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Pilot schools

noun

An autonomous school with a special, designated status inside a school district. School boards and district leaders delegate authority to pilot schools’ governing boards via MOUs between the district and the union to try new and different means of improving teaching and learning. Each pilot school has an Elect to Work Agreement (EWA) co-created by the team of educators and signed yearly. The EWA sets out specific working conditions that might differ from traditional schools including scheduling, professional development, and work hours. Many, but not all, pilot schools use teacher-powered, collaborative leadership models to share their school autonomy among the team. The most prominent examples of districts with pilot schools are Boston and Los Angeles. Read more here.

About the Glossary

This glossary is a collection of terms related to teacher-powered schools — namely, terms around teachers, leadership, governance, collaboration, and teams.