Since the only constant in life is change, the term “innovation” is everywhere. Often innovation is tossed around as though it offers promise for a better tomorrow. In education, however, that assumption can be misleading. All innovation is not equal and certainly not in the name of public education.
Take for example charter schools. Originally presented as laboratories for new approaches that would benefit all schools, many now serve only to accelerate the segregation of children based upon either achievement, income or ethnicity. Seldom does a public school or district leader comment about the value of research and development being advanced by a local charter school. One North Carolina charter that consistently ranks among the best schools in the nation achieves that designation as a result of discouraging low-performing students from remaining in the school.
That is exactly why the NC New Schools/Breakthrough Learning Board of Directors adopted specific guidelines for the conditions under which we support the design and implementation of charters. The guidelines suggest that schools offering subsidized meals, access to transportation and the recruitment of students to achieve the same diversity that mirrors their community all matter.
The new Northeast Academy of Aerospace and Advanced Technologies (NEAAAT) provides a powerful example of innovation as a charter school that includes a virtuous commitment to the broader community-and to public education. Located on the campus of a historically black college, Elizabeth City State University, the school’s board went the extra mile to remove barriers so that all students have access including those with special needs.
NEAAAT will also serve as a site for professional learning for teachers and administrators from the surrounding public school districts with a special emphasis in mathematics, science and connecting the curriculum to the needs of a changing economy. The school joins an emerging statewide network of university-sited STEM schools that form a peer-learning network among the public schools, titled the STEM Accelerator. The university-linked STEM schools, including NEAAAT and schools at UNC Charlotte and NC State University, will cooperate to advance innovation in all public schools in partnership with the UNC system, the NC Department of Public Instruction, NC New Schools/Breakthrough Learning and business/industry.
Philanthropic investors in the NEAAAT startup recognize that by working in cooperation with public schools across the region and the state, the school will benefit all students and serve as a driver for excellence in the public schools. It doesn’t get much more innovative—or more virtuous—than that. Our organization is proud to partner with those advancing virtuous innovation in the public schools.
