Symposium on Developing Educational Entrepreneurship:
Redesigning Schools for the 21st Century
October, 2002
Educational Leadership as the Catalyst for Change
Forces for higher standards, greater educational choice, and more powerful learning for a more diverse student body are pressuring the U.S. educational system to change in fundamental ways. In this maelstrom of change, educational leaders are seeking knowledge about how to intelligently redesign the systems they've inherited rather than merely manage them sub-optimally. While many schools are not able to produce high levels of learning for most students, some have been invented that enable all students—those traditionally underserved by the education system—to graduate and succeed at high levels. These schools have developed very different organizational features than those designed nearly a century ago for another time and a different mission. What have we learned about creating high-performing organizations in business and education? What can we do to develop educational leaders who can draw on knowledge about teaching and learning as well as knowledge about effective organizational and management practices that will build and sustain a new breed of schools to meet the needs of 21st-century America?
A Unique Stanford Joint Initiative Integrating Business and Education
The Stanford Educational Leadership Institute (SELI), a partnership with the Stanford University School of Education (SUSE), the Center for Social Innovation at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) and The Goldman Sachs Foundation, seeks to provide current and upcoming educational leaders support and proven resources and tools to transform the education system.
To launch this endeavor, SELI hosted a symposium, Developing Educational Entrepreneurship: Redesigning Schools for the 21st Century, on October 23, 2002, that examined recent innovations in school redesign and explored how to create high-performing school organizations by integrating knowledge and experiences from both education and business management. The symposium focused on the central issue of emerging leadership in the redesign of existing urban schools and the creation of new school models that will bring about excellence and equity in our schools.
The Audience and Agenda
Attendees at the symposium represented with a wide range of experiences including:
- Practitioners consisting of principals and superintendents
- Policymakers
- Scholars
- Philanthropists from business and education
The format of the symposium included a mix of keynote speakers and breakout sessions. The breakout sessions provided the opportunity for the attendees to discuss issues in greater depth with field experts from both business and education.
The topics of the breakout sessions included:
- Essential Elements of High-Performing Schools
- Developing Leadership for Transforming the Education System
- Educational Venture Philanthropy: Leveraging the Growth of New School Models
- Scaling Up Success: Issues in Expanding School Re-design
Keynote speakers for this event included:
- Anthony Alvarado, Chancellor of Instruction, San Diego Unified School District
- Steven Gluckstern, General Partner of Azimuth Alternative Assets
- Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix
Other speakers included:
- John Anderson, Vice Chairman, New American Schools
- Linda Darling-Hammond, Professor of Education, Stanford University
- Steve Jubb, Executive Director, BayCES
- Mary Anne Schmitt, President and CEO, New American Schools
- Don Shalvey, Cofounder and CEO, Aspire Public Schools
- Tom Vander Ark, Executive Director, GATES Foundation
- Arlene Ackerman, Superintendent of San Francisco Public Schools
Press Coverage
Education School, GSB Join Efforts to Help Redesign Schools
Stanford Report, October 16, 2002
Stanford's School of Education and GSB kick off a new joint initiative at a symposium on Oct. 23. Details
Schools Need to Develop Leaders, San Diego Education Chief Tells SELI Conference
Stanford Report, October 30, 2002
At the "Developing Educational Entrepreneurship" conference, San Diego schools Chancellor Anthony Alvarado stressed the importance of leadership in improving schools and instruction. Details
