One vital characteristic of innovative, forward-thinking districts, observers say, is a commitment to encouraging administrators, teachers, and students to take risks and not be afraid to fail.
It is a characteristic that is common in innovation-oriented companies like Google and Apple and one that more school districts should embrace, says Rowland L. Baker, the executive director of the Santa Cruz, Calif.-based , which supports school administrators in the use of technology.
鈥淸Such companies are] not afraid of trying something and finding out it doesn鈥檛 work, and pulling the plug,鈥� he said.
But the caveat, Mr. Baker said, is that parents don鈥檛 want their children to be part of a series of failed instructional experiments.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a yin and a yang,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want constant failure going on in the school.鈥�
Karen Cator, the CEO of , a Washington-based technology advocacy organization, suggests the issue might be a matter of semantics.
鈥淭he word 鈥榝ail鈥� is a really problematic term in education,鈥� she said.
A better way to put it, said Ms. Cator, who previously headed the office of educational technology at the U.S. Department of Education, is 鈥渢he freedom to try new things in order to try to meet the complex needs [of today鈥檚 learners]鈥濃�攐ne of the essential components, she agreed, in fostering an innovative school district.
That willingness to experiment and try new things usually starts with the superintendent, said Jayson W. Richardson, an associate professor of educational leadership at the University of Kentucky.
鈥淣ow, the tech-savvy superintendents are much more eager to take risks and let teachers take risks,鈥� he said.
鈥楽pirit of Play鈥�
That was the case in his district, said Superintendent David Britten, who leads the 1,800-student Godfrey-Lee school district in Wyoming, Mich.
鈥淏efore, it was me and the tech director trying to push the boulder up the hill to get things started because people were hesitant [to experiment]. But they鈥檝e seen that they鈥檙e not going to get dinged on their evaluations through this,鈥� said Mr. Britten, and now teachers are more willing to embrace risk-taking.
Superintendents also need to encourage students, teachers, and staff members when they hit the inevitable snags that come with rolling out a new initiative, said Scott McLeod, the director of the , or CASTLE, at the University of Kentucky.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be uncomfortable and different,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really where those adequate supports and proactive thinking and effective communication and nurturing [from leadership] really get through to the payoff.鈥�
And it shouldn鈥檛 be all drudgery, said Mr. McLeod.
鈥淧laces that are really innovative have a spirit of play,鈥� he said. 鈥淟earning is supposed to be joyful.鈥�
