State education guru Ben points out that the Denver teacher’s union plans to submit a proposal this spring to create its own school, much in the mold of the recent Bruce Randolph and Manual High Schools break to independence. Ben is more generous than I would be, with the old “compete in the marketplace” thing. I think that if they manage a school like they manage their union, it’s a comedy of errors waiting to happen. Not for my kids, thankyouverymuch.
Meanwhile, Aurora has followed Denver’s lead in awarding autonomy to a public high school. William Smith High School will be governed by a leadership committee of parents, teachers, students and community members.
The pilot school program, modeled after a successful program in Boston, allows school staff to decide how to spend its budget and what type of curriculum to use. Pilots are similar to charter schools except they remain under the umbrella of the district.
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You know, I was just thinking the blog would look better if you posted more. Excellent!