LEADERSHIP INCUBATOR STUDIO & COLLABORATORY

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Russell Industrial Center I-75 and Clay in Detroit

Russell Industrial Center

Russell Industrial Center

The Ask - Russell Industrial Leadership Incubator Studio & Collaboratory

COME AND JOIN US.

Visioning Meeting: Monday, September 29, 2008 10:00AM (John Iras' Office)

AGENDA

Discussion Targets:

Must Read: INNOVATION NATION (John Kao)

Creative Cities

Creative Cities Summit (Russell Center Visit October 13, 2008)

LISC (Leadership Incubator Studio & Collaboratory) Blog-site: http://liscdetroit.blogspot.com

Special Guest List

Brooke Franklin (Detroit Regional Chamber)

Shedrick Ward (DPS AIM PROGRAM)

Mike Tenbush (United Way / One-D Dropout Prevention Initiative)

Harold Brown (EdWorks / One-D Dropout Prevention Initiative)

Jered Davis (Highland Park High School)

Carlos Lopez (River Rouge District Schools)

Linda Paramore (Pontiac Schools District)

Mardella (Pontiac Schools District)

Bob Moesta (Edutronix)

Jim Hare (Techtown)

THINGS WE NEED
Lighting for setting mood (Lighting Man)

• Background music (keyboards) provided perhaps from a creative from CCS or DPS.
  

"YOU Tube" Video Set for Impromptu-Speakers (Two Minutes Rants)

• Video camera
• Internet connection
• PC
  

Signs of Life: Plants, Aquarium,

Thinking Sanctuary: Large Conference Table and Chairs
Large Bookcase (books),

Computer, Projector, Sound Speakers

Slide-show of Graphics

• 30 second videos to attract attention and imagination. Viewed on the "big screen". Train a "visitor" on how to create their own video, and that visitor trains the next visitor etc. Videos are posted to the blog and viewed on the "big screen".
• Internet connection
• PC
• Willing participant.
  

Roll-around Basketball Hoop and Ball

• Wall climbing
  

Putt Putt Golf (Hallway / Prized for hole in one/ and Studio)

• Art donations to be used as prises. Incentive for artists to donate, tax credit through 501.
  
• Social capital
• Donations made to charities in the immediate area. Gifts from the Creative Community at the Russell.
  

Signage (Various Themes)

• Interaction with volunteers from the creative/business community. Prompting engaged "visitors" to apply sticky notes (sharing their emotions/thoughts/ideas) to the various vision statement themes along the hall, walls, etc. Could be used as an artist corridor.
• Markers with a LISC logo, donated and created by a creative at the Russell.
• Sticky notes that suggest they should take action and share their emotions/thoughts/ideas.
  
• Social capital.
  
• Donations made to charities in the immediate area. Gifts from the Creative Community at the Russell.
• Gallery donations to display their talent, 501 tax credit to the contributing artist(s).
• Social capital.
  
• Donations made to charities in the immediate area. Gifts from the Creative Community at the Russell.

• Building Climate Control
• Alternative energies
• Solar
• Wind
  

GRANT
Digital Media & Learning Grant (Participatory Atelier)

Blog-site: "Post's" (Dalton, Student-Centric, DPS AIM Program,

• Creation of a collaborative distance work space. Blogs, Wiki, Webcams.
• Alernative Energy development.

NON-PROFIT VEHICLE
Russell Center (5011(c)(3)

Board Member Search

Art & Science (Russell Creative Force & STEM Science Center)

• A designated representative ( perhaps Ed) for the 501. Responsibilities, coordination/collections/location designator of Art pieces/tax credit forms for artist. Charity designation for donations.
  
• Creates social capital internally/externally from the RIC.

Ed Gardiner
Russell Center Job Opening (Ed Gardiner)

Knows the Creative People and Russell Management Team

Potential Leasing Agent:

• Added value Ed could bring:
• Social network such as Ning to allow the artists/business individuals freedom to upload artwork, advertising etc. to their page within the social network. Benefits the Russell community and the public as a touch stone for activities, services, to the entire social community through the wonders of email.
  
• Cost is free.
• Ed could train if necessary
  
• Provide internet access from the LISC.
  
• Community directory of who what where when and how. Brochure/small analog directory, or kiosk.
  
• Direct contact for 501 to the Russell community (others compelled to donate to LISC) and the leasing community.

TAP-IN to OUR CREATIVE SUBCONSCIOUS!

Article location:http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/129/rewiring-the-creative-mind.html

September 17, 2008

Neuroscience Sheds New Light on Creativity

By Gregory Berns

Close your eyes and visualize the sun setting over a beach.

How detailed was your image? Did you envision a bland orb sinking below calm waters, or did you call up an image filled with activity -- palm trees swaying gently, waves lapping at your feet, perhaps a loved one holding your hand?

Now imagine you're standing on the surface of Pluto. What would a sunset look like from there? Notice how hard you had to work to imagine this

scene. Did you picture a featureless ball of ice with the sun a speck of light barely brighter than a star along the horizon? Did you envision frozen lakes of exotic chemicals or icy fjords glimmering in the starlight?

What you conjured illuminates how our brains work, why it can be so hard to come up with new ideas -- and how you can rewire your mind to open up the holy grail of creativity. Recent advances in neuroscience, driven by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that lets scientists watch brain activity as never before, have changed what we know about key attributes of creativity. These advances, for example, have swept away the idea that there is a pleasure center in the brain that somehow acts as an accelerator to the engine of human behavior. Rather, chemicals such as dopamine shuttle between neurons in ways that look remarkably like the calculations modern robots perform.

Creativity and imagination begin with perception. Neuroscientists have come to realize that how you perceive something isn't simply a product of what your eyes and ears transmit to your brain. It's a product of your brain itself. And iconoclasts, a class of people I define as those who do something that others say can't be done -- think Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, or Florence Nightingale -- see things differently. Literally. Some iconoclasts are born that way, but we all can learn how to see things not for what they are, but for what they might be.

Perception and imagination are linked because the brain uses the same neural circuits for both functions. Imagination is like running perception in reverse. The reason it's so difficult to imagine truly novel ideas has to do with how the brain interprets signals from your eyes. The images that strike your retina do not, by themselves, tell you with certainty what you are seeing. Visual perception is largely a result of statistical expectations, the brain's way of explaining ambiguous visual signals in the most likely way. And the likelihood of these explanations is a direct result of past experience.

