Schools Need Radical Change. Got an Idea?
By Ellen Hur
Every child in America should have access to a great public education. This is the bedrock on which we can claim that our country is “the land of equal opportunity.” That conviction brings me to work every day, whether it was as a middle school English teacher, a public servant in a state department of education, or now, for TNTP, a national nonprofit that partners with teachers, schools, and school systems do their best work.
That claim of America being the land of equal opportunity, though, is hard to defend these days. Every day, we see evidence that our schools aren’t delivering on their promise to kids and families, in spite of the hard work of millions of educators. We see kids bored to underachievement, thanks to content that isn’t challenging enough to engage them, content that isn’t worth their time or minds. We see school discipline practices that push vulnerable students toward the criminal justice system. And nationwide, students of color, particularly African-American and Latino students, are subject to the deepest inequities.
The facts are scathing: More than half of all students expelled from U.S. schools each year are African-American or Latino. Only about 60 percent of African-American and Latino males graduate from four-year public high schools each year. In cities like Detroit, Philadelphia, New York, and Cleveland, the four-year graduation rate for African-American young men hovers under 30 percent. These students deserve better, and that’s on all of us.
Put simply, how we “do school” needs big, radical fixing — and to get there, we need to take advantage of the best thinking from within and beyond education. Our country is still the gold standard when it comes to innovation. We have to bring that skill and spirit into our public schools.
The hard truth is that the circle of voices in education — in schools and district offices, and in organizations like mine — is unacceptably narrow.
That’s why TNTP is now accepting applications for the Bridge Fellowship, a new 12-month residency that will act as a “bridge” between various disciplines, harnessing the best ideas from inside and outside the education sector and drawing new talent and thinking to TNTP and to the field.
Why this bridge? We believe that real innovation takes place at the intersection of disciplines, with a diverse mix of voices at the table. But the hard truth is that the circle of voices in education — in schools and district offices, and in organizations like mine — is unacceptably narrow. How can we get to radical, game changing solutions if the mix of actors and problem solvers has always been the same? We need disruptive thinkers — youth activists, community organizers, urban planners, hackers, designers, entrepreneurs — to work alongside educators to tackle the most pressing issues in our schools.
In the Bridge Fellowship’s pilot year, we’re looking for two Fellows. Each will spend a year focused on a single, critical issue: reimagining the school experience for African-American and Latino young men. From August 2016–17, each Bridge Fellow will work with TNTP on an independent project of their design to address this issue and the African-American and Latino male achievement gap. In addition, Fellows will build knowledge and management skills in the education space, with support from TNTP leadership and a personal mentor. They’ll receive a $100,000 stipend for their work. At the end of the fellowship, they may move on to pilot their project with TNTP’s support, or they might join us in full-time leadership roles.
The Bridge Fellowship is about developing big ideas to spark change for students who have been, for far too long, poorly served by our current policies and practices.
We’re looking for people with a desire to improve students’ experiences at school and who bring a history of advancing big ideas in their current field — even if it isn’t directly related to education. We’re particularly interested in leaders who are underrepresented in education, including individuals who grew up in the communities we serve.
The Bridge Fellowship is about developing big ideas to spark change for students who have been, for far too long, poorly served by our current policies and practices. We’ll look to Fellows to reimagine the school experience for African-American and Latino young men and think holistically about the ways school systems can dramatically increase their success. What does it mean for schools to prepare young people for jobs, lives, and economies that we may not even know exist today? What will it take to make sure kids, especially kids of color, thrive in school, and learn to think and lead?
So think of this as an open call: If you have a radical idea, experience that helps you understand the nuanced challenges of this work, or an urgent passion to change the game for young men of color, we’re listening.
Applications for the TNTP Bridge Fellowship are open now through March 15th.
