By All Means Case Studies

Professor Paul Reville founded the EdRedesign Lab in 2014 at the Ed School, following his five years as secretary of education for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The goal was to study and create ways that cities and towns could address all the needs of children, especially those living in poverty, by breaking silos. Instead of thinking schools alone could “fix” problems in education, the lab would bring together people from child welfare departments, local law enforcement, and city health. And the mayors would be key.

This is exactly why the lab’s By All Means initiative was created, and why, over the course of two years, mayors and other city officials from six cities created plans in this first cohort to tackle a childhood challenge specific to their communities. The cities — Oakland, California; Louisville, Kentucky; Providence, Rhode Island; and Salem, Somerville, and Newton, Massachusetts — served as labs as they tested different methods of making deep change in schools. During that time, the groups met regularly at the Ed School to learn from one another and strategize.

In May, the groups met for the final convening. They also released case studies for five of the six cities involved that include exactly what their plan was, how they handled funding, elements that affected success, and roadblocks that got in the way.

Read more at Usable Knowledge.