Entire books have been written about learning, but the important elements for creative thinkers can be boiled down to this: Experience modifies the connections between neurons so that they become more efficient at processing information. Neuroscientists have observed that while an entire network of neurons might process a stimulus initially, by about the sixth presentation, the heavy lifting is performed by only a subset of neurons. Because fewer neurons are being used, the network becomes more efficient in carrying out its function.

The brain is fundamentally a lazy piece of meat. It doesn't want to waste energy. That's why there is a striking lack of imagination in most people's visualization of a beach sunset. It's an iconic image, so your brain simply takes the path of least resistance and reactivates neurons that have been optimized to process this sort of scene. If you imagine something that you have never actually seen, like a Pluto sunset, the possibilities for creative thinking become much greater because the brain can no longer rely on connections shaped by past experience.

In order to think creatively, you must develop new neural pathways and break out of the cycle of experience-dependent categorization. As Mark Twain said, "Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned." For most people, this does not come naturally. Often, the harder you try to think differently, the more rigid the categories become.

Most corporate off-sites, for example, are ineffective idea generators, because they're scheduled rather than organic; the brain has time to predict the future, which means the potential novelty will be diminished. Transplanting the same mix of people to a different location, even an exotic one, then dropping them into a conference room much like the one back home doesn't create an environment that leads to new insights. No, new insights come from new people and new environments -- any circumstance in which the brain has a hard time predicting what will happen next.

Fortunately, the networks that govern both perception and imagination can be reprogrammed. By deploying your attention differently, the frontal cortex, which contains rules for decision making, can reconfigure neural networks so that you can see things that you didn't see before. You need a novel stimulus -- either a new piece of information or an unfamiliar environment -- to jolt attentional systems awake. The more radical the change, the greater the likelihood of fresh insights.

Some of the most startling breakthroughs have had their origins in exactly these types of novel circumstances. Chemist Kary Mullis came up with the basic principle of the polymerase chain reaction, or PCR -- the fundamental technology that makes genetic tests possible -- not hunched over his lab bench, but on a spring evening while he was driving up the northern California coast. Walt Disney was a decent illustrator, but he didn't imagine the possibilities of animation until he saw his advertising illustrations projected onto the screen in a movie theater. In an extreme example, the preeminent glass artist Dale Chihuly didn't discover his sculptural genius until a car accident led to the loss of an eye and literally forced him to see the world differently. Only when the brain is confronted with stimuli that it has not encountered before does it start to reorganize perception. The surest way to provoke the imagination, then, is to seek out environments you have no experience with. They may have nothing to do with your area of expertise. It doesn't matter. Because the same systems in the brain carry out both perception and imagination, there will be cross talk.

Novel experiences are so effective at unleashing the imagination because they force the perceptual system out of categorization, the tendency of the brain to take shortcuts. You have to confront these categories directly. Try this: When your brain is categorizing a person or an idea, just jot down the categories that come to mind. Use analogies. You will find that you naturally fall back on the things you are familiar with. Then allow yourself the freedom to write down gut feelings, even if they're vague or visceral, such as "stupid" or "hot." Only when you consciously confront your brain's shortcuts will you be able to imagine outside of its boundaries.

Adapted from the book Iconoclast, by Gregory Berns, by permission of Harvard Business Press. Copyright 2008 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp. All Rights Reserved.

Russell Center Meeting Agenda 9-25-2008

21st CENTURY CLASSROOM DESIGN with the GENERATIVE END IN MIND!

21st Century Classrooms: What's the Look and Feel?
by Leslie Wilson

We've talked to death the characteristics of the able 21st century learner. We can well name the skills and qualities required for students to successfully engage and contribute today and for the future. Let’s not forget to mention the shift in pedagogy that must occur to accomplish all of this. And, of course, there’s the great need to infuse technology in a seamless manner.

But what does this mean – practically and tactically? It’s time to commit this conversation to authentic models of real-live schools, classrooms, students, teachers and tools. One-to-One Institute has begun the process of pulling around concrete examples so that we have working archetypes of the 21^st century education environment. Following provides an outline of this effort. For this blog, I’ll provide this overview. In upcoming pieces I will dive deeper into key concepts.

First, why is there this imperative to create this ramped up and retooled environment? Aside from the numerous reasons we can recite, consider the huge increases that globally exist for accessing the Internet over the past eight years. Statistics follow.

Country	Population 2008 est	Internet Usage Growth 2000-08
Africa	955,206,348	1,031.2 %
Asia	3,776,181,949	406.1 %
Europe	800,401,065	266.0 %
Middle East	197,090,443	1,176.8 %
North America	337,167,248	129.6 %
Latin America & Caribbean	576,091,673	669.3 %
Oceania / Australia	33,981,562	165.1 %
Total	6,676,120,288	305.5 %

(Source: Internet World Stats - Miniwatts marketing group 2001-08 ©)

If we aren’t compelled by the Internet effects in our own neighborhoods and communities, think about the numbers of people in all parts of our world who are accessing, sharing, collaborating, purchasing, downloading, and adding information. The train is traveling so fast that we are pressed to get on at any one station!

Other reasons? How about the manner in which our world has shrunk due to emerging technologies and the ‘twitch’ factor of today’s learners (and me) meaning ‘I want the information now and fast’ with precious little tolerance for even a minimal delay in exchange? How about the fact that today’s students will have around 12 to 15 careers in their life spans – requiring skills for adapting and flexing to be successful in those shifts and within unique environments? These students/workers will be ‘producers’ of content and knowledge – not passive recipients. The entrepreneurial spirit will be required for successful innovation and accommodation within the work world.

Second, pedagogy has to retool to get at 21^st century skill development. The move to student-centric instead of teacher-centric classrooms is required. Teachers become facilitators, organizers – really orchestra directors if you will. They need to know each student’s sweet spot in order to accordingly organize the day’s learning experiences and resources. Students will become self-directed and engaged as evidenced by recent research.

Third, the leadership required for the ‘new’ environment must be ‘generative’ (Klimek, Ritzenhein, Sullivan 2008). Beyond developing the shared vision, supporting and empowering, today’s leader must construct opportunities for creating.

