School Co-Founder Diane Tavenner on Redefining Success in Education, Why Project-Based Learning Should Be a Team Sport and Tips For Parents on Raising ‘Prepared’ Kids

Photo caption: Courtesy of Summit Public Schools

Education is deeply personal. It’s more than reading and math; it’s about developing whole people. When we build schools that partner with families in order to do that, we are most successful. When we find ways of helping kids figure out who they are and what is important to them, connect that to the learning and think about a broader set of skills that they will need in the world, we are most successful. […]

When Summit Public Schools launched in 2003, founder Diane Tavenner says she felt alone. She and a group of parents in Redwood City, California, had set out to design a school that would prepare all students to pursue college degrees as well as fulfilling lives beyond the classroom — particularly low-income and minority students whose families said they were being underestimated in their current schools. But not everyone believed they could build it. “People literally thought we were crazy,” Tavenner says, recalling all the critics who said “‘You can’t do that.’” Today, that original Summit concept has grown into a network of 11 schools known for its focus on developing a project-based learning curriculum that can be shared and replicated with other schools. […]

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