IT’S AN event that would have been hard to imagine, and impossible to hold, just a few years ago.
But on Wednesday, long-time tensions had been put aside, and teams from 14 of the most promising schools (and programs) in Boston, some charters, some district public schools, were making short “elevator’’ pitches as they vied for the attention of scores of movers-and-shakers at a Boston Leaders for Education event.
After their quick presentations, the teams held longer informational sessions for those whose curiosity they’d piqued. For anyone interested in educational innovation, it was akin to being a kid in a candy store.
My first stop: A session led by Jeff Riley, the former outstanding principal of the Clarence R. Edwards Middle School in Charlestown, who is now innovation chief of the Boston Public Schools. As he tries to take his Edwards School success to scale, Riley has developed an “Acceleration Academies’’ program, which uses the February and April vacation weeks to provide kids extra instruction in English and math. The program, which translates into an extra month’s worth of classes in each subject, has brought impressive results. Problem: It costs about $350 per student; so far, Riley has only been able to feature that terrific offering in 19 schools. Donors, take note.
My next stop: the New Mission High School session, where standout student and debater Gina White said the small, close-knit Roxbury pilot school had impressed her so much she had chosen it over prestigious Boston Latin. Begun as an alternative program for students who weren’t doing well in traditional high school, New Mission now sends 85 percent of its graduates off to college. It fields a distinguished debate team, and has become a basketball power, even though it lacks a gym. With times tight, headmaster Naia Wilson is looking for $35,000 to build her students a combined library and media lab, and scrambling for $5,000 to run the school’s summer enrichment program. There’s a philanthropic opportunity.
Next, a talk with folks at Roxbury Prep, long one of the brightest stars in the Boston charter school constellation and the biggest winner in the recent round of charter expansions. From one middle-school campus serving about 300 kids, it will soon grow to two additional middle schools and a high school, adding 1,500 seats. On Monday, its team will kick off a capital campaign with an event at UMass Boston. Headline guest? One-time charter skeptic Deval Patrick. Tickets are still available.
Each of the featured schools was intriguing — learn about them all at www.bostonleadersforeducation.org/page3.html — but the other pitches that particularly interested me came from KIPP, a proven charter operator planning a big expansion; from Orchard Gardens Pilot School, a Roxbury K-8 in the midst of a determined turnaround effort; from the Edward W. Brooke Charter School, the Roslindale K-8 that’s delivering eye-popping results; and from TechBoston Academy, the Dorchester pilot high school President Obama recently held up as a national model.
It was heartening to see BPS schools going toe-to-toe with the charters. And yet, there’s also a lesson here as the Menino administration and the Boston Teachers Union negotiate a new contract.
Almost all of the featured schools benefit from a longer day or year (or both), as well as from considerable autonomy in selecting the teaching team best suited to their aims.
“That’s the struggle right now — taking what these schools have and making that available to all schools,’’ said Sam Tyler, president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau.
Here’s the rub. Boston teachers are already well paid, and for a day that’s short by urban-district standards. If the Boston Teachers Union insists that teachers be compensated for all additional time, it will be very difficult for their schools to compete effectively, particularly with the hard-charging charters. Indeed, the extension currently under discussion would only lengthen the student day by half an hour; successful expanded-learning-time schools usually keep students in school for an extra 1 1/2 to two hours.
If the traditional schools don’t embrace a significantly longer day and more staffing flexibility, expect two things to happen. First, the performance gap between traditional schools and those with substantially longer days will become ever more apparent. Second, parental pressure will grow for more longer-day options.
The educational world, like the rest of the working world, is changing. It’s time — past time, actually — for the BTU to recognize that.
Scot Lehigh can be reached at lehigh@globe.com. 
