Educational Innovation Through the ESSA

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, school leaders must take a deliberate approach to innovation. This report highlights examples of innovation and outlines how to use more innovative methods in schools. Under ESSA, leaders a set of frameworks and theories to understand how best to manage, encourage, and measure innovation in K–12 education. These theories do not merely provide a universal checklist of programs for states to push under the new federal law. Rather, they help states understand the circumstances and organizational dynamics that affect any school system’s ability to innovate and then offer recommendations tailored to varying circumstances. Armed with the right theories of innovation to match opportunities under ESSA, states will be able to push past mere trial-and-error innovations. Instead, they can find themselves better equipped to set up schools for success with sustaining and disruptive innovations from the start. 

Freeland, J., & Arnett, T. (2017). The State Innovator’s Toolkit: A guide to successfully managing innovation under ESSA. The Christensen Institute. https://www.christenseninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/ESSA_Christensen.pdf