The RISC Approach to Schooling was highlighted in a January 2010 Education Week article. In “Don’t Lose H1N1′s ‘Teachable Moment,’” RISC Board Member Dr. Patrick Russo, superintendent of Henrico County Public Schools (VA), said:
The H1N1 flu epidemic has posed a significant challenge to school districts across the United States wrestling with plans for how they might cope with a serious outbreak that forces schools to close for a significant period of time. . . . It is actually its own “teachable moment,” making us think a little differently about what we can do in normal times with the tools available beyond the regular classroom. . . . The traditional classroom as we know it is eroding, evolving instead into a segment of the learning process that also encompasses outside school work, virtual fieldtrips, online assignments, and even on vacation work.
This competency or performance-based approach—allowing students to meet their next requirements outside of the classroom—is gaining traction across the country. The Adams 50 School District in Colorado, the Chugach School District in Alaska, and the State of Maine are just three examples of systems moving in that direction. Each is being driven by the Re-Inventing Schools Coalition (RISC) model, a validated approach that helped Chugach win the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
