Following up on a previous post concerning the resurgence of “Innovation Zones” in the U.S., I’ve found an article in the Courier Journal announcing a narrowing of the field in Jefferson County. As one of the four counties approved as innovation zones by the Kentucky Department of Education, Jefferson County Public Schools has asked for ideas from anyone in the Louisville community, including teachers, entrepreneurs, nonprofit groups, and community members.

From the 48 applications initially submitted, they are now down to four. At this point the four will receive district help fleshing out budgets, operational structures, curriculum alignments and other components so they can be developed as fully as possible before the final winner is chosen this summer. The four ideas enumerated in the article are fairly disparate in their approaches and we can’t wait to see which version will win out in the end. There was also mention made of taking the best ideas from several contestants and incorporating them into the final product. We’ll definitely keep an eye out for the final incarnation, to see what kind of innovative school will be operating in Jefferson County as early as 2015.