Self-governed Schools – Minneapolis, MN

‘New schools’ to serve poor students proposed, By Emily Johns, November 18, 2009, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: “The Minneapolis school board will get a chance next month to give its blessing to the creation of up to five autonomous schools in the city. The district hopes the schools, some of which wouldn’t be run by the district, could more effectively educate poor students and be a lab for innovation regarding what works in urban education. ‘There are a number of new autonomous schools across the country that have demonstrated tremendous success with economically disadvantaged children,’ said Jon Bacal, who heads the district’s new Office of New Schools. ‘The end result should be a high-quality learning program for Minneapolis children.’ The Office of New Schools is an effort to address quality issues in the lowest-performing 25 percent of the district’s schools. Converting one of these schools to a “new school” is one method; others include changing leadership, school staff or curriculums…”