Transforming Public Education

Transforming Public Education features nineteen cases that profile entrepreneurs who are pursuing opportunities to create pattern-breaking social change in our public schools.

For nearly two decades, education entrepreneurs have been working to transform the K-12 public education system in the United States. Social entrepreneurship has become part of the language of a new generation of idealists, many of whom are focused on education. The nineteen cases in this book profile entrepreneurs who are pursuing opportunities to create pattern-breaking social change in our public schools - in particular, by creating high-quality educational opportunities for low-income and minority students who are dramatically underserved by the current public education system.

Based on a popular course developed and taught at the Harvard Business School, this casebook is organized into four modules:

• Understanding the Context of Urban Schooling in the United States
• Tackling the People Problem
• Focusing on Performance
• Launching and Growing New Schools

Students are invited to explore four overarching questions:

• Why are there opportunities for entrepreneurs in a sector that is funded with public dollars and delivered by public agencies?
• Why is entrepreneurial activity aggregating around certain opportunities?
• What are the possibilities and constraints faced by entrepreneurs in each opportunity area?
• How can we evaluate the impact of these entrepreneurs efforts?