Monday, 14 December 2009 17:22
With calendar year 2009 coming to a close and the budget season for school year 2010-2011 in full swing, most districts are faced with the financial reality that districts will have less money next year than they had this year. In my conversations with dozens of superintendents during the past month, many DMC member districts are looking for innovative ways to meet this challenge. At its core, we believe that innovative ideas will allow districts to do as much or even more with less.
We know from our work with school districts around the nation that examples of innovative ideas and practices exist in many places. However, it is rare to see districts identify, develop, grow and scale these innovative practices in a purposeful manner and even rarer still to see innovative practices scale sufficiently to have a meaningful impact on student achievement, operational efficiency or financial effectiveness. Moreover, very few districts take a “portfolio approach” to innovative practices – allowing a few to fail while investing more in those practices that work. These times of financial crisis require leaders to be bold in order to meet the great challenges ahead; paradoxically, playing it safer may actually be the riskiest path to success.
I am convinced and heartened that the most essential of American spirit – “innovation” is alive and well despite the grave challenges facing school leaders today. Our Management Advisory Brief below outlines our views on developing and scaling innovative practices in education, and discussed the federal Investing in Innovations (i3) grant program. Our upcoming Superintendents’ Strategy Summit in January of 2010 will also examine, outline and provide a path for districts to put these ideas into practice.
