Center on Reinventing Public Education

UP Academy is proud to be featured in the #CanopyProject, a collective research project that enables educators and ecosystem leaders to better understand how schools are innovating across the US. This project was launched in 2019 as a collaborative national effort to highlight equitable, student-centered innovation in K–12. Today, the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) and Transcend are releasing new and updated information about 189 innovative school designs, including UP Academy. The data is available on a new interactive data portal that makes it easy to browse the school data and view individual school profiles. Check out our school profile here. In a historically challenging moment for K-12 education, elevating examples of learning environments designing for equity and student-centered learning is more important than ever. Check out the Canopy today: www.canopyschools.org

Please join us in welcoming Melissa Fall, CRPE's Editorial Director! With more than a decade of experience in writing and editing, Melissa previously served as the assistant managing editor and interim managing editor of Education Next, a research and policy journal based at the Harvard Kennedy School. She has worked extensively with organizations focused on K–12 education and has also partnered with universities, tech companies, a social-impact consulting firm, and a major television network. She holds a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, where she was awarded the university’s highest honor in the literary arts for her writing. We're thrilled to have her on board!

New data from the Canopy Project, an effort to surface and amplify innovative learning communities across the country we co-lead with Center on Reinventing Public Education, uncovered school leaders' motivations for innovation. School leaders said they were motivated to innovate to: ⚫Show what’s possible in K-12 education (80%) ⚫Address systemic inequities like racism and poverty (56%) ⚫Address mental health concerns (47%) Learn more! https://lnkd.in/giRCRasd

Eraste Talla Ngoualadjo, who moved from Cameroon to Boston with aspirations to attend a four-year university in the United States, was taken aback by the exorbitant costs associated with higher education. Opting for a more financially feasible route, Eraste started at Bunker Hill Community College. As he plans to transfer to Northeastern or Boston University, the challenge of funding looms large. His story is a stark example of the financial hurdles many face, exacerbated by the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to strike down affirmative action and the widening socioeconomic gaps due to the pandemic. Research by Patrick Denice (University of Western Ontario) sheds light on these growing disparities, indicating a decline in college matriculation among Black and Hispanic students and a shift towards community colleges due to economic constraints. At the same time, the familiar "college for all" model is morphing, with more students pursuing pathways outside of the traditional four-year postsecondary path. How can high schools and policymakers better support students for the reality of the costs and challenges of pursuing higher education while also supporting other paths such as apprenticeships and trade programs? Read our latest from Sarah Carr: https://bit.ly/4cZABAf

NEW REPORT: How are teachers using #AI, and what do system leaders think about the technology's potential? Few #teachers are using AI yet in classrooms, but that could change this year as more districts offer training to their teachers, according to our latest report with results from the American Teacher Panel and the American School District Panel, a collaboration with RAND.    This report (Using Artificial Intelligence Tools in K–12 Classrooms) is the most comprehensive picture to date of how #educators are engaging with #generativeAI tools for teaching. Some key takeaways:   ➡ As of fall 2023, 18 percent of K–12 teachers reported using AI for teaching, and another 15 percent have tried AI at least once. ➡ Middle and high school teachers and those who taught English language arts or social studies were more likely to be AI users. ➡ Among those teachers who use AI for teaching, most were using virtual learning platforms, adaptive learning systems, and chatbots on a weekly basis. ➡ The most common ways that teachers used AI tools were 1. to adapt instructional content to fit their students' level and 2. to generate materials. ➡ By the end of the 2023–2024 school year, 60 percent of districts plan to have trained teachers about AI use. Urban districts were the least likely to deliver such training. ➡ In interviews, leaders described focusing more on increasing teachers’ AI use and less on crafting student use policy, primarily because they saw the potential for AI to make teachers’ jobs easier. Learn more in the full report ⬇ #AIinEducation #ArtificialIntelligence #GenAI #Teachers #Educators #AIInnovation

We asked students what they need to prepare them for a "good life" after high school. Their answers: Better college advising, academic preparation, and a broader range of postsecondary pathways to help them succeed in their transition to postsecondary life. Students deserve support in exploring multiple pathways to achieve what they define as a "good life," whether it's through college, vocational training, military service, or entering the workforce. Read more about our findings and recommendations in our latest blog post by Lisa Chu and Heather Casimere, M.A. #Education #StudentSuccess #PostsecondaryTransition #CareerReadiness #HighSchoolSupport

What do schools designed to promote equity and learner diversity look like in practice? What challenges are they solving for, and where are they? Find answers to these questions and more at www.canopyschools.org, a research collaboration between CRPE and Transcend. We released new data about 189 innovative schools, 300+ represented in our data portal. Explore the data by region, common approaches, and even student demographics. #education #k12ed #edinnovation #educationequity

ICYMI: Our newest report dropped last week ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ System leaders are at the forefront of designing and implementing innovative staffing models. This approach is not just about filling positions; it's about rethinking the very essence of the teaching role, from recruitment to job design and support. The journey is arduous, but the early indicators are promising: fewer vacancies, enhanced staff satisfaction, and significantly improved student learning experiences. But while the work is rewarding, it's also incredibly difficult—and the path forward requires a collective effort from policymakers, technical assistance providers, and the research community. Read more in our latest report on workforce innovation from Lydia R. Rainey, PhD, Steven Weiner, and Lisa Chu. #edinnovation #education #strategicstaffing #teaching #teachers

Learning doesn't just happen; you have to intentionally build a learning community. Last week in Houston, TX, we had the joy and privilege of gathering in person as part of the Innovative School Systems Grant community created by the Center on Reinventing Public Education. Teams from 11 districts and networks from around the country have been learning together on a 10-month journey in a community very thoughtfully designed by the CRPE team. Incubate Learning is part of the community in a coaching capacity. We visited schools in Aldine ISD, including one that created a welcoming, nurturing, and academically rigorous learning environment for newcomers to the country - the very people being demonized as 'not human' and worse. We heard them share their very human hopes and dreams for themselves, their families, their community, and their countries, including the U.S. They were open, honest, inspired, and inspiring -- the best of what America can be. Thank you, Aldine, for creating this learning community. https://lnkd.in/e4CKznx8 Bree Dusseault Caitlin Lennon Steven Weiner Lydia R. Rainey, PhD Shagun Singha Cara Pangelinan Lisa Chu Michael Berardino #innovation #k12 #leadership #schoolredesign

NEW REPORT: Innovative school staffing models are promising but challenging to scale up. What does the work of leading strategic staffing involve, and what could make scaling up easier? This report digs deep into the many challenges system leaders face when scaling up innovative staffing solutions. These leaders are trying to address longstanding teacher shortages and retention challenges by rethinking everything, including who they hire and how they design the job, provide support, build trust, and uproot old assumptions about the teaching role. The early results are promising: these leaders report fewer vacancies, higher staff satisfaction, and improved student learning experiences. This work is “so hard, but so rewarding”—and it could be much more manageable if policymakers, technical assistance providers, and researchers helped share the load. Read more in our latest report on workforce innovation from Lydia R. Rainey, PhD, Steven Weiner, and Lisa Chu. #teachinginnovation #futureofed #teachers #strategicstaffing