CENTER FOR INNOVATION IN EDUCATION
C!E works with state education agencies and districts to improve public education systems by supporting shared learning and inclusive decision-making between policymakers, practitioners, and the learners, parents, and communities they serve.
Decades after a flurry of reforms promised to leave no child behind, why is it that a child’s zip code continues to predict their educational outcomes?
We believe these patterns have not changed in part because education systems in America still function to rank and sort children based on the outdated belief that some children's futures are more worthy of investment than others’.
We also believe that to overcome these challenges, education leaders should no longer look to a monolithic federal framework for answers, and instead education leaders should empower our communities to co-create the system in reciprocity with diverse constituents representative of the entire community, especially those who have traditionally not had a voice.
What if our education systems could demonstrate a commitment to every child’s future and marshal whatever resources were necessary to help each learner thrive? To do so, schools, districts, and state agencies would need to keep a pulse on the real-time needs and aspirations of each family they serve. They would need to open up to families and communities, taking cues not only from higher-ups but also directly from their stakeholders, and rebuild the trust in public education that has been eroded—especially with those most negatively impacted by the status quo.
We are learning that system transformation of this kind requires leaders and stakeholders to practice new habits of working together. These are the habits C!E practices in our systems transformation work with SEAs, districts and communities:
THE CHANGE WE SEEK
Transforming Education Systems and Restoring Public Trust
Inclusion
Intentionally inviting, including and valuing the perspectives of diverse stakeholders, especially those which are often devalued or left out of decisions that affect their communities.
Empathy
Truly listening and understanding the concerns of others and trying to understand how they feel—not just how they think or what their opinions are—about issues that affect them.
Co-Creation
The diverse stakeholders bring together multiple perspectives and understandings to—on an equal plane—collaboratively design, test, and refine solutions to a shared problem.
Reciprocity
The ongoing “give and take” between leaders and other stakeholders that acknowledgement of mutual dependence and acknowledge that ongoing responsiveness and two-way communication is necessary to build trust.
