RE-ENVISIONED:
A National Movement to Redefine the Purpose of School
Q&A
Why was RE-ENVISIONED founded?
We believe our schooling system requires systems-change, not silver bullet solutions. Systems-change requires a new positive vision. The conversation today is largely about schools as sites of competition ("Race to the Top") - not everyone can win in that game. What if we stop trying to level the playing field and instead change the game? We founded RE-ENVISIONED to catalyze a new, positive conversation and emerge this vision from our shared hopes, dreams, and aspirations.
What do you want to change about schools?
We believe schools, at their core, should be about learning to thrive as individuals and to flourish as a democratic society. Schools today are organized in ways that make it hard for students or educators to thrive. The exact qualities we cherish most - our curiosity, empathy, creativity, and joy are frequently suffocated. What would a system look like that empowers students and educators as positive changemakers in their lives and communities?
Why is a new vision important?
All successful ventures--whether a business, nonprofit, or school--need a core purpose and vision. The old adage, "if you don't know where you're going, then you won't know when you get there" is apt. If you're solving the wrong problem it doesn't matter how many innovative solutions you develop, the challenges will persist. So how do we get the right problem to solve? By establishing our shared purpose and vision.
What does RE-ENVISIONED specifically do?
We are facilitating a massive, collective visioning process across the country. We partner with Catalysts - individuals, schools, and organizations - who use our carefully designed interview protocol to collect the stories of their communities. We collect and share these stories from Catalysts across the country to foster empathy and understanding, and we will analyze them to find points of commonality and shared dreams.
Who conducts the interviews?
You!! We partner with individuals, classrooms, schools, community organizations, and more. Individuals have incredibly meaningful conversations with people they care about; classrooms use our instructional unit for a meaningful project for students that will be shared with the world; and schoolwide partnerships benefit from a designed community-wide visioning process. Everyone gets to make sure their community's voices are included in the process.
What will you do with the 10,000 interviews?
We plan to qualitatively analyze these interviews and discover key themes--areas of agreement--that could be used to inform a new, shared vision for schooling. This vision would be used to inform policy, shape practice in schools, and frame future research. We will share it widely through articles, a book, and a nationwide speaking campaign.