News & Resources
How can we improve our schools? What will help our children learn? Read about innovations in education and what they mean for your school, your children and your community.
Rod Kelley Elementary: Ensuring Rigorous Academics for All Students
This Gilroy school was not always a strong performer. Then teachers changed their approach and focus, with impressive results. “The focus has been on high expectations for all kids, but also for us. That’s the culture that’s evolved here,” said the school’s principal.
Achievement First Amistad High School: Using Data to Improve and Drive Student Learning
“On a daily basis, it’s about little adjustments,” explains Jen Tillotson, 10th grade geometry teacher. “If my students didn’t get it, what’s the one thing I’m going to focus on tomorrow?”
Renaissance Academy: Cultivating a Culture of Joyful Learning
“The most important thing is relationships. That allows rigor, and relevance follows,” said Assistant Principal Vince Iwasaki.
Hurley School: Offering Rigorous Academics for ALL Students
“The [Hurley staff] never rests,” said Rebecca Carey, mother of Hurley third and sixth graders.
UP Academy Dorchester: Cultivating a Culture of Joyful Learning
A diagram of the brain hangs at the front of every UP Academy Dorchester third grade classroom, covered with stickers. The stickers represent neurons. When a student struggles with a problem and then gets it, or if she makes a mistake and then corrects herself, her brain grows, and she gets to go up to the board and add a neuron.
Cornerstone Academy: Building and Developing a Great Team
Claire Mahler thought she’d blown it. One student had squirmed in her seat. Others hadn’t grasped some of the more challenging concepts. Asked how she thought the sample lesson had gone, Mahler was honest: Parts had worked; others had not.
Sci Academy: A Mission That Matters
“So there are a couple ways of looking at a seemingly insurmountable task,” said Ben Marcovitz “One is that it exhausts you and overwhelms you. The other is that it inspires and excites you.” Marcovitz, the founder of Sci Academy, an outstanding college preparatory high school in east New Orleans, is clearly of the inspire and excite persuasion.
Over 80% of East Palo Alto Students Aren’t On Track in English and Math
In today’s economy, most good jobs require a college education. However, in East Palo Alto schools, which serve primarily low-income students, only a small number of students are currently on track to graduate ready for college. In 2014-15, only 17% of students met or exceeded standards in English and only 12% met that bar for math in Ravenswood City School District, which serves East Palo Alto students in grades K-8. This shows a significant gap when compared to Silicon Valley schools’ averages: 57% for English and 51% for math.
Latest Redwood City Test Scores Show Early Gap for Latino, Low-income Students
In today’s economy, most good jobs require a college education. However, the majority of Latino and low-income students in Redwood City currently aren’t on track to graduate high school eligible for college.
EPA Parents for Excellent Education Community Action Forum
Right now, over 1,000 families leave East Palo Alto every morning to get their kids a good education. Come join concerned parents for a community action forum.
Parents Celebrate Opening of New Schools in Redwood City
This fall, Innovate parent leaders saw a dream come true with the opening of two new schools in Redwood City. Parents have been working for several years to bring new high-quality school options to their community, engaging dozens of elected officials and 1,000 parents to ultimately win the the approval of two new charter schools – one run by Rocketship Education and one run by KIPP Bay Area Schools.
Only 53% of Bay Area Graduates Are Ready for College
In our 21st century economy, the vast majority of middle-class jobs require education beyond high school. However, in 2014, only about five out of every 10 Bay Area seniors graduated eligible for college, and just three out of every 10 Latino or African American students.
Start-up Schools Fellows Launch New Schools
This fall, several Fellows from Innovate Public Schools’ Fellowship program launched new public schools across the Bay Area.
Redwood City Candidates Forum on Education
Here in the heart of Silicon Valley, we want to make sure all Redwood City students get an excellent education and are prepared for 21st century careers. Many people are following the 2016 presidential election, but do you know who makes most decisions that directly impact schools and youth in our community? Our local elected officials!
Learning in Two Languages at Voices College-Bound Language Academy
At Voices College-Bound Language Academy in south San Jose, students are expected to master not only the California state standards, but also two languages. They’re rising to that high bar – Voices is one of a small number of schools across Silicon Valley that are beating the odds for low-income students.
California’s API is Going Away. What Will Replace It?
A major battle looms for school accountability in California. Columnist Dan Walters wrote a great piece this past week outlining what’s at stake as state officials make decisions on how to hold schools accountable. It’s clear that the API is going away, but far less clear is what will replace it.
How to Read Your Child’s Test Results: Interpreting California’s CAASP Report
In early fall, you will receive a letter with your child’s results on California’s new state standardized tests. Trying to interpret them might feel like a test for you!
What’s important to focus on and what do these results tell you about your child’s academic progress?
The Road to College
In our 21st century economy, the vast majority of middle-class jobs require education beyond high school. In 2015, only about 5 out of every 10 Bay Area seniors graduated eligible for college – and just 3 out of every 10 Latino and African American students. That means helping kids from very early on
– it’s much easier to stay on track than to catch up later.
Parent Guide: Teacher Tenure and the Vergara Case
In May 2012, nine public school children, supported by the group Students Matter, filed a lawsuit against the state of California challenging provisions of state law that they said interfere with their right to a quality education.
Middle School: What Parents Should Focus On
As its very name suggests, middle school is a transitional period, a time when students begin adjusting to new ways of learning and some of the more challenging material they’ll face in high school.