Cool Graph about the Growth of Charter Schools

click on image for animation

Whether you like them or not Charter Schools are here to stay. If we want our kids to have 21st century skills then they need schools that will help our students achieve them. Ronald Wolk in his book "Wasting Minds: Why our education system is failing us and what we can do about it" writes that what we need is in addition to reforming our existing schools is a parallel strategy of alternative schools focusing on creativity and innovation.  He says: 

"Standards-based accountability is here to stay – at least for a long time. So the only other rational response I can think of is to adopt a parallel strategy and pursue it simultaneously – what my friend Ted Kolderie (2010) calls 'a split screen' approach to improving education. [Link] Why should we bet everything on a single strategy, especially if it isn't working? Why not have at least one alternative strategy? Why not have parallel strategies that seek to achieve the same objectives? Why can't we walk and chew gum at the same time?" (Wolk, 2010)

Wolk holds promise for innovation in the marriage of technology with chartering. He says "Chartering and the Web, though still fledgling efforts, have laid the foundations for a second strategy of creating new educational opportunities that put students and learning first." (Wolk, 2010) Sounds good to me. Now how would that work? The Wanna do curriculum movement (see my book proposal) will be one positive step in that direction.

Kolderie, T (2010, April). Innovation-based systemic reform: Getting beyond traditional school. Education Evolving. Retrieved from http://educationevolving.org/pdf/Innovation-Based-Systemic-Reform.pdf