A new report released in early May calls attenention to the ways in which a new generation of education entrepreneurial ventures are expanding the boundaries of traditional education models. The report, Stimulating Excellence: Unleashing the Power of Innovation in Education, looks at programs such as The New Teacher Project, New Leaders for New Schools, and the KIPP Academies, which are creating innovative frameworks for schooling.

These innovators have introduced new philosophies, methods, and expectations for the education of our nation’s students. Stimulating Excellence also reveals how federal and state regulations and policies can support, rather than hinder, promising innovations in public education to better serve American students.

The report offers creative solutions and ideas from a collection of leading education entrepreneurs:

• Collect and use better information to create a performance culture in K-12 public schools

• Open the K-12 education system to a diverse set of education providers, such as charter school entrepreneurs and alternative teacher and principal preparatory programs

• Transform districts and schools into genuine users of entrepreneurial ventures by providing them with greater control over the spending of dollars

• Use public policy to encourage financing for entrepreneurial ventures

 Action on these recommendations can foster an environment that is conducive to innovation in education while still encouraging a determined focus on quality and results.

In addition to the above recommendations, several overarching themes arose from conversations with leading education entrepreneurs:

• Use the “bully pulpit.” Federal and state leaders have a critical opportunity to communicate a commitment to promising innovations, to educate philanthropists and private investors about the success and potential of education entrepreneurs, and to provide a forum for addressing the barriers that hinder the creation and growth of effective ventures.

• Inventory national and state agencies. This process can be used to assess agencies’ openness to entrepreneurship, evaluate their performance metrics, and eliminate outdated rules and practices that today impose a burden relative to the benefits they convey.

• Engage foundations and private investors. Private funders can help jumpstart many of our proposals by providing seed funding for new initiatives and co-funding alongside publicly financed projects.

• Re-examine the traditional structures of public schooling. Many of the recommendations are designed to make the traditional structures in public education more conducive to entrepreneurship. But by carefully revisiting broader assumptions—such as providing almost all instruction via teachers who work on-site with students—policymakers can begin to open up even more opportunities for entrepreneurship in K-12 education.

Download the full report (pdf)
Download the executive summary (pdf)
14 Education Entrepreneurs that Are Making a Difference

The report was released by The Center for American Progress, the American Enterprise Institute, New Profit Inc., and Public Impact, with the support of The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.