Pilot Schools

During the summer of 2006, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and union officials announced that the Pico Union area of East Los Angeles would soon be home to the Belmont Zone of Choice (BZC). The BZC encompasses the Belmont High School attendance area and will include up to 10 Belmont Pilot Schools, each with a targeted enrollment of 400 students. The small schools will be open to all Pico Union students and represent the demographics of the local district. This groundbreaking agreement, formalized in February 2007, will create a network of high-caliber, theme-based public schools for families to select from based on
students’ interests.

The story of how community members and educational leaders in the Belmont area of Los Angeles were able to reach agreement to create the Belmont Pilot School Network is filled with lessons for those working for educational equality and reform across the United States.

This report provides evidence and examples that effective implementation of autonomies in schools with clear visions for teaching and learning creates schools in which students have a better chance of succeeding.

This report examines the efficacy of the Boston Pilot Schools through quantitative indicators of student demographics, student engagement, and student performance.

This report documents how member schools of the Boston Pilot Schools Network use authentic assessments to understand what their students know and can do.

This case study highlights one low performing Boston public school that decided to become a Pilot School and transformed itself over a period of two years, becoming one of Boston’s more desirable high schools.

The Overview guide explains the essentials of Pilot Schools: autonomy, accountability, small size, and a commitment to equity. It includes data on Pilot Schools, how Pilot Schools fit into the school reform context, and the power of the Pilot Schools Network.

This study provides an overview of the success of Boston Pilot schools in the areas of academic performance and engagement.

This guide highlights the essentials of building a strong framework in Pilot Schools, including transforming leadership roles, setting a school mission, and creating a professional collaborative culture. It describes the role of governing boards and election-to-work agreements in Pilot Schools, and how shared decision making and leadership are essential to these structures.

This study examines Boston’s closely watched Pilot high schools over a four-year period (2001-2005) to discover who is attending Pilot high schools and how subgroups of the Boston student population are faring in Pilot high schools.

The Pilot Schools Experiential Education Demonstration (PSEED) project was intended to deepen and embed high-quality experiential education within each participating school’s academic programs. This report summarizes the three years of work in the seven Pilot schools, all of whom had diverse goals and implementation plans.

This report utilizes Boston Public Schools’ student assignment process data combined with CCE’s longitudinal student level database to answer questions about school choice by Boston families. The research whether or not families disproportionately choose one school type (BPS Pilot schools and other BPS schools) and what happens when families do not receive their first choices through the BPS choice system of student assignment.

This study explores the question of how Boston Public Schools can strengthen and support autonomy and accountability across its portfolio to promote innovation and expand access to equity and high performance.