Transcend Education, a nonprofit organization focused on "accelerating innovation" in school design, partners with organizations to develop and replicate innovative school models that create breakthroughs, solve problems, prepare students for the 21st century, transform a stagnant system and teach continued transformation.

NewSchools Venture Fund, a nonprofit that invests in schools and projects to bring relevant change, equity and diversity of leadership in real-life classrooms, teamed up with Transcend to create The Collaborative, a 10-month, intensive professional development experience. The Collaborative recently completed the first round of the journey with a cohort of 10 schools (43 participants); it shares its process in the Journey Guide.

The Collaborative began with an idea of a new way to reimagine education. According to a 2015 report titled “Dissatisfied Yet Optimistic: Moving Faster toward New School Models, "schools of the future" should:

• Start with learning goals that are broad, deep and interdisciplinary across academic, cognitive and social-emotional aims. They should also hold high expectations for all students, encouraging them to meet these ambitious goals.

• Give students the freedom and power to own their learning, choosing the pace and types of learning activities that work best for them, in service of their goals.

• Personalize the learning experience to meet every student based on where she is, what she needs, and her goals and strengths.

• Equip parents to be active partners with the school and with their children.

• Foster a community of togetherness, with diverse groups of students, educators, and parents constantly sharing and working together.

The Collaborative recognizes that more than one model or framework can achieve these goals. The first cohort, comprised of ten school districts and charter school management organizations from across the nation, worked for a school year to create cohesive plans for innovation for their institutions.

One clear directive from the “Dissatisfied Yet Optimistic” report: Don’t rush the important stuff. “We must be far more patient about the investment (time, money and energy) needed to design, build and refine better models of schooling,” notes the report. Through the process, the teams learned to narrow their broad ambitions to create workable plans that they can enact, day by day. They also recognized that "cognitive dissonance" can spur creative thinking. Many of the 43 participants suggested that they walked away enlightened and more confident to push through big changes. Here’s more of what participants in The Collaborative learned, with detailed comments from the District of Columbia Public Schools, Gestalt Community Schools, Hiawatha Academies, and Spring Branch Independent School District)

To be a part of a Collaborative, prepare for three in-person meetings of the cohort, and they could be anywhere across the nation. Customized coaching will be provided throughout the program, whether you are implementing a plan or clarifying a vision and framework. Costs of participating in the Collaborative are covered by NSVF, including travel funds and potential grants to support learning and innovation.

For more details about participating in future versions of the Collaborative, email Ryan Hall at ryan@transcendeducation.org.