Educators without Borders has developed several core initiatives over the past decade that it believes are critical to re-imagining learning for the 21st Century. First, we believe that teacher education must be conducted in the context of teaching and learning. The idea of a teaching hospital was developed by Educators without Borders founder Dave Blackburn in the late 90s. Dave was awarded a $5 million dollar National Science Foundation grant to develop a teacher residency model. Later the idea of teacher residency was used in Boston and Chicago. Dave used what he learned from the different teacher residency models to design a rural teacher residency in Central Louisiana. The Central Louisiana Academic Residency for Teachers (CART) (www.cain.lsu.edu/cart) included nine rural districts, two foundations, Advanced Learning Partnerships and Louisiana's flagship university, Louisiana State University. CART set out to build math and science pathways to increase college completion. We know that when a student takes algebra II he doubles the odds of graduating from college. Pre-service teachers serve a one year residency in which they co-teach four days a week and attend graduate school each Friday and over two summer semesters. The rural teacher residency model is unique in that unlike Boston which provides the resident with a graduate degree in education, the CART model provides a resident with a math or science content degree. CART is also unique in that Advanced Learning Partnerships provides residents and mentors with classroom coaching and modeling of effective teaching practice. Dave is now developing with Advanced Learning Partnerships a larger rural teacher residency model that includes rural districts in multiple states. The developed rural juggernaut will demonstrate to America's rural communities that if they band together they can dramatically improve teacher effectiveness at scale.
Second, it is clear that higher education and K12 must align in ways that improve student learning PreK-20. Early in 2012, Dave designed a College Partnership Lab School grant for Charlotte County Public Schools and Longwood University. The planning grant awarded by the Virginia Department of Education was one of only four awarded in Virginia. The partners enjoyed a decade long relationship around Longwood's Partnership program. The lab school grant will help Charlotte and other rural Virginia schools to mature their budding teacher residency models that will dramatically increase the number highly effective teachers in rural communities. Dr. Melody Hackney, Charlotte superintendent had this to say about our work after a August 2012 Governor's K12 College Partnership Lab School Summit. "As I sit in the Greater Richmond Convention Center at the Governor's K-12 Education Reform Summit, I am humbled by the "celebrity status" of Charlotte County Schools. After Longwood University's presentation (given by request by our own, Burlin Gregory) of our Lab School Grant Award on Tuesday at the Governor's Lab School College Day, Charlotte County Public Schools is once again, on the radar as a model school division for the Commonwealth. We have been greeted by the Secretary of Education, the Deputy Secretary of Education, our State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Executive Director of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents, representatives from the Virginia School Board Association, and our own Senator Frank Ruff, not just with supportive and congratulatory remarks, but with an almost routine acknowledgement of the pride and success of our little, rural school division and its incredible reputation. We have been reminded repeatedly how our lab school grant award and design stands out from the others. “
Finally, we recognize that the above initiatives represent large-scale change. Dave is a master change agent who has served many superintendents engaged in large scale change at the local and state level. He has assisted them in organizing and implementing large-scale change efforts over time. Dave learned from Harvard's Rosabeth Moss Kanter how to use a parallel theory of change. For example, in one large urban district, Dave used the parallel theory of change to pair three high flying schools with six struggling schools. The nine schools served as the district's re-norming unit. Dave trained the three principals for a year understudying Michael Fullan, Andy Hargreaves, Tony Alvarado and Richard Elmore. On a parallel track the district continued to do what districts do, e.g., hiring and firing, non-instructional support. Eight years later the district went from a few fully accredited schools to all 50 schools fully accredited and four of the five high schools in the top 100 high schools in America.
Second, it is clear that higher education and K12 must align in ways that improve student learning PreK-20. Early in 2012, Dave designed a College Partnership Lab School grant for Charlotte County Public Schools and Longwood University. The planning grant awarded by the Virginia Department of Education was one of only four awarded in Virginia. The partners enjoyed a decade long relationship around Longwood's Partnership program. The lab school grant will help Charlotte and other rural Virginia schools to mature their budding teacher residency models that will dramatically increase the number highly effective teachers in rural communities. Dr. Melody Hackney, Charlotte superintendent had this to say about our work after a August 2012 Governor's K12 College Partnership Lab School Summit. "As I sit in the Greater Richmond Convention Center at the Governor's K-12 Education Reform Summit, I am humbled by the "celebrity status" of Charlotte County Schools. After Longwood University's presentation (given by request by our own, Burlin Gregory) of our Lab School Grant Award on Tuesday at the Governor's Lab School College Day, Charlotte County Public Schools is once again, on the radar as a model school division for the Commonwealth. We have been greeted by the Secretary of Education, the Deputy Secretary of Education, our State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Executive Director of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents, representatives from the Virginia School Board Association, and our own Senator Frank Ruff, not just with supportive and congratulatory remarks, but with an almost routine acknowledgement of the pride and success of our little, rural school division and its incredible reputation. We have been reminded repeatedly how our lab school grant award and design stands out from the others. “
Finally, we recognize that the above initiatives represent large-scale change. Dave is a master change agent who has served many superintendents engaged in large scale change at the local and state level. He has assisted them in organizing and implementing large-scale change efforts over time. Dave learned from Harvard's Rosabeth Moss Kanter how to use a parallel theory of change. For example, in one large urban district, Dave used the parallel theory of change to pair three high flying schools with six struggling schools. The nine schools served as the district's re-norming unit. Dave trained the three principals for a year understudying Michael Fullan, Andy Hargreaves, Tony Alvarado and Richard Elmore. On a parallel track the district continued to do what districts do, e.g., hiring and firing, non-instructional support. Eight years later the district went from a few fully accredited schools to all 50 schools fully accredited and four of the five high schools in the top 100 high schools in America.