How Innovative Learning Models
Can Transform K-12 Education
Download the ReportDownload Executive Summary
For more than 100 years, the basic structure of schooling has centered on 'the box' – one teacher guiding a class of same-aged students through an annual, standardized curriculum – often with the aid of a textbook.

Educators have worked tirelessly within this basic paradigm to unlock the potential of our nation's youth.
Key reforms over the last two decades have helped to expand access and drive improvement for millions of students.

But now, as schools face severe staffing shortages, mandates for learning acceleration, and a rapidly-changing world that poses new demands and opportunities for students to navigate, the inherent limitations of the box itself are becoming patently clear. 
New technologies and new advances in the science of learning make it more possible than ever to fundamentally reimagine schooling in ways that move beyond these limits. 

But the burden of designing these new approaches cannot fall solely on the backs of today's educators – they already have too much on their plate.
That's why modernizing K-12  education requires the development and integration of innovative learning models, robust programs schools can adopt that allow them to move beyond the limits of the box itself.
Innovative learning models are designed by model providers, organizations that bring together experts in instruction, operations, pedagogy, and technology to fundamentally redesign the student and teacher experience, often in partnership with pilot schools. 

Once the models they design are tested and ready for broader adoption, model providers then tailor their models to local needs, provide ongoing implementation support, and share in the responsibility for student outcomes.
Accelerating the adoption of innovative learning models will require:
Investment in research and development so more models can be created,
Initiative within local school communities to explore model adoption, and
State and federal education policies that create the space for innovative learning models to emerge. 
Out of the Box provides a roadmap for school communities, advocates, philanthropists, federal and state policymakers, and others who are ready to move beyond the box and chart a new course for what schooling can be.
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Who We Are
We represent two organizations who believe deeply in the power and promise of an intentional shift toward a student-centered model for education.

New Classrooms is in the innovative learning model development space while Transcend supports school communities and model providers to develop and spread innovative learning environments more broadly.
    Media
      Artificial Intelligence Will Not Transform K-12 Education Without Changes to 'the Grammar of School' (The 74)

      A missing piece for education in the United States: Moving from an industrial to an inquiry-based paradigm (
      Thomas B. Fordham Institute Flypaper)

      Innovative Models Exchange Offers a Roadmap for Reinventing School (
      The 74)

      To Combat Learning Loss, Schools Need to Overhaul the Industrial-Age Paradigm (
      Education Week)

      Only Out Of The Box Solutions Will Tackle Root Cause Of What Ails Schools (
      Michael B. Horn for Forbes)

      New Report, 'Out of the Box,' Offers Promising Path to Increasing Educational Equity and Opportunity (
      Press Release)

      Analysis: No Child Left Behind Was Signed 20 Years Ago This Month. Why It’s Making Education’s COVID Recovery So Much Harder (
      The 74)
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        Opening Session: Out of The Box

        Moderator | Michael B. Horn (Author of From Reopen to Reinvent)
        Panelists | Jenee Henry Wood (Transcend) • Joel Rose (New Classrooms)

        Get Inspired With The Innovative Models Exchange

        Moderator | Sarah Akhtar (Transcend)
        Panelists |
        Ron Berger (EL Education) • Cynthia Robinson-Rivers (Transcend)

        A Brain Scientist & A Technologist Walk Into A Classroom

        Moderator | Jim Shelton (Blue Meridian Partners)
        Panelists |
        Pamela Cantor, M.D. (Turnaround for Children) • Lukman Ramsey (Google Cloud) • Sanjay Sarma (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

        The Federal Role: Creating The Space And Capacity For Innovative Models To Emerge

        Moderator | Bethany Little (EducationCounsel)
        Panelists |
        Peter Zamora (Council of Chief State School Officers) • Roberto Rodríguez (U.S. Department of Education) • Peter Oppenheim

        The Future Role of The Teacher

        Moderator | Tim Knowles (Carnegie Foundation)
        Panelists |
        Elisa Villanueva Beard (Teach for America) • Pedro Noguera (Rossier School of Education) • Marla Ucelli-Kashyap (American Federation of Teachers)

        Community-Driven Innovation

        Moderator | Dr. Archie Moss (Transcend)
        Panelists |
        Donnell Cannon & Members of the Edgecombe County Public Schools

        State and Systems Leadership

        Moderator | Jean-Claude Brizard (Digital Promise)
        Panelists |
        Julie Murgel (Montana Office of Public Instruction) • William Hite (KnowledgeWorks)

        Student Voice And The Future of Schooling

        Moderators | David Nitkin (Transcend) • Jenee Henry Wood (Transcend)

        Funding the Future of Schooling

        Moderator | Kim Smith (Cambiar Education)
        Panelists |
        Romy Drucker (Walton Family Foundation) • Katy Knight (Siegel Family Endowment) • Frances Messano (NewSchools Venture Fund)

        Charters and The Future of Schooling

        Moderator | Darryl Cobb (Charter School Growth Fund)
        Panelists |
        Diane Tavenner (Summit Public Schools) • Karega Rausch (NACSA) • David Levin (KIPP Public Charter Schools)

        Closing Session: Moving Beyond The Box

        Moderator | Jeff Wetzler (Transcend)
        Panelists |
        Kirsten Baelser (North Dakota Department of Public Instruction) • Linda Darling-Hammond (Learning Policy Institute)

        Closing Session: The Intersection of Equity, Policy, & Innovation

        Moderator | Andy Rotherham (Bellwether Education Partners)
        Panelists | Denise Forte (Education Trust) • Chris Rush (New Classrooms)