Defined, generativity is ‘the capacity or ability to create, produce, or give rise to new constructs, new possibilities’. The generative leader understands that the 21^st century school is a dynamic system. Each person within it is integral to the present and future. These leaders focus on innovation, ideas and creativity and are able to be directive when needed. They possess a productive spirit with a focus on the future.

Fourth, the classroom has no walls. Maybe this is true from a physical standpoint. It is definitely true from a virtual perspective. Because technology is ubiquitous, it is part of the fabric of teaching, learning, exploring, problem-solving, collaborating, seeking and sharing knowledge. It is a busy, often noisy, robust environment.

Students are sharing and moving about the school and classroom to devour their daily learning. Collaborative relationships and partnerships are apparent across the globe, region, throughout the school and community. Learning is relevant through a constructivist approach.

Project-based learning is a common foundation for instruction. What adults call Web 2.0 tools, students engage for relationship building and networking on a variety of fronts.

There is more to share about the ‘reality’ of a 21^st century learning and teaching environment. I will share that information in my next blog. As always, I welcome your comments and questions!

Leslie Wilson is President of One-to-One Institute (OTO), a national not-for-profit serving schools, districts, states and countries in their implementation of 21^st century teaching and learning. OTO’s genesis is Michigan’s Freedom to Learn, one-to-one teaching and learning program. Ms. Wilson’s consultancy, Wilson Public Sector Consulting, LLC, serves the education industry. She holds a BS Ed and completed Ed Leadership doctoral work from the University of Michigan, Sp Ed Administration endorsement from Eastern Michigan University and M. Ed in Instructional Technology from Wayne State University. lesliew@one-to-oneinstitute.org

Intention Aligns with OUR Purpose!

Posted: Monday, 22 September 2008 6:08PM

Dow's Liveris Demands Manufacturing Policy; Econ Club Sets National Summit

Dow Chemical Co. CEO Andrew Liveris made a plea for a national manufacturing policy Monday at the Detroit Economic Club, which also announced a national economic summit for Detroit next June that Liveris will co-chair.

In his speech, Liveris said the policy should include measures sure to raise Democratic hackles -- cutting the corporate tax rate, "reinventing" regulation, and "reforming" what he called "an out of control civil justice system that adds a huge cost burden to American enterprise."

But in a press conference after his speech with William Clay Ford Jr., chairman of Ford Motor Co., Ford also mentioned other possible aspects of the policy that might raise Republican hackles.

Ford said his auto company is profitable virtually everywhere except the United States, then pointedly noted that "most countries where we operate, the employer doesn't carry the health care burden" as Ford does in the U.S. -- a hint of a desire for health care reform that would remove employers from responsibility for providing insurance.

And Ford said a national manufacturing policy should address "trade policies .. some markets are not open to us, some are only open in theory," signaling taking a tougher stand on free trade.

Monday's Economic Club event was also the official announcement of the club's plans for The Naitonal Summit: A Gathering To Define America's Future."

The summit, co-chaired by Liveris and Ford, intends to convene leaders in business, politics and academe on four issues -- technology, energy, the environment and manufacturing.

At this point, plans call for each day of the summit June 15-17 to start with a kickoff plenary session of experts, followed by a "town hall of town halls," meetings of 200 to 300 people on the four topics, with an audience both in person and online responding electronically to a series of questions to help shape recommendations. Each day will end with a closing session called "Summit Up," summarizing the ongoing discussion and reporting on the electronic voting data.

There will also be a CEO summit and a "C-suite" for event leaders, a future leaders program for high school and university studetns and an "Innovation Celebration" meant to match up entrepreneurs, venture cpaital and researchers to create economic growth.

Liveris said the need for the event is dire. The U.S. economy has lost 3.7 million manufacturing jobs in the past 10 years -- half a million just since the end of 2006.

He said the nation needs an industrial policy that treasures "what first made it strong -- a vibrant industrial and manufacturing base that drives innovation, technology and creates jobs ... Ladies and gentlemen, let us never forget that the very life force and strength of this great country begins here, in America's heartland."

Liveris said the corporate tax rate in the U.S. is the second highest in the industrialized world. And he portrayed regulation as a hodgepodge, bewilderingly complex $10,000-per-worker burden that should be replaced by "sound regulation based on sound science based on logic."

Liveris also said the U.S. desperately needs a comprehensive energy policy that basically looks at all forms of energy and says "yes."

As in, yes to offshore oil drilling. Yes to more funding for energy efficiency. Yes to more money for developing to renewable energy. Yes to more nuclear power plants. Yes to an "Apollo-like R&D project to put America's brains to work, to solve the carbon capture and sequestration question so we can use -- safely and responsibly -- that 200 year supply of coal beneath our feet."

Liveris faulted Congress for failing to pass an extension of the Renewable Energy Tax Credit.
But he didn't blame a particular party for what he described as Washington's many failures.
Liveris said the "only path forward is one of collaboration and coordination, public and private sectors, Republicans and Democrats, industry and envrionmentalists, working together with the goal of finding and removing obstacles. And we need to start where the major challenges of our day intersect, on manufacturing, on jobs, on energy and the environment."

To listen to highlights of the event, visit www.econclub.org.

© MMVIII WWJ Radio, All Rights Reserved.


TOM WALSH


Summit on economy, energy is coming to Detroit in June


BY TOM WALSH • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • September 22, 2008

In a bold attempt to make Detroit the stage for an unprecedented national debate and dialogue on the economic and energy future of the United States, the Detroit Economic Club will host what it's calling the National Summit from June 15-17 at Ford Field.

Corporate chief executives from across the nation, superstar academics and, it's hoped, the next president of the United States will join in the three-day event, said Beth Chappell, president of the Economic Club and instigator of the summit.

Chappell will formally announce details of the summit today, after Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris speaks to the club at Cobo Center in Detroit.

"The inspiration to do this came from listening to the voices at our podium, time after time, calling for collaboration and the urgency to tackle key issues for the future of our country, the future of our children and grandchildren," Chappell told me. She has been working on the idea for nearly two years and has raised more than $2 million in pledges from sponsors to finance the event, whose cochairs will be Liveris and Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr.

Chappell said the event will not be focused on Detroit, Michigan or the auto industry, but rather on key national issues of technology, energy, environment and manufacturing. Think of the World Economic Forum's annual gathering of the mighty and powerful in Davos, Switzerland, but with a U.S. focus.

