A New Twist

just when it seemed there could be no new tweaks to the coffee store concept apart from a few methodological changes such as pour-over or all French-press (Ultimo's and Spruce Street Espresso are good examples of these in Philadelphia), here comes the new Intelligentsia store in Venice Beach, CA.  

By combining a concierge-type service approach with individual espresso stations and breathtaking space design, the Intelligentsia people have created something quite fresh, indeed.  The even more remarkable thing is that the store delivers with a very narrow range of beans--along with a few teas.  There's espresso, four or five Central American coffees, and not much more.

So, here the reason for this post: If concept freshness can be achieved in something as ubiquitous as coffee joints, why can't we create some new ways of doing school?  What slams the door on our collective creativity and generativity when it comes to re-envisioning academics?

Intelligentsia didn't just do a better Starbucks in Venice Beach.  After all, there's already a few of those here, along with a bunch of others.  How about a school strategic plan that doesn't just do a better job of what you are doing already?