Grand claims about the transformative power of technology in education are common, yet decades of high school redesign have yielded mixed results. One of the most widely touted efforts to tackle these challenges has been the School of the Future in the Philadelphia School District, created in 2006 through a partnership with the Microsoft Corporation. This $63 million school incorporated new technologies in areas such as data and curriculum management, virtual simulations and mentoring, and personalized instruction intended to fundamentally change how students learn in high school. National Public Radio touted the school as "the next big thing," and Education Week described it as "a new high-tech school [that is] strutting its stuff." 

AEI and Microsoft have assembled a select team of analysts to explore how this pioneering effort is unfolding on the ground and the lessons it holds for the use of technology and high school redesign. New research will examine key elements of the School of the Future--including its genesis, design, flaws, and implications--and what it can teach about broader questions regarding educational innovation, public-private partnerships, and the integration of technology in the classroom. At this AEI conference, researchers will present their findings, and an array of discussants will respond.