91涩漫

Over the summer, 91涩漫 traveled the country to sit down for exclusive one-on-one conversations with educators, lawmakers, students, and parents who have jettisoned traditional concepts of American education in their push to rethink and reinvent schools for their communities.

Produced in tandem with the book release of by New York Times best-selling author David Osborne of the Progressive Policy Institute, 91涩漫 launched a special to serve as a multimedia platform that will share these stories of innovation from across the country 鈥� connecting the conversations we had in so many state capitols, municipal offices, charter schools, and innovation schools.

You can see our , cutting across our site visits to , , , and

Here are some of the standouts:

INDIANAPOLIS

We visited Indianapolis several times over the spring and summer (you can see, hear, and read ). A few notable highlights:

鈥� President, IPS Board of School Commissioners and former Democratic member of the Indiana House of Representatives: 鈥淚 think that we鈥檙e seeing the results of not caring about education all around us. And I think that our country鈥檚 in crisis.鈥�

鈥� CEO, George & Veronica Phalen Leadership Academies: 鈥淚 think love is central. In some schools they may not talk about it as love. If I have high expectations of you, that鈥檚 a form of expression of my belief in you, that could be construed as being love. I think all children need to feel like somebody just thinks they are the greatest that they can be.鈥�

鈥� Founder and principal, Global Preparatory Academy, Indianapolis: 鈥淚 know that kids like these, like mine that I love, are dying in schools all over the place. Because people are not invested. So when I hear teachers talk gruff with them or lose patience with them, this can be the utopia that changes their lives when it comes to how they see themselves.鈥�

NEW ORLEANS

We鈥檝e published . A few notable highlights:

鈥� Founder and school leader, KIPP Renaissance Early College Academy, New Orleans: 鈥淭he country has a responsibility to look to New Orleans to support these efforts because if we do this right, we can change what it means to be an educated person in the United States of America and have that be more than just again getting that math and ELA credit, but understanding the history of this super-complicated, super-rich history of this country in a way that makes us all better.鈥�

鈥� CEO, Collegiate Academies, New Orleans: “Starting a school is a real opportunity to create something special. A school that has unique and powerful emotional impact on a community can help build your relationship with a community and help strengthen a community.”

鈥� Orleans Parish School Board member: 鈥淭here are all these discussions about charter versus non-charter, voucher versus not voucher, district school versus not district school. Honestly, does a kid care? Does a parent care? No. They want the best for their kid, and all of the stuff that we fight about so often really is irrelevant to them.鈥�

DENVER

We鈥檝e published 11 interviews with students and school leaders in the Mile High City. . Some notable highlights:

鈥� Fifth-grader in Cornell University classroom, University Prep鈥揝teele Street, Denver: 鈥淟earning and growing my brain is so important to me because I want to accomplish good things in life when I grow up. I want to go to a good college. I want to have a good career in life. Because that鈥檚 something just very important to me.鈥�

鈥� Parent of second-grader Victor, Rocky Mountain Prep Southwest Elementary Charter School, Denver: 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even know about college at his age. I had no idea that people can go to college. Nobody had ever talked to me about college before. And now, having that support and that background from the school, not only me as a parent telling him, 鈥淗ey, you know, there鈥檚 college and you need to get there,鈥� but having the teachers also implement that in their curriculum and the kids knowing about college makes me feel safe.鈥�

鈥� CEO, A+ Colorado: 鈥淚n some ways it鈥檚 depressing to think how little things have changed, but on the other hand, we now have schools that are supporting most kids to be successful in college and career and life. And we didn鈥檛 have those schools before.鈥�

WASHINGTON, D.C.

We鈥檝e published nine interviews about schools and standards from Washington, D.C. . A few notable highlights:

鈥� Former chair and executive director, D.C. Public Charter School Board: 鈥淭he main thing was that we wanted to serve children well. There was no point in opening schools that were not going to do that. We had already had enough of that. Not that DCPS wasn鈥檛 trying, I think sincerely they were, but they were encumbered by themselves, by their attitudes, by history.鈥�

鈥� Founder, Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools for Public Policy, Washington, D.C.: 鈥淚t was really hard to start at a basement, as you can imagine. I was thinking, 鈥楳y goodness, how can parents trust me?鈥� They鈥檙e sending their kids here and we鈥檙e in the nation鈥檚 capital and here I am starting at a basement. But I think what kept me going is just realizing what makes the difference is the fact that we鈥檙e gonna have high expectations for the students.鈥�

鈥� Parent of a third-grader, Rocketship Public Schools鈥擱ise Academy, Washington, D.C.: 鈥淏efore, she didn鈥檛 like coming to school. They reward your child on good behavior, good academics, and things of that nature. When I say reward, they just notice them. Children like that鈥�. I saw that she tried her best at doing what she was supposed to do in school versus when she was in other schools. She tries much harder. She just loves, loves, loves learning now.鈥�

Watch more interviews, and read the complete history, at

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