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Innovation, Accountability, and Autonomy in Service of Education Renewal: Ethnography of a Charter School

Sun, April 27, 11:40am to 1:10pm MDT (11:40am to 1:10pm MDT), The Colorado Convention Center, Floor: Ballroom Level, Four Seasons Ballroom 1

Abstract

Charter schools were established over thirty years ago to reform education through increased innovation, accountability, and autonomy. This ethnography uses a communities of practice framework to study a PreK-8 charter school’s engagement, imagination, and alignment around innovation, accountability, and autonomy. Data sources include participant observation within classrooms, school assemblies, and staff meetings; interviews with staff, administration, and families; and staff memos, family newsletters, and student newspapers. Findings suggest that the school’s chief innovation is its care for the whole individual (students, staff, and families), even when that care seems in opposition to the school’s best interest. Innovation and autonomy are curtailed by the accountability imposed at the state level through high-stakes testing and onerous charter renewal processes.

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