrooms, or something else entirely. KIPP Washington Heights Middle School is also worth a visit. In addition to ST Math and Khan Academy, they use Newsela and Read180/ System44 in a combination of lab rotation and station rotation models at different points in the day. (See lessons from KIPP Math Blends.)

41. Incubator School is a NGLC winning LAUSD flex middle school ( profiled here) using Think Through Math, Mangahigh, TenMarks, Newsela, NoRedInk, StudySync, and Read180. The day includes roughly a third online, a third in projects, and a third in advisory.

44. James Madison Middle School in Oakland ( profiled here) is one of the blended learning pilot projects supported by the Rogers Family Foundation and Education Elements. Madison teachers use a two-group in-class rotation model. Math content includes DreamBox, Mangahigh, and Khan Academy.

45. Quest to Learn is a NYC game-based charter middle school ( profiled here). Game-based content includes Gamestar Mechanic, Atmosphir, and Mangahigh.

48. Spurgeon Intermediate School in Santa Ana integrates project-based learning with lab rotation in a newly rebuilt flexible learning space (see pictures and video on Facebook). They use ST Math, Read 180, and other resources. Gooru holds all of their Common Core units of study.

49. Whittemore Park Middle School was designated in need for improvement and launched a turnaround process in 2013. Working with Education Elements, Whittemore won an NGLC grant. The Horry County School (near Mrytle Beach) is a great example of community collaboration and district led digital conversion. (Check out their Personalized Digital Learning Initiative, a feature on the district's Whole Village strategy, and a recap of blended learning decisions.)

50. Achievement First Bushwick Middle School in Brooklyn is blending 90 minutes of math instruction and more than two hours of reading instruction every day. The talented principal is a former math teacher, has an MBA and was an BCG education consultant.

52. Camp Creek Middle School, Fulton County (Atlanta) is a high poverty, high mobility school Implemented the NewClassrooms Teach-to-One Math model this year for a group of almost 800 middle school students. Math has become personalized and students progress at their own pace while engaging in various instructional modalities.

Elementary + Middle Pairs

6-12 Schools

57. Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School - LAB opened their doors in the heart of the Brooklyn Tech Triangle this fall to 132 6th graders and will continue to grow at a grade per year until they reach full capacity with 6th - 12th grade. The LAB model personalizes learning with technology and tutors. It requires a staffing structure that allows small group instruction-no more than three students at a time. The LAB team includes six lead teachers and 24 Lab Tutor Corps Fellows, who are full time tutors, all with bachelor's degrees, who work with students in small groups or 1:1.

58. iTech Prep in Vancouver Washington is a 6-12 tech-rich STEM school featuring project-based learning. The middle school meet at a community center, the high school is on the WSU campus (watch video).

59. Highland Tech Charter School is a sixth (6) through twelfth (12) grade learning environment that promotes mastery learning through integrated project-based learning. The Reinventing Schools Coalition (RISC) philosophy of Shared Leadership, Shared Vision, and Personal Mastery through standards-based instruction with systemic and systematic Continuous Improvement is the foundation that guides our program.

High Schools

61. Credit Check. Career Path High, north of Salt Lake, is a flex high school located at a technical college. Students leave high school with a job certificate and college credit. (See trip report )

62. Show & Tell. High Tech High in San Diego is the best example of a high-engagement cohort model secondary school. Great teachers frame great projects and expect students to show what they know on a regular basis. When you're there, visit High Tech International across the street.

63. Mindset. While in San Diego, visit Kearny High School of Digital Media & Design. The student-centered project-based stresses productive "Habits of Mind."

64. 50/50 Blend. Carpe Diem in Yuma Arizona (and Indianapolis & Cincinnati) is the best example of a 50/50 blend with an effective combination of personalized online learning in a lab setting and workshops taught by master teachers. When you visit you'll immediately understand the power of the Carpe Diem culture (see my trip report from 2011 or Carri's trip report from 2013)

65. Flex. Flex model schools, like Silicon Valley Flex, use a digital curriculum to support individual progress (See feature and 12 reasons every district should open a flex school).

66. Flex network. Nexus Lansing is part of a 7 school midwest network of flex academies supported by Connections Learning. Students work at their own pace with access to teachers, a success coach, college counselor, and personal trainer.

68. Health. Cornerstone Health+Tech HIgh School, Detroit, combines individual goal setting, project-based coursework, online learning, internships and teacher support.

73. Interest-Based Learning. The 100-school Edvisions high schools use Project Foundry and a variety of tools to support project-based learning and authentic assessment. Start with a visit to teach run Minnesota New Country School.

74. Internships. The 100-school Big Picture network does the best job of identifying student interest and creating related internships. We featured Met East in Camden in a PBL post.

75. Social. New Milford High School is a great example of a digital turnaround. Former principal Eric Sheninger (@E_Sheninger, now at the International Center for Leadership in Education) light the fire and empowered teachers. (See feature.)

76. Travel. THINK Global School students use the latest equipment to "record, report, and share their global education online as they travel the world."

77. Challenge. NYC iSchool blends computer adaptive learning with challenges that require students to work together to present real solutions to real problems.

80. Character. DSST may be the best high poverty STEM school in the country but it's also really good at character development. "We're a values first organization," said CEO Bill Kurtz.

81. Journalism. The nation's biggest and best journalism program is Palo Alto High School. Esther Wojcicki asks her students to write at least 250 words every day. Students produce professional quality publications.

85. Entrepreneurship. Also in Philly is Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, a cool private school with a partnership with Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership

86. Liberal Arts. Chandler Prep, part of the Great Hearts network, is dedicated to providing a comprehensive liberal arts education and developing young people of character.

87. Alternative. Eagle Rock (@ EagleRockSchool) in Estes Park Colorado, is a initiative of @AmericanHonda, is both a high school and a professional development center for educators (and a very cool place to visit).

88. Tutoring. Match High School, Boston, utilizes individualized tutoring for every student in support of a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum.

92. Early College. Simons Rock is "a small, selective, supportive, intensive college of the liberal arts and sciences in the middle of the Berkshires." Students enroll after 10th or 11th grade. Simons Rock was the basis for the 6 school Bard Early College network where students can leave high school with an associates degree.

94. Alt Early College. Beaverton Early College High School is part of the a network sponsored by Portland Community College where at risk students can earn a high school diploma and an associate degree. (See Early College High Schools)

96. Global. West of Milwaukee is the lovely area of Kettle Moraine with a big high school that houses some very interesting charter schools including KM Perform, performing arts blend, and KM Global, a flex model global studies school.

Stay tuned for great K-12 schools and schools districts worth visiting. Thanks to many contributors. Sorry for all the great schools I missed. What school would you add to the list?
DreamBox, Curriculum Associates, MIND Research Institute, Connections Education, and Rosetta Stone are Getting Smart Advocacy Partners. Edmodo, eduClipper, Mangahigh, NoRedInk, and MasteryConnect, are a portfolio company of Learn Capital where Tom is a partner.

Tom Vander Ark is author of Smart Parents, Smart Cities and Getting Smart. He is co-founder of Getting Smart and Learn Capital and serves on the boards of 4.0 Schools, eduInnovation, Digital Learning Institute, Imagination Foundation and Charter Board Partners. Follow Tom on Twitter, @tvanderark.

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School visits are a great way to learn and key to developing an innovation mindset. Based on a couple thousand school visits and with help from colleagues and readers, we've compiled a list of 100 schools worth visits. Far from exhaustive, our list includes schools that achieve extraordinary results, create powerful learning experiences, and/or have created innovative technology blends.