Registration information will likely be posted on www.nationalsummit.org after Jan. 1, she said.

Each day of the summit will begin with a session featuring a panel of nationally known leaders discussing a specific issue, followed by town hall sessions that will include electronic voting on ideas and solutions.

One session will feature cross-industry CEOs, government officials and others who summarize discussions and report on the voting data.

Another element of the event will be what Chappell called an "innovation celebration," in which inventors and entrepreneurs can connect with corporations and venture capitalists.

"This is totally nonpolitical, nonpartisan, which makes the Detroit Economic Club uniquely suited to host this kind of national conversation," Chappell said.

The Detroit club, which will celebrate its 75th anniversary next year and does not pay its speakers, often turns up on lists of the nation's most respected podiums for speakers on business and public policy issues.

Just as Switzerland is an appropriately neutral site for the World Economic Forum shindig in Davos, a heartland city such as Detroit is a natural for the National Summit.

Chappell hasn't yet pinned down an extensive list of national CEOs and political figures who will participate.

But if she and the club pull this off and get a ton of national attention, it will be an impressive feather in the cap of the club and its home city and state.

Contact TOM WALSH at 313-223-4430 or twalsh@freepress.com.

Posted: Sunday, 21 September 2008 2:49PM

Detroit Economic Club To Host National Economic Summit

The Detroit Economic Club will announce today plans to host a national economic summit June 15-17 at Ford Field in Detroit.The event has an imposing ambition. In an interview with WWJ Newsradio 950, Economic Club president and CEO Beth Chappell said the event will seek to "define America's future."

Chappell said the event will convene major-company CEOs, prominent government officials, academics, authors and other experts, and will be centered in the economic areas of technology, energy, the environment and manufacturing.

"What we are asking people to do is put our industry silos and partisan politics in our pockets for a few days and focus on our future as a country,"

Chappell said. The event also intends to celebrate American invention.

The timing of the event, she said, is no accident -- next June should be "the perfect time to engage the next administration in these issues."

Chappell said the Economic Club started planning the event about 18 months ago, long before more recent economic shocks like $4 a gallon gas and the financial markets' mortgage and derivatives meltdown.

More details of the event are to be released Monday at an Economic Club luncheon featuring a speech from Dow Chemical Co. CEO Andrew Liveris about the Midland chemical giant's transition from a commodity chemical maker to a highly profitable specialty chemicals firm with large stakes in the future of electronics and renewable energy.

More at http://www.econclub.org/.

© MMVIII WWJ Radio, All Rights Reserved.

Russell "People's Art Festival & Bazaar!"

Intentional Transformation (KEY)!

Creativity + Innovation + Minds & Things = Generative Serendipidy

Networked Education Model (Doesn't Care Where You Are)

EDUTOPIA

Editor's Note: Bringing School to the Information Age

The new reality is that the public-education system is no longer the only, or the paramount, place where we go to learn.

by James Daly

Credit: Veer

For more than 150 years, the local public schools were our community's temple of knowledge. They dutifully gathered, assimilated, and dispensed the wisdom of thousands of years of insight and learning to the eager (and sometimes not-so-eager) ears and eyes of fidgeting youth. Once you left the school's care, however, as a young adult, you were pretty much on your own to track down the information and wisdom that would lead to a more enriched mind or pocketbook.

Then something dramatic happened. In 1989, researcher Tim Berners-Lee was noodling around in his Swiss lab, working on a way for his colleagues to share ideas electronically on different networks using an odd jumble of computers. He came up with an online knowledge-sharing device: the World Wide Web. By the mid-1990s, new Web browsers produced by companies such as Netscape and Microsoft made sailing through the sea of online information simple; Berners-Lee had inadvertently kicked open a door to the world's knowledge.

Then came the crackling summer of 1995. While a staggering heat wave scorched the country -- New York City had a record-setting streak of twenty-four consecutive days with no precipitation, while out in the Great Plains, a freight train derailed when the tracks warped in 112-degree heat -- Netscape planned something even hotter: It went public. When that offering happened on August 9, the company's stock and its fortunes skyrocketed. Where there is money to be made (and Netscape was making billions), inventiveness and ambition followed.

The rest of the story, writ in large neon letters, has been a redistribution of knowledge that has essentially turned our world upside down and inside out (or is it the other way around?). In the past decade, the easy access to nearly any piece of information imaginable has become an expected part of our daily life. We've been Googled and YouTubed and iPodded so completely that the names of these very companies have seared into our cerebral cortex, even becoming verbs ("Did you google it?") in our daily chatter.

What happened with our schools? Not much. They continued to plod on gamely, passing out paper-based textbook after paper-based textbook, keeping their rooms and halls nearly free of the technology saturating their students' lives. The public-education system was a modern-day Rip Van Winkle, dozing peacefully beneath its educational elm while the distance increased between the technology that schools provided and the daily reality of the world students live in.

Subtly, but inexorably, schools -- or, for that matter, libraries -- were no longer the key holders to the temple of knowledge. A millennia-old arrangement of information distribution disappeared in the time it took for a newborn to reach fifth grade.

The new reality is that the public-education system is no longer the only, or the paramount, place where we go to learn. Most likely, the average child did his or her first Google search on a home computer. For many kids, they probably first logged on to a network (most likely AOL or Yahoo!) remotely, using a portable PC a parent brought home from the office. Their first online chat was more likely to happen at home while the child was enjoying Club Penguin than it was in English class.

This shift represents a fundamental restructuring of what public education is all about. Schools must now jump into the river of information provided by business, international groups, and the media and step into a new role: assembler of the collective intellect. Educators must help students sort out the insightful from the ludicrous, assisting them in their new role as capable and critical thinkers. Schools should not shun the seemingly endless variety of outside information sources, but should instead see them as new sources of inspiration for their daily lessons.

In an age when the flow of information was limited and controlled, schools were worthy gatherers of knowledge. That world is gone. Public education has entered a new phase, and it's time for it to catch up to the students it's charged with teaching.

Editor in Chief
James Daly

Meeting: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 9:00AM

Go Green!

