Combating the Prevailing Belief
Although College-Simulated Learning for K-12 (CSL) has been successfully field-tested in private schools for over 30 years, the important end goal has always been the public school system. That is where millions of boys and girls can be helped without cost to their parents.
However, during the early 1990s, the prevailing belief within the public school system was that more time and money were needed to improve education. We disagreed, but CSL required a level of innovative freedom that was not possible in a public school setting.
At the time, public school reform was being led by twelve heavily funded projects that were expected to reverse the failing state of public school education in America. Eleven of the projects were carefully selected as part of the New American Schools Development Corporation (NASDC, later called NAS), which was formed in 1991. It was part of President Bush’s America 2000 strategy to stimulate a redesign of the public school system for the next century.
Reduce the 5-Day School Model
The 12th major project, the Edison Project, was also launched in 1991. It was a for-profit venture created by Chris Whittle, the founder of Channel One. It opened with much fanfare and was also expected to reverse the failing state of public school education in America.
In contrast, our little-known GPA Project was quietly launched the following year (1992). It took a significantly different path toward school reform. This was an innovative private school project that set out to reduce the 5-day school model in a manner that would help meet youth intervention goals while also improving education at a reduced cost.
Over 30 years later, and with the public school system still failing, this successfully field-tested project is now poised to have a tremendous academic and family-oriented impact on public school education in America.