Graduating from high school may guarantee students a diploma, but it does not guarantee readiness for the demands of college-level courses or the challenges of a competitive job market. Across the country, states have begun implementing the Common Core Learning Standards with the intention of addressing these shortfalls and helping prepare students for life after graduation. However, schools cannot simply raise the bar; implementing more rigorous standards also requires deep changes in how students are supported.
Springpoint School Design Partners was founded in 2013 as part of an effort by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, a foundation that has invested heavily in rethinking school design to accelerate and support student learning. Using Carnegie’s ten Common Core-aligned design principals as a framework, Springpoint is working with districts in New York, Cleveland, Denver, and Philadelphia to start new, innovative schools. In 2013, Springpoint asked Eskolta to develop guidance for school designers on how they can effectively collect and use data to create schools that are responsive to community needs. The course, which is based on Eskolta’s methods and the Carnegie design principles, consists of several modules, each of which is dedicated to a step in data collection, analysis, presentation, and use. Threaded throughout the course is the theme of dedication to iterative design: testing ideas and using the results to arrive at a system adapted to the real needs of students, families, educators, and the community.
In the School District of Philadelphia, school leaders are currently using the course to help them think about how to collect data, design surveys, and run focus groups as they prepare to launch two new Common Core-aligned schools in 2014. Complementing the focus on data, Eskolta School Development Consultant Tom McKenna is helping leaders create timelines and set expectations for progress. Eskolta’s lead researcher Amanda Crowell, who has been consulting directly with leaders throughout this process, reflects on the project: “I think Eskolta’s support is helping to smooth the way for these districts as they try to both learn a lot of new skills while also launching a school.” These efforts will be key for the District of Philadelphia to achieve its second aim of using evidence from these two schools to establish basic practices for research, development, and design of high-performing secondary schools in the long term. Through this work, Eskolta’s approach and experience is reaching a wider community. In Crowell’s words: “It will be exciting to see how it all turns out.”