Posted: Sunday, 07 September 2008 2:33PM NY Times' Friedman To Focus On Green Revolution In Ypsi Speech

Three-time Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman will offer the keynote at a day-long event focused on making green power the next great global industry. The event, bringing together and recognizing Michigan's leading alternative energy companies, features remarks by University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman and Michigan State University President Lou Anna Simon in addition to Friedman. The program begins at 12:20 p.m.; registration starts at 10:30 a.m. Friedman's No. 1 bestseller "The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century," changed the national discussion on the opportunities and challenges of a global economy. His newest book, "Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution -- and How it Can Renew America" is the topic of his address, as energy has become one of the top election year issues. The event is being organized by the Washtenaw Economic Club, the Michigan Business Review and Michigan's University Research Corridor. Friedman's talk is part of a day-long focus on Michigan-based innovations forming the seeds of a growing green energy industry, including Michigan Business Review Innovation, bringing together Michigan's most innovative companies utilizing and supplying alternative energy. The University Research Corridor will also make available a new report offering a break-out on Michigan's opportunities for developing green technologies. Friedman's new book contends America has been overwhelmed with articles about "easy ways to go green'' and notes "green'' was the single-most trademarked word in 2007 but he complains the over-abundance of such articles shows the makings of "a party -- not a revolution.'' The real changes, he contends, will be hard, not easy, and most are yet to come. Despite the increasing need for new green technologies, U.S. venture capital funds invested just $5 billion in green revolution investments last year compared to $100 billion invested in IT in 2000, the peak of the dot-com boom, Friedman notes. "Anyone who looks at the growth of middle classes around the world and their rising demands for natural resources, plus the dangers of climate change driven by our addiction to fossil fuels, can see that clean renewable energy -- wind, solar, nuclear and stuff we haven't yet invented -- is going to be the next great global industry,'' Friedman wrote in a recent column. "It has to be if we are going to grow in a stable way. Therefore, the country that most owns the clean power industry is going to most own the next great technology breakthrough -- the E.T. revolution, the energy technology revolution -- and create millions of jobs and thousands of new businesses, just like the IT revolution did." Friedman, the Times' foreign affairs columnist who has done his research in many countries around the world, argues that a population explosion, a "flattening world'' with China, India and their rising middle classes, as well as climate change have all converged. Calling it a hopeful book, he argues that "if America seizes the opportunity to solve these problems it will be a huge engine propelling our economy in the 21st century." The University Research Corridor, an alliance of Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University, was formed to transform, strengthen and diversify the state's economy. The universities are working together to leverage their collective assets and encourage collaboration with business, government and communities to help accelerate innovation and economic growth. A limited block of 1,000 free tickets for the speech only are available to MSU, U-M and WSU students, faculty and staff. They are available at the URC campuses: At U-M, call (734) 763-5554 or visit the Michigan Union Ticket Office. University ID required (limit two tickets per person). At MSU, call (517) 353-9000. At WSU, call (313) 577-5284. Tickets to the general public are $30. Premium business tickets (including lunch and premium seating) are $120. For more information, contact Ashley Robinson, (734) 302-1726 or Karen Koziel, (734) 302-1719 for table sponsorships. For more details visit: www.mlive.com/innovation or www.washtenaweconclub.com/tix.php

© MMVIII WWJ Radio, All Rights Reserved.

Meeting: Saturday, August 23, 2008 9:30AM

Mindmapping Intentions!

*Meeting Russell Center Leadership 11:00AM

A "Ticket to Ride!"

IN OUR OPINION

United Way takes lead in preventing dropouts

August 11, 2008

Leadership requires more than just talking about a problem. It takes commitment and action.

The United Way for Southeastern Michigan is truly taking a leadership role in attacking the issue of high school dropouts, a critical challenge for the economy and well-being of this region.

For the second time this year, the United Way is putting action behind its expressed concern for improving the educational outcomes of students in high poverty districts. The first step was to host a first-of-its-kind regional summit, to expose the painful societal costs of having 30 of the nation's so-called dropout factories right here in metro Detroit.

The event was an eye-opening success for participants who realized the dropout problem is not confined to Detroit.

Last week came the United Way's tangible long-term commitment to solutions, with the creation of the $10-million Greater Detroit Education Venture Fund to help high schools with dropout rates of 40% or more. The money will be disbursed in competitive grants of up to $80,000 per year over five years and paid to well-vetted third-party educational companies that the United Way will designate to partner with schools.

Ideally, the United Way is looking to align troubled schools with companies nationally recognized for turning them around in cities such as Chicago, Miami, New York and Cleveland. The goal is for the companies to help schools identify their students' challenges and then customize a learning environment that could involve breaking a large school into smaller ones within it.

The project should be a good complement to Gov. Jennifer Granholm's smaller school initiative. And it's likely to have a faster impact, given the absence of partisan bickering and general government bureaucracy. In fact, United Way's fund is already approaching the halfway point toward its $10-million goal, with $4 million committed, including a generous $1-million pledge from AT&T of Michigan and investment from the Skillman Foundation.

AT&T Michigan president Gail Torreano said the company's commitment will come from $100 million that AT&T is donating nationwide to efforts to improve educational preparedness, a key workforce issue for employers.

"We ought to have the expectation as a region that we can create change, a better outcome for students," United Way CEO Mike Brennan said in an interview last week. "This is an urban and a suburban issue, one we are collectively accountable for."

Bravo to Brennan for speaking the truth and for being so committed to leading the region in a united way.



Test scores show need to get more help to students

August 11, 2008

The results from the latest Michigan Merit exam once again expose a gaping hole in the state's strategy to turn out a smarter class of high school graduates.

With more than half the high school juniors tested showing failing scores, the State Board of Education needs to take a closer look at whether school districts are identifying struggling students early enough and linking them with tutoring resources that are supposed to be available under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Michigan can't leave this question unanswered after finally installing one of the nation's toughest high school curriculums. The change remains a smart one for Michigan, but if it's going to pay off, the state has to be equally tough and insistent about aiding students who need help making the academic leap.

The dismal scores students are posting under the tougher exam are somewhat to be expected and will probably improve as school districts more closely align their lesson plans with the state objectives.

But the sea change Michigan is trying to lead in its schools also demands a level of coordination and strategic planning that frankly should include an examination of whether middle schools are adequately preparing students or simply passing future failures off to high school.

Paying more attention to what's happening in middle school strikes at the heart of the state's other academic high hurdle -- stemming the tide of high school dropouts. The decision to quit rarely comes suddenly in high school; it's a product of long academic frustration that can be spotted by looking at indicators much simpler than test scores, such as attendance.

