RISC Coalition

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The RISC Coalition is a group of educational organizations at all levels—school, district, and state—that are replicating the RISC approach. The RISC coalition is a reflection of the idea that “two minds are better than one.” In this case, many minds, focused on a shared goal of reinventing school systems everywhere, are better than a few. This collaboration inspires synergy and innovation.

The coalition serves a number of purposes. It unites those school sites that are replicating the framework; serves as a network for sharing tools, processes, and lessons learned; and provides guidance and support to districts and schools interested in making the paradigm shift to RISC framework. The coalition also empowers other organizations to make the RISC approach their own and, over time, to become independent leaders and coaches in their own right for other school sites. Finally, the coalition helps ensure that the RISC approach is replicated with fidelity, the surest way to the realization of sustainable improvements.

As organizations join the coalition, they agree, in turn, to collaborate and to share information, successes and failures, and tools and processes. In addition, each of the coalition members has put in place a number of core supports and specific plans, including the following:

A school board resolution committing to implementation of the RISC Approach to Schooling
An action plan, with measurable evaluation criteria, outlining the specific steps the organization is taking to adopt the RISC philosophy A commitment to seeking and obtaining a waiver from the state Carnegie unit requirement for high school programs
A systematic process for ensuring that all stakeholders—students, teachers, parents, community members, school board members, and administrators—know what the RISC approach is and what it entails
A systematic process for regularly soliciting stakeholder input regarding systemwide goals

Learn more about each of the following organizations and the diverse ways in which they are implementing the RISC approach:

Adams County School District 50, Colorado

Barack Obama Charter School, Los Angeles, California

Bering Strait School District, Unalakleet, Alaska

Highland Tech High Charter School, Anchorage, Alaska

Ingenium Schools, Los Angeles, California

Klamath River, Early College of the Redwoods, Klamath, California

Lindsay Unified School District, Lindsay, California

Department of Education, State of Maine

Milford School District, Milford, Maine

Regional School Unit 2, Hallowell, Maine

Regional School Unit 12, Jackman, Maine