INNOVATION FUND

Policy Action: Support Districts to Create Innovative Solutions to Critical Issues

"If you give people tools, [and they use] their natural ability and their curiosity, they will develop things in ways that will surprise you very much beyond what you might have expected.”

BILL GATES, FOUNDER, MICROSOFT

Our current system is based on centralized mandates, often compounded by restrictive local work rules. This results in a system where the state monitors what schools do and how they do it, rather than identifying goals and priorities and evaluating results. In this backwards universe:

• Principals have limited control over their staffi ng and schedules. This, despite the fact that Illinois has among the shortest school days and years in the country (with the United States having among the shortest annual calendars in the world)42 and despite ample evidence that more creative scheduling and staffi ng can generate expanded collaboration and development for teachers, and expanded remedial and enrichment opportunities for students.
• Despite powerful evidence that placing highly effective teachers with at-risk students can close the achievement gap, standard collective bargaining agreements typically prohibit the use of incentives to attract teachers to high-need schools, or to teach in high-need fi elds, and limit the ability to make layoff and other personnel decisions based on classroom performance rather than seniority.
• Seemingly in spite of its signifi cant dropout challenge, Illinois has one of the worst student–counselor ratios in the country, with an average of 690 students for every counselor.43
• Instead of using teacher compensation to reward more hours, greater impact, peer coaching and mentoring, or work in a high-need school or fi eld. Over $400 million is spent in Illinois each year to reward teachers for getting master’s degrees or administrative certifi cates, despite the fact that there is no evidence that advanced degrees increase teacher effectiveness in the classroom.44

Districts and schools must be given the support, resources and flexibility to innovate generally and in response to state priorities. Innovation should be grounded in evidence and driven by results.

Allocate a portion of new education funding to a School Innovation and Performance Fund. Increases in education funding from the state should be used to support innovation and reward performance. Specifi cally, Illinois should allocate a portion of any new education funding to establish an Innovation and Performance Fund.

Instead of going automatically and by formula to schools and districts, the Innovation and Performance Fund would be available to all schools, but would send dollars to schools based on performance-driven applications. That is, schools and districts would:

• Present thoughtful, evidence-based strategies to raise performance in key areas
• Demonstrate strategic use of existing funds
• Agree to be held accountable for results at the end of a three-four year period (with the understanding that funding would continue for another multiyear period if agreed-upon objectives are met)

Create a state “Race to the Top” Fund. In addition to a core Innovation and Performance Fund, Illinois should make an additional pool of funds available to schools and districts willing and able to take signifi cant steps to tackle challenging, priority issues. (See sidebar.) Interested schools and districts would apply for up to $500,000/school of annual support— again, with the understanding that funding would continue if performance goals are met.

Pursuit of Illinois “Race to the Top” funds should be voluntary and competitive, requiring only a commitment to accountability and innovation. If schools and districts make such commitments, they would be rewarded with substantial funding and flexibility to implement high impact changes

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