The best way to prevent dropouts is to identify the potential failures early, well before they reach high school. That's also the smartest way for Michigan to protect its investment in the more rigorous curriculum and merit exam.

A Students 2.0 Perspective on THINKING DIFFERENTLY and a PREREQUISITE for INNOVATION!

Think Different

Posted: 07 Aug 2008 11:14 AM CDT

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward. Maybe they have to be crazy. How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels? We make tools for these kinds of people. While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Some of you may recognise that as the famous Apple ‘Think Different’ text, others may not, but I guess whether you’ve read it before or have read it for the first time there, we can pretty much all agree that it’s an inspiring piece of text. The thing that surprised me was that when reading through it I realised that all you need to do is change one tiny piece of the text to change the whole context of it.

“We make tools for educate these kinds of people”

In my mind, that’s now one hell of a motto for a better education system.

Let’s face it; the current education system just doesn’t know how to handle these kinds of people. “The round pegs in the square holes,” as Apple refers to them. The system doesn’t understand creativity. It robs all students of their creative consciousness and replaces it with structure, structure, and more structure, only to prepare them for a 9-to-5 job, Monday to Friday, every week of every year for the rest of their lives. Art, Music, Drama… you name it, the current system has a course for it. But that course doesn’t do any form of justice to the many greats that have over hundreds of years created amazing works and done incredible things, demonstrating how beautiful these arts can be. Students aren’t told to let passion drive them forward, or let their inspiration flow and their imagination stop at nothing. They are told to follow the rules, and do whatever it takes to get a ‘pass.’ Where would we be if Bach was told his Brandenburg concertos ‘didn’t quite meet the required standard’? What would have happened if Van Gogh was told his paintings just ‘didn’t make sense’?

It doesn’t stop at the arts. The suppression of creativity is seen in all fields of learning within the current system, giving no room for our real geniuses to shine. And why? Because the system has an obsession with testing, and at the end of the day you can’t test real genius, because you just can’t grade it. Who really has the right to say that a piece of music is an A or B or whatever else? Why should someone sitting in a fancy government office be able to sit there and write the rules that decide whether this piece of writing would make the grade or not? Why can’t the people deciding our futures for us be content with having some classes that have no exams? Classes that are solely there to help stimulate the different skills we all possess, without having to put us under the constant pressure of being bombarded with test after test and grade after grade. Do they see this as ‘non-educational’?

Think of the wealth of talent that is being and has been squandered due to this system. How many people would have become the next great composer if they had been given just that little bit more leeway? How many people would have had the courage to write their own novel, because they wouldn’t have been told they ‘weren’t good enough’? How many people failed to ever recognise their own potential because they were too busy striving for the best grades possible? Only so they could get a ‘good’ job in an office, with a ‘good’ salary.

Don’t get me wrong, we need the people in offices to do the things that keep our public services running and our economy going, but we also need the people who create, invent, and change things. We need the people who “sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written,” because Apple is right; they push the human race forward, and have done for as long as the human race has been around. But they can’t continue to do so if we don’t help them realise they are capable of doing so. They can’t invent the cure for cancer, or compose a great symphony, or write a magnificent piece of literature if our education system tells them exactly how everything should be, and what they should learn, and what they are aiming to do with their lives. Give them the opportunity. Let them decide.

We make the mistake of thinking that the people that do well in school are the ‘smart’ ones, but that isn’t always the case. These people may just be good at retaining information and reciting it back under pressure, or may just be good at problem solving. Our schools teach these kinds of people well, because they know how to deal with them. All you need to do with these people is throw facts and figures at them and tell them they need to know them to pass, and get become qualified to get a good job... which is not even proper learning. There is no regard there for our creative ones, or even the ‘smart’ ones who can probably do so much more given the opportunity. There is no other option, no fork in the road, not even a way to have the best of both worlds. Just one path for everyone to follow, with the same goal in mind—to fit in, and become another round peg in a round hole.

Let me make myself clear right now that this is not a dig at teachers, who do a superb job. What it is, however, is a cry out to the people in suits who decide what we learn and how we learn it to change their philosophy. To realise that some people can achieve more, and that the people who will eventually find the cure for cancer, or create the next breakthrough piece of technology, or discover new planets and galaxies are in our schools. These children/students or whatever you want to call them are waiting on these people to realise and do something to help them on their way to greatness. To give them the opportunity to shine, and achieve things that both us and them can’t even imagine yet.

It really is time for our education system to start ‘Thinking Differently.’

The Bass Player

ONE-D Drop-Out Prevention Reach-Out Out-Reach!

ONE-D Branding Emerges / Update!

EDUCATION WEEK

Published Online: July 25, 2008
Published in Print: July 30, 2008

Commentary

Raising Graduation Rates in an Era of High Standards

What States Must Do

By Cheryl Almeida & Adria Steinberg

In the waning months of the Bush administration, both public officials and private-sector leaders are demonstrating great interest in addressing the shockingly high dropout rate in many American high schools. In April, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced that the U.S. Department of Education will begin requiring all states to calculate graduation rates the same way by the 2012-13 school year.

She made the announcement at the same time that former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was helping launch the America’s Promise Alliance’s nationwide campaign to combat the problem, an initiative that will convene dropout-prevention summits in 50 states and 50 cities by the end of 2010.

This is all good news. It is time that the simmering concern about the fate of those who never complete high school comes to a boil. It is also time that policies to prevent students from leaving school and to reduce dropout rates be made as high a priority as policies designed to raise overall academic performance to a college-ready standard.

The National Governors Association accelerated this effort three years ago when it pushed states to voluntarily agree to use common measures of dropping out. For years, states had routinely reported graduation rates of 90 percent or higher. We know that the real average for most states is closer to 70 percent. And as Secretary Spellings’ announcement indicates, still more progress needs to be made. In the next few years, it will be critical for states to move beyond the important task of implementing new standards for calculating cohort graduation rates, to create a range of incentives, supports, and sanctions that can help more high schools graduate many more students ready for college and careers.

Next-generation accountability systems should redress the single-minded emphasis in current systems on meeting high standards by giving weight to graduation as an equally critical goal.

