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Charter schools, which are public schools that are operated independently from local school districts and granted freedom from many state and local education laws and regulations, are perhaps the most well-known autonomous school model, but they’re not the only one. Many school districts have created their own types of autonomous schools. Massachusetts, an early adopter of charter schools and a leader in the creation of in-district autonomous school models, led the way in the development of a district-charter hybrid model, known as Horace Mann Charter Schools (Horace Mann schools) . Designed to be a hybrid between the charter and district sectors, Horace Mann schools are granted many of the same freedoms and flexibilities as independent charter schools but must be approved by their local school districts and remain part of their districts in important ways.  \n[ 4 ] Bellwether Education Partners  \nThrough a review of past research on Horace Mann schools, analysis of publicly available data and documentation, and interviews with stakeholders (including current and former Horace Mann school leaders, Boston Public Schools (BPS) staff, and state officials and staff) this report analyzes the extent to which the Horace Mann school model has been able to realize the seven goals laid out in its founding legislation (which we’ve organized into four pillars for the purpose of analysis; Table 1):  \nTable 1 Four Pillars of the Original Goals for the Horace Mann School Model  \n| Pillar | Goal(s) Outlined in Statute |\n| --- | --- |\n| Serve as Labs of Innovation | 1. To stimulate the development of innovative programs within public education.\u003Cbr>2. To provide opportunities for innovative learning and assessments.\u003Cbr>3. To provide teachers with a vehicle for establishing schools with alternative, innovative methods of educational instruction and school structure and management. |\n| Share Best Practices | 4. To provide models for replication in other public schools. |\n| Offer More Opportunities for Choice | 5. To provide parents and students with greater options in choosing schools within and outside their school districts. |\n| Improve Student Outcomesand Strengthen School Accountability | 6. To encourage performance-based educational programs.\u003Cbr>7. To hold teachers and school administrators accountable for students’ educational outcomes. |\n\nSource: An Act Relative to Charter Schools, Ch. 46, General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1997).  \nOur research points to the following conclusions for each pillar:  \nServe as labs of innovation: Horace Mann schools have leveraged their autonomies, in particular budget and staffing, to operate specialized programs that meet the needs of their students. Whether these approaches are truly “innovative” is more subjective. Some features of Horace Mann schools may be possible within the purview of traditional district schools, but many of the programs and approaches adopted by Horace Mann ","cbCainWCM7rK2B2S","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCainWCM7rK2B2S","pdf",2106453,73,"English","# Executive Summary\n## Introduction\n## Section I: Lay of the Land\n## Section II: Original Goals Realization\n## Section III: Barriers to Goal Realization\n## Section IV: Future Directions\n## Endnotes\n## Acknowledgments\n## About the Authors\n## About Bellwether Education Partners","[{\"question\":\"What is the Horace Mann school model?\",\"answer\":\"Horace Mann schools are district-charter hybrids that combine many flexibilities of independent charter schools with approval and continued connection to local school districts. They are designed to operate with added autonomy while remaining part of their districts in key ways.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the report organize the original statutory goals?\",\"answer\":\"The report organizes the seven founding goals into four analytical pillars: serving as labs of innovation, sharing best practices, offering more opportunities for choice, and improving student outcomes while strengthening accountability.\"},{\"question\":\"What conclusions does the report reach about realizing the goals?\",\"answer\":\"Across the pillars, the report finds meaningful leveraging of autonomy for specialized programs, but limited formal systems for disseminating best practices and restricted scale of choice. It also notes mixed relative performance when comparing Horace Mann schools with other school types, including Commonwealth charters.\"}]","Horace Mann Charter Schools - Their Past, Present, and Promise | PDF",1792044381,184]