Giving Compass' Take:

• Getting Smart takes a dive into 15 public school districts that are making career preparation—including communications, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration–a priority. 

• How can other schools across America learn from these school districts? What key points can we take away from these methods of education?

• Learn how to help build effectively run schools. 


Leading a public school district is difficult and complicated work. But done well, there is no other job that can change how a community thinks about itself, its children and its future. Here, we look at 15 districts that are changing the trajectory of both education and their communities:

  • Encouraging Innovation
    1. Kettle Moraine School District, Milwaukee
    2. Montour School District, Pittsburgh
    3. South Fayette School District, Pittsburgh
    4. Albemarle County Public Schools, Charlottesville
  • Competency-Based Leaders
    1. Chugach School District, Anchorage
    2. Mesa County Valley School District 51, Colorado
    3. Lindsay Unified School District, California
    4. Wilder School District, Boise
    5. Windsor Locks Public Schools, Connecticut
  • Career Education
    1. Cajon Valley, San Diego
    2. Santa Ana USD, Orange County California
  • Using Networks to Innovate
    1. Evergreen School District, San Jose
    2. El Paso ISD, El Paso
    3. Denver Public Schools, Colorado
    4. Charlotte Mecklenburg, North Carolina

Read the full article about each of these innovative school districts by the staff at Getting Smart.