diplomas by showing what they’ve
learned, what they’ve accomplished,
and how they’ve grown. To graduate,
students must demonstrate proficiency
in creative arts, criticism, literature,
mathematics, social studies, and
science. For example, to demonstrate
creative arts proficiency, one student
made a film that portrays the experiences of black girls. She interviewed a
number of young women and built the
film around their stories. Her film, A
Girl Like Me, has won numerous awards
and was selected for the 2006 Tribeca
Film Festival.
At the beginning of each semester,
Urban Academy students participate in
a two- or three-week schoolwide
project. Fall projects are based on
provocative questions, such as Do elec-
tions matter? New York City offers a
wealth of educational opportunities, and
Urban Academy’s projects take students
out into the city to explore issues related
to these questions. Students and staff
meet in small groups to explore issues
related to the question; at the end of the
project, each group presents what it has
learned and done to the whole school.
Spring projects usually relate to arts and
crafts and include research into inter-
esting subjects.
education is spreading. With major
funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, the Met and New Country
models have been scaled up. Big Picture
Learning, which designed and established the Met, currently has a network
of more than 70 schools in the United
States and abroad. EdVisions, creator of
New Country School, has established
nearly 50 schools with the same structure and philosophy.
Many school districts publish mission
statements. The best of these statements
include such objectives as creating lifelong learners, developing the personal
values students need to negotiate the
ethical and moral dilemmas of life, and
providing students with the skills to be
productive workers in a rapidly
changing economy and responsible citizens in a democracy.
These are worthy objectives, essential
to individual fulfillment and the welfare
of the larger society. If we agree that
these are indeed the main goals of
education, then we must look deeply
and critically at the assumptions and
premises on which our schools are
organized and operated to see whether
they align with the goals. If they do not,
then we must discard them.
We will know we’ve succeeded when
society thinks of conventional schools as
the “alternative” schools. EL
An Approach Whose
Time Has Come
These three schools and others like
them are succeeding, usually with the
most disadvantaged youngsters. A much
higher than average percentage of their
graduates enroll in postsecondary
programs—often, these young people
are the first in their families to graduate
from high school, let alone attend
college. But to appreciate the power of
personalizing education, one has only to
spend time with the students—listen to
their stories, engage them in conversation, and see how motivated and confident they are.
The philosophy of personalized
References
Center for Education Reform. (2009).
National charter school and enrollment
statistics 2009. Washington, DC: Author.
Available: www.edreform.com/
_upload/CER_charter_numbers.pdf
Goodlad, J. (2009, August 4). What are
schools for? [Blog post]. Available:
http://forumforeducation.org/node/487
Ron Wolk is Chairman of the Big Picture
Learning Board in Providence, Rhode
Island. He is founder and former editor
of Education Week; Ronwolk@cox.net.
