Projects
New Projects
Newark Public Schools
IIPSC received a grant of $282,000 from The Foundation for Newark's Future in support of the design and technical assistance we are offering Newark Public Schools in re-creating it's high school choice process.
Current Projects
New Orleans Recovery School District
The Walton Family Foundation has granted $389,000 to IIPSC to support our work with the Recovery School District of New Orleans in creating policies and operations for their new centralized school choice system. We will also create custom-coded assignment algorithm software for RSD to use in creating a match of students and schools. All RSD schools will participate in the new process, including charter and direct-operated schools. Students will be assigned under this new process beginning in spring of 2012.
Chicago Public Schools
IIPSC is supporting Chicago Public Schools in designing and implementing a new centralized high school school choice system. We will also create custom-coded assignment algorithm software for CPS to use in assigning students to schools. CPS will decide whether to implement a similar process for elementary schools once the high school process is up and running. High school students will be assigned under this new process in the 2012/2013 school year.
Denver Public Schools
IIPSC is supporting Denver Public Schools and its partners in designing the policies and operations that will govern SchoolChoice, the new and improved school choice system in Denver. This system is groundbreaking in that it unites charter schools and District-managed schools under one centralized choice process. IIPSC created the student assignment software for Denver Public Schools to use to create a match of students and schools. SchoolChoice will assign students to schools beginning in spring of 2012.
Washington DC Public Schools
IIPSC is supporting Washington DC Public Schools in designing the policies and operations that will govern its new centralized high school choice process. We have already created custom-coded student assignment software for the district. Students will be assigned under the new process beginning in the 2012/2013 school year.
Recent Projects
The Brookings Institution
Neil Dorosin served on The Brookings Institution's advisory panel that created an index of competition and choice for school districts across America.
Read about this on the Brookings Institution's website.
IIPSC supported The Parthenon Group in its work on the Chicago Public Schools Portfolio Office development project.
IIPSC advised a consortium of education organizations in New Orleans, including the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools, The Recovery School District, and The Orleans Parish School Board.
Neil Dorosin spoke at the Voluntary Public School Choice Grant Director's Conference in Washington DC.
IIPSC performed an evaluation of the Rochester City School District's enrollment and choice system.
IIPSC analyzed choice systems in Portland Oregon and in Hartford, and created new student assignment algorithms for those districts to use in processing students.
--Our team helped to re-design the New York City Department of Education's high school matching process.
See Chancellor Joel Klein's press release from 2007
See Chancellor Joel Klein's press release from 2006
--Our team helped to re-design the Boston Public School's matching process.
Some quotes from Superintendent Tom Payzant's memo regarding changing the Boston choice system:
"The most compelling argument for moving to a new algorithm is to enable families to list their true choices of schools without jeopardizing their chances of being assigned to any school by doing so."
"While assignment to one of the top choices cannot be guaranteed, the 'gamble' nature of being truthful will be removed."
"The system will be more fair since those who cannot strategize will not be penalized."
"A resulting benefit for the system is that this alternative algorithm would provide the district with more credible data about school choices, or parent 'demand' for particular schools. Using the current assignment algorithm, we cannot make assumptions about where families truly wish to enroll based on the choices they make, knowing many of those choices are strategic rather than reflective of actual preference."
Read the full memo.