Innovative Public Schools

The Howard C. Reiche Community School in Portland, Maine initially converted to a teacher-powered governance structure in July of 2011, after receiving approval from the Portland Public School’s Board of Education. The school board approved a school proposal that outlined their proposed governance structure: the school can have a team of lead teachers (instead of a principal), who will represent the school on the district’s Administrative Team. The site teachers can also select the lead teachers. Reiche teachers follow district policy and collective bargaining in the areas of teacher evaluation, professional development, learning program, school policy, and school site budget. The allocation of discretionary funds is determined by the lead teachers with input from the staff and leadership team.

Schools with this arrangement

Denver Green School

DGS is a Neighborhood Innovation School—meaning we implement our own unique program design, approved through a rigorous process by the Denver School Board. Our emphasis on project-based learning allows teachers and students to engage in relevant, self-directed, teacher-facilitated learning. One of the main differences is that we use a different research based curriculum for Math and Reading, allowing teachers more …

Howard C. Reiche Community School

Our learning program follows district initiatives and includes differentiated instruction across all subject areas to accommodate our diverse learners.