As Joe Nathan writes in his April 14, 2014 blogpost in Education Week, “Opportunities to create new, innovative public schools should be available to district educators” (and not just charter school educators, I would add). That’s what legislation pending before the Minnesota legislature would encourage.

It’s happening in the Minnesota legislature. Republican bill authors are joining with Democratic bill authors, union leaders are joining with leaders of the Minnesota Business Partnership, and district superintendents are on board.

I think one of the most well-read sections of my book about the origins of chartering is the Commentary “Coming Full Circle” written by Louise Sundin, former president of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers and former Vice President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).

Last week we told the story of Milwaukee teachers who asked their union leaders to bargain for creating a new project-based school in the district. With the superintendent’s support, they created one.

In my view, the most influential proponents of innovation and change are K-12 teachers themselves.  The more they seek the professional status and autonomy they deserve, the more responsive school districts will be to their requests for change.

Many educators and policymakers like to call themselves innovators and take bold verbal stands for change. That’s step one. But unfortunately, few ever get to the next step—implementation. Change is hard. It is especially difficult to change the status quo in K-12 public education.

Earlier this week, I shared my classical learning experience led by Mill City High School start-up coordinator John Miller—to demonstrate learning in their new high school opening this fall. We had a rich discussion in identifying the quotes we felt best answered the question, “What Happens in a Good Education?”

“You betcha,” as we say in Minnesota. I had the opportunity last week to present and participate in an informational event for the new Mill City High School in east downtown Minneapolis, where “Tradition meets Innovation.” The new high school will open this fall, based in classical education, along with global classical studies that fit the multiple world traditions of our city.

Can “skunk works” exist in both the charter and district K-12 education sectors? As the author of the first charter school law in the nation, two factors drove me in championing the chartering law: creating innovative new opportunities for learners and empowering teachers with autonomy. In my view, Innovation + Autonomy = Results.

We’ve talked about parallel innovation and disruptive innovation as inroads to creating change needed for 21st century education. Last week we highlighted an innovative chartered school located in the woods of Wisconsin as an inspiring example of creating change.

I just had the privilege of reading a book manuscript to be released this spring called, An Improbable School:  Transforming How Teachers Teach and Students Learn, by Wildlands founding teachers Paul Tweed and Liz Seubert.

Sure, you say–21st century learning would be great if we had the resources, or the authority, or something else, to make it happen. Everyone can come up with multiple reasons why it can’t happen here. But it can.

We’ve talked about parallel innovation: where new ideas, allowed to evolve without restriction, can cause system change from the outside.

I’m a believer in the Split Screen Strategy: Improvement and Innovation. As Education Evolving describes it, we can continue to improve traditional schools in traditional ways, while we open a new sector truly open to innovation.

In my last blogpost I suggested that Innovation + Autonomy = Results is key to 21st century learning. Innovation and Autonomy are taking many forms in schools around the country. But let’s face it—too few teachers and schools see this as an option.

I hope you had the chance to view last week’s video of a teacher-powered school. The 12 teachers in the Denver Math & Science Leadership Academy use collaborative planning time to meet with their peers, analyze data, and design instruction that meets student needs. They designed their school and have been running it since 2010. The school was created to attract and retain the most accomplished teachers in the field, and so far it is working. The school fields about 30 applications for each open position.

A recent national opinion survey commissioned by Education|Evolving, a Minnesota-based education policy design and advocacy group, found broad support for teacher-powered schools among teachers, parents and the general public.

Teachers do well when given teacher autonomy, creating a culture that resembles a high-performing organization.

Teacher autonomy is key to education in the 21st century. And the overwhelming majority of the public and teachers support it.

We’ve talked in past blogposts about Personalized Learning: a key to innovation and breakthrough in 21st century education.