The public schools of Zuni, New Mexico provide a striking example of Essential School principles adapted to a particular community’s needs and vision. When he first launched his native Zuni tribe on school change ten years ago, superintendent Hayes Lewis broke with a larger district to carve out an autonomous K-12 district for this reservation of 9,200. In a series
Whether they are Re:Learning schools or not, Pennsylvania schools this year received the first unambiguous message that new principles now underlie what the state expects from a public education. The State Board of Education circulated in September a 100-page document that redefines state curriculum and assessment regulations; after extensive public discussion and revision, it will take effect. Gone are the
As schools change, states can either help or hinder thier efforts. In California and New Mexico, New York and Pennsylvania, far-sighted policy makers are setting up structures that encourage bold steps in curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. Sooner or later, when schools begin to change in the fundamental ways advocated by the coalition of essential schools, they will run up against
In New York, a dramatic shift in the state’s education policy statement has directly involved Essential schools as key exemplars of school change. In fall 1991, as part of their ambitious “New Compact for Learning” reform agenda, the state’s Regents adopted a “Partnership Schools Program” aimed at getting schools to try bold new alternatives to traditional schooling. The first group