The most intriguing and daring ventures in K-12 education today are the efforts to reimagine the way American schoolchildren learn. Entrepreneurial ventures like Teach For America, the KIPP Academies, New Leaders for New Schools, and High Tech High are reinventing the definition and delivery methods of public education. Yet these innovative programs have been hindered by difficulties in raising financial resources, finding talented employees, and overcoming regulatory barriers to entry into schools and districts.
 
AEI’s director of education policy studies, Frederick M. Hess, has commissioned a dozen scholars, education practitioners, and business analysts to examine this new entrepreneurial sector in education as well as the obstacles that prevent the creation of promising new ventures. By offering strategies to facilitate the growth and success of new education providers, the authors address how the entrepreneurial sector (composed of policymakers, practitioners, and philanthropists) can invigorate, complement, or replace the work of traditional schools and districts.

Contributing authors will present their findings at this daylong research conference, and an array of discussants will join the discussion. This conference and project were funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

For a link to the second part of the video, please click here.