Scrappy Innovators Transform 'F' Schools to 'A' on the Cheap

by Mike Smith · 2009-08-27 09:00:00 UTC
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With less money in their budgets, schools are being forced to innovate. And it's working. The Christian Science Monitor reports on some "scrappy innovators" led by Alberto Carvalho, who took charge of Miami-Dade County Public Schools last year. He explained that "the traumatic impacts of budget reductions and the economy have pushed us to do more with less, but also to do better with less." From vetoing hotel expenses, to cutting out unnecessary Blackberrys, Miami-Dade schools have cut costs, and given individual schools the choice where cuts would come, all without firing teachers—thanks in part to bringing people with business experience into management positions. But Carvalho explains that the system is at breaking point, and other cuts would not be dealt with so easily.

[Photo credit: Napfisk]

Mike Smith is associate editor at Change.org.
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