Now, I don’t want to name drop.  So, let’s just say a “well-known education philanthropist” posed a fascinating question to our CEO early this year.  He asked what she would do to improve education with about $400 million a year for the next 10 years.  Stated differently, he was asking what she would do with $4 billion.

That got her attention.  But more importantly, it got her to thinking and talking to some other people about this very provocative question. From the start, it was clear the answer had to include much more than NewSchools.  It had to have innovation at its core, and it had to involve many more people. From there, lots of conversations got started.

All that thinking, research and discussion has culminated in a new paper we are formally releasing today.  Reimagining Learning: A Big Bet on the Future of American Education is co-authored by our CEO, Stacey Childress, and our COO, Meghan Amrofell.  Although we’re producing the paper at NewSchools, the concepts in “Reimagining Learning” come from our collaboration with educators, school leaders, funders, researchers and other thought leaders over the past several years.

Many bright minds have been working on great ideas with one common thread: how to design and implement innovative school models that work better for all students.  This shared vision is reflected in “Reimagining Learning,” which is an interactive web site with a downloadable version available in PDF form.

Stacey and Meghan began writing the paper last summer, and quietly socializing a near-final draft in the fall.  Today, we’re releasing it broadly.

We are all very excited to have folks digest the ideas and begin to develop their own.  Maybe you’ll even be inspired to reach out and keep the conversation going.  What would you do with $4 billion to improve education over the next 10 years?