A blueprint for this policy agenda is taking shape. States are beginning to implement legislation and policies that make graduation rates as important an accountability measure as high academic performance. A growing number of state-level efforts seek to identify and support struggling students early, quickly address poorly performing high schools, and support the creation of new schools and programs that work for struggling and out-of-school youths. These efforts are as much a part of the college-ready agenda as setting and raising academic-performance levels for those who make it through high school.

A number of states are taking the lead. Some, like Georgia and Indiana, have passed new dropout-prevention legislation. Others, including Michigan and Kentucky, have set numeric goals for postsecondary completion. Still others, such as Massachusetts, are building P-16 longitudinal-data systems and beginning to study inefficiencies and leaks in the pipeline that links education to economic growth, so that graduation rates can be increased and successful transitions to college maximized.

These first steps are tentative, though. State policymakers worry that the goal of keeping more students in school until they graduate, while also raising expectations for them, may constitute another “mission impossible.” But new research and lessons from the field and from the states have helped outline a coherent set of policy strategies addressing this problem systematically. It is now up to all states to incorporate this framework into their own policies and practices.

_____

During the past several years, our nonprofit organization, Jobs for the Future, has partnered with Achieve Inc. in an initiative funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York to study how states might best support such efforts to raise standards and graduation rates. In “Raising Graduation Rates in an Era of High Standards,” a report that builds on this work, we call on state policymakers to follow the lead of their most innovative peers and commit to five critical outcomes for their districts, schools, and students. Our work suggests specific steps states can take to focus high school reform efforts on securing the following five outcomes:

• A high school diploma that signifies college- and work-readiness. States must ensure equal access for all young people to academically challenging, high-quality high school programs of study—and do that without stifling local and school-based innovation and flexibility in curriculum design. To have quality, equity, and consistency in the delivery of a college-prep course of study, states will need to monitor coursetaking patterns, disaggregate data for race and income, include student-transcript data in state data systems, and connect K-12 and postsecondary data systems, so that student progress to and through college can be tracked.

Making sure that curricular innovation is not stifled in the quest for consistency will require that states give districts flexibility, holding schools responsible for outcomes while supporting and aiding the innovators who want to create evidence-based instructional programs that will engage particular groups of struggling students and help them succeed.

• Pathways to graduation and college success for struggling and out-of-school students. Effective high schools—particularly those for low-income, African-American, and Hispanic youths—tend to be small and to emphasize relationships, relevance, and academic rigor. There are far too few of these, and few vehicles for their development and support. States need to establish these vehicles, as well as the conditions and funding to ensure that such schools are developed or replicated in communities with concentrations of struggling students and dropouts.

North Carolina stands out in this regard for its effort to support partnerships and other means for spurring new school development. The state’s New Schools Project is the school-development entity for Gov. Michael F. Easley’s ambitious Learn and Earn high schools. It has already created more than 40 new schools whose students can earn both a high school diploma and up to two years of college credit or an associate degree, tuition-free.

• Turnaround of low-performing high schools. States need to identify low-performing “dropout factory” high schools, and work with districts to create the conditions and capacities either to turn these schools around or replace them with more-effective options. A few states, such as Florida and Arizona, now provide supports for their lowest-performing schools. These include technical assistance, capacity-building, and funding. Equally important, both states ensure that a lack of reform progress will result in significant state intervention. In an era of limited resources, one of the most important sources of funding for new, effective schools and programs will have to be the replacement of dropout factories with more evidence-based, high-quality options for those schools’ students.

• Increased emphasis on graduation rates and college-readiness in next-generation accountability. Additional accountability indicators, recognitions, and incentives—starting with a set of “on-track metrics” predictive of high school graduation, such as promotion from 9th to 10th grade, or completion of core courses—can help states encourage schools and districts to hold on to struggling students, get them back on track to a diploma, and increase their readiness for college and careers.

Louisiana’s Graduation Index creates incentives for high schools both to keep students enrolled through graduation and to provide a rigorous curriculum through the senior year. Next-generation accountability systems should redress the single-minded emphasis in current systems on meeting high standards by giving weight to graduation as an equally critical goal.

• Early and continuous support for struggling students. Research in Chicago and Philadelphia has identified powerful 6th and 9th grade school-based indicators of the likelihood of dropping out, such as academic performance in core courses, credit accumulation, and attendance. If states strengthened their data systems to include such indicators and also helped school districts develop and use accurate early-warning systems to identify off-track students and target interventions early, far more struggling students would get back on track and succeed in high school and beyond.

The time is right for state action to raise graduation rates at the same time that academic-performance expectations are being raised. The public, increasingly concerned about the country’s economic standing, is beginning to demand action. And policymakers see clearly the economic imperative of increasing the number of residents with postsecondary credentials. These five state-policy commitments point the way to turning what may seem unattainable into a must-win “mission possible” of making high standards achievable for all students.

Cheryl Almeida is a program director and Adria Steinberg is an associate vice president at Jobs for the Future, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization in Boston.



United Way Receives $1 Million from AT&T To Support Local Schools

PRESS RELEASE

For more information, contact:

Cara I. Belton
313-226-9484 or 313-520-8454
or
Laura L. Rodwan
313-226-9484 or 313-477-2750
United Way for Southeast Michigan

Joe Steele
313-223-9759
AT&T

Grant will support Greater Detroit Education Venture Fund

DETROIT, August 4, 2008 – AT&T (NYSE:T), today announced a $1 million contribution to the United Way for Southeastern Michigan Greater Detroit Area Venture Fund. The Venture Fund was created to support school turnaround efforts in high schools that have low graduation rates, based on best practices that have proven effective in other cities nationwide.

"We're pleased to present United Way with the largest gift we’ve ever given of this kind in Michigan," said Gail Torreano, president of AT&T Michigan. "We are proud to be a catalyst for the Venture Fund, and hope AT&T’s contribution will inspire many more companies and individuals to come forward and contribute to support our local students who are the future leaders in Michigan."

The launch of the Venture Fund is an example of United Way for Southeastern Michigan’s commitment to becoming an impact-driven organization in order to better meet the needs of the communities it serves. The Fund is a $10 million initiative to transform high school education in the region.

“As part of our re-alignment into a community-impact organization through the Agenda for Change, United Way will continue to take the lead in unprecedented, innovative work throughout the region,” said Mike Brennan, president and CEO of United Way for Southeastern Michigan. "Through the generosity of AT&T, we will lay the groundwork for long-term success in turning around southeastern Michigan’s low-performing schools.”

