When Alan D. Cohen was told his job was to improve a failing New York City school about to be taken over by the state for dismal test scores, it wasn鈥檛 hard for him to decide to revamp just about everything.
In 2003, Cohen became the principal of Public School 69 in the Bronx and essentially threw out the way the elementary school had operated. He replaced it with a new framework that included digital curriculum, an emphasis on pedagogy that came with a heavy investment in professional development and communication, a new audio-enhancing sound system and interactive whiteboards in classrooms. He also swapped out curricula based on whether they were shown to work and adopted a community-building and respect initiative.
It wasn鈥檛 a difficult decision to try something completely new, Cohen recalls. The school was failing its mostly disadvantaged students, and there was little risk to experimentation.
鈥淚t was a community school that was not a beacon of pride,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here was a sense of urgency.鈥�
Within a few years, the school went from being labeled one of the worst schools in the district to ranking in the top 20 percent of public elementary schools in New York City.
For more on how innovation is being used in education, read the main story, 鈥淪chools Struggle to Balance Digital Innovation, Academic Accountability,鈥� June 15, 2011.
PS 69 soared on its new methods, and Cohen continued to see rising test scores.For example, in 2004, 31 percent of 3rd graders were proficient in reading on state tests; by 2009, that number was close to 77 percent. Test scores in math followed a similar pattern. In 2004, 56 percent of 3rd graders were proficient in math, but by 2009, 96 percent were proficient.
Then, during the 2009-10 school year, the New York City schools chancellor鈥檚 office asked Cohen to join the district鈥檚 Innovation Zone, an initiative to test new and different ways for educating students and managing schools. PS 69 would pilot a new program aimed at providing more individualized instruction to students through blended learning, using online curriculum and instruction and face-to-face teaching.
Cohen agreed, even though he realized the transition could cause test scores to drop in the short term as students and teachers learned a new way of operating. But Cohen says he didn鈥檛 hesitate. Though what he had achieved was good, he felt the school could still be better.
鈥淥nce again, I blew up the model,鈥� he says. 鈥淓veryone thought I was nuts, but I knew good wasn鈥檛 good enough.鈥�
鈥榃hy Take Risks?鈥�
When we鈥檙e 80 percent sure of something, we go forward, rather than waiting until it鈥檚 150 percent perfect. Otherwise, we鈥檇 never do anything. We need to take that challenge and move forward and innovate.鈥�
Cohen鈥檚 approach is a hallmark of innovative school leaders, says Christopher Dede, a professor of educational technology at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. 鈥淥thers say, why rock the boat, why take risks?鈥� Dede says. 鈥淏ut some educators look at today鈥檚 system and instead of seeing a system that is working fairly well, they see a system that is not working for a lot of kids.鈥�
Cohen retired as the principal of PS 69 at the end of the 2009-10 school year and became a network leader for the school district鈥檚 Center for Education Innovation-Public Education Association, overseeing 32 city schools. For the upcoming school year, he took at job as a principal at a suburban New York City K-12 private school.
Cohen remains confident that his decision to push the envelope at PS 69 was the right one. His assistant principal is now the principal of the school and is implementing the new iZone initiative.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e using the program and anxiously awaiting test results,鈥� Cohen says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e building the plane as they鈥檙e flying it, but they鈥檙e very optimistic.鈥�
