Knowledge Development
Over the past decade, there has been a growing base of experience about what it takes to start and operate high-quality public schools and school systems, as well as insights into the various changes necessary to transform public education in to a performance-driven school system. Our knowledge development activities capture the learning NewSchools Venture Fund gleans through our work with entrepreneurs and others, so it can be shared with other ventures and with the broader field. Areas of focus include:
Tools: To document and share the lessons learned and best practices across our portfolio, NewSchools has an ongoing initiative to create a catalog of “tools” for them. These practical documents and processes advance the work of our ventures by making available effective models pioneered by others.
Evaluation: To ensure the highest levels of effectiveness within our organization and our portfolio, NewSchools conducts regular evaluations of our own engagement with entrepreneurs and the achievements of our ventures themselves. For example, beginning in the 2004-2005 school year, we began to conduct an annual portfolio evaluation that measures the performance of the charter management organizations we support. The results of this evaluation help benchmark performance around academic and operational measures, and guide our management assistance practices.
Publications: One of the important roles that NewSchools plays is to take the pulse of the education reform landscape and share observations about key trends and emerging solutions. NewSchools regularly creates and commissions articles, research and reports that bring these ideas to a broader audience of public education stakeholders.