LESSONS FROM THE FIELD: In 2010, Mark Zuckerberg announced with pyrotechnics a U$100 million pledge to transform Newark public education system. In the following years, however, controversial political disputes were more in the spotlight than the students’ outcomes.
In a recent post on his Facebook page, Zuckerberg lists some of the achievements of Newark's schools but admits that "no effort like this is ever going to be without challenges, mistakes and honest differences among people with good intentions."
Then, the philanthropist says he wants to use the lessons learned in Newark to apply the $120 million pledged in 2014 for San Francisco Bay Area schools. Here are four of his takeaways:
- Attention to community's needs: "It's very important to understand the desires of a community, to listen and learn from families, teachers, elected officials and other experts,” Zuckerberg said.
- Incentivize a collective effort: "Our goal is to work with everyone -- district schools, charters, private schools, teachers, parents, unions and other philanthropists."
- Understand reform as a process: "Change in education takes time and requires a long term focus. We are committed to working to improve public education for many years to come, and to improving our approach as we go."
- Focus on personalized learning: "Everyone benefits from personalized learning and we'll serve students best if everyone is behind the effort."