Currently, there are 2,000 high schools in America that have graduated less than 60% of their freshmen class for three consecutive years. More than 30 of those schools are located in Southeastern Michigan.

The Venture Fund’s purpose is to turn around the low graduation rates at high schools in the region with dropout rates of 40 percent or higher.

The Venture Fund will financially support partnerships between high schools and proven educational intermediaries working together to create small, personalized learning environments.

In April 2008, AT&T unveiled the “AT&T Aspire” program through which the company and the AT&T Foundation will commit $100 million over the next four years toward high school success and workforce readiness initiatives.

With more than 12,000 employees in Michigan and over 300,000 employees worldwide, AT&T is uniquely positioned to take on this challenge and lead the way in supporting students and schools in our local communities. By focusing on education and workforce readiness, AT&T is looking beyond today, because our nation’s prosperity depends on investing in and supporting the next generation.

United Way president and CEO Mike Brennan accepted the $1 million gift from Torreano on the first day of a two-day school turnaround forum, “Conversations with Intermediaries,” held at Lawrence Technological Institute in Southfield. Representatives from AFT Michigan (AFL-CIO), the Skillman Foundation, and other corporate and community partners are at the forefront of this effort, and are providing generous support to The Venture Fund.

After acknowledging AT&T’s contribution, Brennan expressed the continued need for education reform in our community. “Now, more than ever, the success of the region in the 21st century will require a renewed commitment to a culture of achievement in our schools and communities.”


Greater Detroit Education Venture Fund Funding Partnerships for Turnaround Schools Q & As

What is the Venture Fund?

The Greater Detroit Education Venture Fund (“the Venture Fund”) was created to support eligible school turnaround efforts in high schools that have low graduation rates. These turnaround efforts are based on best practices that have proven effective in other cities nationwide.

The Purpose of the Venture Fund IS NOT:

to create charter schools
take over schools
to break up unions
limited to schools only in the city of Detroit

Where did the idea for the Venture Fund originate?

A recent Johns Hopkins study identified 78 high schools in Michigan (more than 30 of which are in Southeastern Michigan) as “dropout factories,” meaning that less than 60% of the students graduated with their class for at least three years in a row. Yet since 2001, a wave of urban high school transformation efforts has swept across the country, and some cities and intermediary organizations have shown amazing results.

Who is involved in the Venture Fund?

The AT& T Foundation, the Skillman Foundation and the United Way for Southeastern Michigan.

Why has the United Way for Southeastern Michigan created the Venture Fund?

The issues facing families and individuals in our communities have become greater in number and more acute. As a result, the United Way for Southeastern Michigan is changing the way it does business in order to meet the needs of the communities it serves. The Venture Fund is a part of that change. United Way’s shift in function and focus is an agile, swift response to rapidly changing community needs, including the area of education.

How is United Way changing the way it is doing business?

United Way has implemented its Agenda for Change and is transforming into an impact-driven organization seeking to create measurable and lasting change in the areas most critical to the well being of Southeastern Michigan communities. The Agenda’s three impact areas are:

Educational Preparedness
Financial Stability
Basic Needs

What is role of United Way in the Venture Fund?

In addition to creating the Venture Fund, United Way will act as its fiduciary, marking a non-traditional role and progressive approach by the organization. As part of its re-alignment into a community-impact organization, United Way will continue to take the lead in unprecedented, innovative work throughout the region.

What is the goal of the Venture Fund?

The Fund will financially support partnerships between high schools and proven educational intermediaries working together to create small, personalized learning environments.

Why the need?

There are 2,000 high schools in America that have graduated less than 60% of their freshmen class for three consecutive years—and more than 30 of those schools are in Southeastern Michigan. The schools listed below have been invited (via school district leaders) to submit a School Turnaround Proposal.

How will the funds be allocated?

Grants up to $80,000 per year per small high school (500 students or fewer) or $320,000 per large high school (1,500 to 2,000 students) will be made to support comprehensive turnaround efforts. Grants are renewable for up to five years based on annual performance objectives. Funds will be paid directly to the intermediaries identified by the school.

Will the Funds go directly to the schools?

No. Funds will be paid directly to the intermediaries identified by the school.

Which schools are eligible?

Academy for Business and Tech.

East Detroit

Osborn

Cass Technical

Ecorse

Pershing

Central

Finney

Pontiac Central

Chadsey

Hamtramck

Pontiac Northern

Cody

Hazel Park

Redford

Communication & Media Arts

Henry Ford

River Rouge

Cooley

Kettering

Southeastern

Davis Aerospace

Lincoln Park

Southwestern

Denby

Melvindale-Northern Allen Park

Van Dyke Lincoln

Detroit School of Industrial Arts

Northwestern

Western International


What is an eligible intermediary?

An educational intermediary is a non-profit organization that partners with a school district to help its leadership and teachers improve student achievement. Intermediaries eligible for funding must have a proven record of improving student achievement and graduation rates in high poverty high schools, as measured by an external evaluator.

What is the strategy behind the Venture Fund school turnaround efforts?

Other cities have shown that urban school districts, union leadership, and community members can transform large, failing high schools into smaller, successful ones. The purpose of the Venture Fund is to incentivize those partnerships and best practices to turn around schools in Southeastern Michigan. This includes the following key components:

Changing Conditions

Conditions in the lowest-performing schools must be changed so that school leaders have the authority to make decisions in the best interests of the students. Changing conditions also means being accountable for increased achievement rates.

Increasing Capacity

Increasing capacity means that one lead external partner (or “intermediary”) works with the school district and school staff to implement proven school turnaround and student engagement strategies.

Creating Clusters

To be effective, school turnaround cannot occur in small, isolated pockets. School leaders and teachers involved in turnaround need both collaboration and competition.

What are the criteria that indicate success in school turnaround efforts?

If a school’s district office is supportive of the turnaround efforts.
The school has a plan for effective site-based management.
The school has selected a partner with a proven record of improving graduation rates.

There have been failed efforts in the past. How is this different?

In the last few years we have begun to see the development of successful strategies for improving low graduation rates throughout the country. The strategies will create the foundation for change in our failing schools. In addition, The Venture Fund is unique in that labor and school leaders, as well the corporate and philanthropic community, are working together to tackle this critical issue.