Education Policy, Business and Technology

In Minnesota and U.S., Teacher-Powered Schools Take Root

Education Week: At Impact Academy, one of a growing number of teacher-powered schools across the country, teachers' fingerprints are all over the purple walls, even though they can't really be seen. That's because the school's layout, its mission, the style of learning—everything is decided by the teachers themselves.

For longtime teacher Julene Oxton, the fingerprint analogy may even be literal: With family members, she tore down a classroom wall to make way for a different kind of learning environment. In 2011, Oxton had been part of a small group of teachers with a vision for the school, then known as Orchard Lake Elementary. It called for more personalized learning, fewer top-down mandates, more teacher collaboration, and fewer silos.

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