Dive Brief:
- Mired in financial insolvency and overwhelming classroom cuts, the Philadelphia School District is turning to the public for overhaul suggestions.
- The "School Redesign Initiative" asks parents, educators, principals, universities, and community organizations to help the fiscally strained district create turnaround ideas.
- Groups with chosen ideas will receive donated grants of up to $30,000 to make their vision a reality, and according to Philly.com, up to 10 schools are expected to be transformed in the 2015-16 school year.
Dive Insight:
While groups will get some money to make the redesign possible, the actual school budgets are not expected to increase. This makes sense, especially since budget issues are the main concern right now.
While the district has attempted to turn around schools in the past, the efforts were led by the district's central office and success was debatable. The idea here is that fresh, new energy will be leading the transformation. Letters of Intent are due Aug. 19 and formal proposals are due Oct. 10. All teams must have one principal on board.