Below is an amazingly thought-provoking 5-part series by Neerav Kingsland, chief strategy officer for New Schools for New Orleans. Here's what one of my friends had to say about it:

I am absolutely not kidding when I say this whole series is the smartest thing I've ever read on education. Actually, this five-part series is ranked 1-5 on my all-time list. I can't believe that a) he nails every single argument and b) he has some new insights that I haven't heard anywhere else. THIS is the only path I can see to reforming a district, and this path is so doable. I can't believe more people aren't onto these points. It's that damn "I can fix this myself" mentality that gets in the way.

Here's the single best paragraph in the whole five-part series: Some call this capitalism, but this is a misnomer. Rather, call it innovation-ism--in that it is a system that is designed to promote, reward, and scale innovation. If you think that somehow education is different--and that your educational ideas will continually outperform a market place of ideas--well, this is a sign of incredible hubris.

Kingsland basically says that reform-minded superintendents should focus on RELINQUISHING rather than reforming, and basically create a fully charterized district, as has been done so successfully in New Orleans:

But the point is this: charter districts can be developed in 10-15 years. That could be the work of you and one successor.

This is feasible, especially if you happen to be a thoughtful and visionary superintendent.

…New Schools for New Orleans (where I work) and Public Impact will be publishing a more extensive guide on how to develop charter districts in the coming months. If you'd like an early copy, email me (neerav@nsno.org) and I'll send you one. But the highlights are listed below. To develop a successful charter district, you need to execute on three primary strategies:

Govern Aggressively and Fairly

· First, build a state or local accountability system that allows schools to be compared on an apples-to-apples basis. Define the bottom 5 percent with this metric.

· Next, create a new government entity with the authority to (a) takeover failing schools from districts and (b) authorize new charter schools. This will give you the pressure and cover you need to be aggressive.

· Then rigorously approve charters. Maintain a high authorization bar. Give the schools you do approve free facilities. Close failing schools. Repeat for five years.

Attract and Develop Talent

· Start by doing what everyone else misses: encourage your best talent in traditional schools to convert to charter schools. Yes, relinquish power on your best. Remember, you believe educators will do better with fewer constraints. This is one of the untold stories of New Orleans: the first wave of charter school development was led by veteran New Orleans educators.

· Then utilize alternative human capital providers to grow your talent base.

· Eventually, once the recruitment pipelines are where they need to be, begin focusing on development. Allow entrepreneurs to develop training programs. Put pressure on education schools, or just start new ones.

Promote Charter Growth

· First, as noted above, begin converting your best district schools to charter schools. When you conduct your 5 Year Rule analysis, you will ideally observe increased achievement gains in these schools due to real autonomy.

· Then work with non-profits to build an incubation pipeline for new charter organizations.

· Last, develop and recruit CMOs--organizations capable of operating multiple charter schools. Long-term, these organizations will be key drivers in developing charter markets, as once they mature they can scale at quicker rates than pure incubation.

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An Open Letter to Urban Superintendents in the United States of America

By Neerav Kingsland on January 23, 2012 7:45 AM