lol okay. I'm sure it really is great that the teachers get autonomy, but the "secret sauce" is that the parents have to apply, which means being involved and wanting their kids to learn. If my students had that level of care in my regular old public middle school our scores would be good too!

As a teacher, I endorse more autonomy but with some caveats already mentioned.

There needs to be administrative support

The school itself needs to be able to give the teachers and students the support and guidance which are needed. Having every teacher go willy-nilly is a recipe for disaster. Teachers need to know where their students need to end up, and admins need to be able to track that students are reaching those goals. Teachers should also be encouraged to meet more with each other - both at grade and with neighboring grades - in order to support each other.

A strong curriculum helps immensely, but being able to tweak it or discard it if needed should be allowed

In my school we've implemented a new curriculum and it is absolute garbage. My admins know it, I know, and we've made damn sure that corporate (private school corporation) knows about it. We've consequently been given free reign to implement our own and I have been so much happier for it. I have over a decade of experience to pull from and don't honestly bother lesson planning anymore (even though I should...) but a good curriculum will guide new and experienced teachers alike to do better and also to be more current in their teaching methods and strategies.

Assessments are critical but it shouldn't be the goal

Currently in public schooling - someone who is in the system, let me know if I'm wrong - it seems that most teachers are overly concerned with assessment testing. State testing, local testing, it all serves a purpose (tracking student performance) though how it's actually used is asinine. Low performing schools are de-funded or closed and more students become disenfranchised. Additionally, it tends to lead towards "teaching the test" rather than teaching actual skills.

Project-based learning is the future

What we should focus on, especially with the surge in use of tools such as AI and the presence of the internet and its wealth of knowledge, is a switch to more project-based learning. Do away with papers and exams and instead focus on having students take the time to research and present information collaboratively with others for an actual purpose - to make something, do something, or be something interesting to them. Combine this with smaller class sizes and more resources and freedom for educators, and we can begin to see immense changes.

All of these are my own opinions and I'm open to other ideas!