Innovation, with a catch

The Boston Globe gives us a look at the growing number of Massachusetts districts embracing a concept designed to compete with charter schools. These “innovation schools” serve as the bedrock of Gov. Deval Patrick overhaul of public education, and they are meant to operate with more autonomy than traditional public schools.

“We are valuing the individual child,” one innovation school principal told the Globe. But while the schools are meant to address the individual needs of students, they are unlike charter schools in that they must negotiate their freedom with their district’s superintendent and they are still bound by most provisions of the district’s teachers union contracts.