Giving Compass' Take:

• An investment from the Children's Fund in four Detroit charter schools helped spur collaboration and innovation within the charter community. 

• Why is it more useful for schools to collaborate on education issues rather than work in silos? Is this replicable without funding?

• Learn more about the brave new world of charter school collaborations. 

Alice Thompson, who runs a charter school in Detroit, met a colleague from another charter in the city early last week. As they chatted, Thompson mentioned her plan to completely eliminate suspensions at her school, Hope Academy.

Within a few days, Thompson had visited the other school, Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences, to train its staff in restorative justice and other techniques for managing student behavior.

“I met him on Monday, and he said, ‘Can you come on Friday?’” recalled Thompson, CEO of BFDI Educational Services, which runs Hope Academy. “That casual conversation made the kind of good connection where we’re sharing resources and sharing our talents.”

It wouldn’t have happened without a $3.5 million investment by the Childrens Fund in four Detroit charter schools.

Increasing collaboration between the schools is just one of the goals of the investment. Leaders of the Childrens Fund hope the money will help build a blueprint for school improvement in Detroit, where policymakers and educators have struggled to combat the effects of child poverty, declining enrollment, and disinvestment.

Read the full article about charter school collaboration by Koby Levin at Chalkbeat.