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Minnesota Educators Host Coalition of Essential Schools Small Schools Project Network Meeting
Representatives of the nation's most effective high schools descended on Minneapolis today to help design new schools that will meet the needs of chronically underserved students.
This professional learning community is looking hard at how to make democracy and equity guiding principles of its work in order to insure better outcomes for students.
These educators from the Small Schools Project of the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) gather
for their quarterly network meeting to exchange experience, tools, and strategies and to shape the national conversation around designing high quality, intellectually challenging,
and equitable schools. Occurring over the next three days, the meeting is hosted by the Minnesota contingent of the Small Schools Project: EdVisions, the CES center in the area,
and two Twin Cities schools, El Colegio Charter School and High School for Recording Arts.
CES Small Schools Project network meetings are held in different locations around the country and are designed to build a learning community of educators from both new and
experienced CES schools. Currently, the network is comprised of some 40 exemplary schools representing many of the most effective high schools in the nation. "We are pleased
to welcome this elite group of practitioners to Minnesota and are proud to have local schools included in this effort," says David "T.C." Ellis, executive director of High School
for Recording Arts (HSRA).
The power of this learning community is derived from the exchange of knowledge and expertise in which experienced CES schools mentor design teams through the process of creating
new small schools. This school-to-school approach is a uniquely effective way to launch new schools and to sustain experienced schools committed to continuous improvement.
According to CES National executive director Lewis Cohen, "This peer-to-peer approach takes advantage of CES's twenty-year track record in educational innovation to launch the
next generation of exemplary CES high schools."
The Small School Project seeks to create instructionally powerful schools that primarily enroll students of color from underserved communities. One focus of this network meeting
is to share insights about designing democratic and equitable schools in which all students are served well, regardless of race, class, or gender. "These schools will make a difference
in the lives of children and families who haven't had access to an intellectually challenging and meaningful high school education," says David Greenberg, director of El Colegio Charter School.
"Not only will this open up a lifetime of opportunities for these students but it will also drive the national conversation around effective school reform."
Mentor schools like El Colegio and HSRA are sharing their experience in implementing the CES Common Principles, a proven and practical approach to school reform that is at the heart
of today's small schools movement and which aligns closely with the philosophy of EdVisions, an educational development organization based in Minnesota. "The research demonstrates
that schools effectively implementing the CES Common Principles have higher graduation rates and send more students to college," says Steven Rippe, director of the EdVisions Leaders
Center. "This has been true in a variety of contexts and especially in traditionally underserved urban communities."
The CES Small Schools Project, a five-year initiative made possible by an $18.7 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will eventually result in a nationwide network
of more than 60 schools all of which embody the CES ideal of small, personalized, intellectually vibrant and equitable learning environments.
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About CES
The Coalition of Essential Schools, founded in 1984 by Theodore Sizer, is an education reform organization dedicated to transforming American public education so that every child in
every neighborhood, regardless of race or class, attends a small, intellectually challenging, personalized school. The CES National office is in Oakland, CA, and there are currently
twenty-three CES centers across the country.
CES schools share a common set of beliefs about the purpose and practice of schooling, known as the CES Common Principles. Based on decades of research and practice, the principles call
for all schools to offer:
* Personalized instruction to address individual needs and interests
* Small schools and classrooms, where teachers and student know each other well and work in an atmosphere of trust and high expectations
* Multiple assessments based on performance of authentic tasks
* Democratic and equitable school policies and practices
* Close partnerships with the school's community
On the web at www.essentialschools.org.
About EdVisions
EdVisions Schools, the CES center in Minnesota, is an educational development organization dedicated to creating small, personalized middle
and high schools on a national level. EdVisions replicates the model created at the Minnesota New Country School combining personalized,
technology infused, project-based learning with teacher-ownership and democratic governance.
On the web at www.edvisions.coop.
About El Colegio Charter School
El Colegio is a public charter school in Minneapolis that is committed to changing the traditional high school experience. Serving a diverse
group of 85 students in grades 9-12, its areas of focus include the arts and technology, with a continual focus on Spanish/English bilingualism.
Students achieve knowledge in all subjects through project-based learning and work with advisors to develop their own curriculum consistent with
Minnesota's Graduation Standards. On the web at www.el-colegio.org.
About High School for Recording Arts
HSRA is a project-based, public charter school in St. Paul that operates within and around a professional recording studio. Its mission is to
provide youth the opportunity to achieve a high school diploma through the exploration and operation of the music business and other creative
endeavors. Students earn time in the studio by completing academic projects in the core learning areas of English, Mathematics, Science and
Social Studies. On the web at www.hsra.org.
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