Autonomous Schools Can Help Solve the Problem Behind the Teacher Shortage

In all cases, however, the teacher-led The “portfolio district” model is another way schools have returned to the original philosophy to decentralize school district management that fueled the charter school movement: that is being implemented in various locations Decisions that affect school policy should be across the country.45 Similar to charter schools, made as close to the educator as possib. [...] education experts and we naturally turn to Both the key and the commonality to the model them for answers, just like we would a doctor is that while these schools have the autonomy for a medical question or a lawyer with a legal to make most decisions at the school and problem.” classroom level, rather than being dictated to by The teacher-led, student-centric approach the central office or school. [...] Once the TEA approves the 1882 partnership — In the case of the previously discussed teacher- by ascertaining that the autonomies the district powered Reiche school in Portland, Maine, is granting to the nonprofit are a sufficient teachers saw an opening and grabbed it. [...] As majority of teachers in a particular school who a result, the union-endorsed DPS school board want the authority to lead their school — or if spent much of the 2021-2022 school year trying the unions won’t allow the district to act — an to strip DPS’s innovation zone schools of their innovation statute can force pragmatic change. [...] the Board has walked back some of the more odious provisions of the regulation, but damage was done.83 Colorado’s innovation school P18 AUTONOMOUS SCHOOLS CAN HELP SOLVE THE PROBLEM BEHIND THE TEACHER SHORTAGE PROBLEM CONCLUSION Decades of research show that when teachers The debate is still on about the seriousness are granted trust, and the autonomy that of America’s current teacher shortage, bu.