Almost a quarter of a century into the 21st century, I am excited to see the awareness and, frankly, impatience with the faults of a school-centered model reach a tipping point. Our system was well designed in an industrial era to focus on standardization, compliance, completion, and sorting of young people. The data continue to show us that the skills that people need to be successful in life, work, and citizenship continue to evolve, yet the vast majority continue to “do school harder”, as Montie Syrie put it in this podcast episode, and as a result, we continue to see that kids are more dis ..read more

When ChatGPT started making it mainstream, I showed my two kids who are in middle school kids a news clip of how some teachers were using it in their classrooms and how some were banning it. They asked some questions, and we discussed how they might use it. Then we tested out how it could help with word choice or how to teach them some things more concisely than Google or writing funny stories- they are in middle school :). We talked about what would be considered cheating and what might be an appropriate way to use the tool. Although the line is vague and constantly evolving on what AI can an ..read more

In the last few years, especially as schools have navigated the pandemic, technology has become almost ubiquitous in schools. Curriculum, instruction, assessment, and communication are often facilitated by technology and tools. These tools can be powerful, and I believe a learner-centered approach that is personalized, competency-based, authentic, inclusive, and equitable requires technology to support the evolving role of the educator.  Like most practices, however, how the technology is used is critical to examine in service of our desired goals. If we aren’t intentional, the technology ..read more

I was recording a podcast with Dr. Susan Enfield, Superintendent at Highline Public Schools, shortly after the news mass shooting at Ross Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. As we wrestled with grief, frustration, and fear we discussed the importance of what she calls The Highline Promise, a vow to know every student by name, strength, and need so they graduate prepared for the future they choose. Foundational to this promise is slowing down to connect, prioritizing relationships, and making time to ensure that young people are not invisible in schools, homes, and ..read more

This week I got to host school visits that were postponed from March of 2020 (ya know, because of Covid). As over 30 educators joined together, I was overcome by a sense of hope and possibility. I reminded the group, as I do always, that our visits are not about critiquing other practices, they hold 3 purposes in my mind:  1) validate the practices that are working for them 2) push their view of what is possible, and 3) inspire educators to try something new and ultimately better in service of their larger aspirations.  I was inspired by the way young people on all campuses talked ab ..read more

For the first time in my life (seriously) I have the house to myself for the whole weekend! I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to do but I had one rule: Do ONLY what I want to do. No requests accepted! As a mom, wife, daughter, leader, friend, chauffeur, etc. there are many demands on my time and I wanted to spend my uninterrupted time doing things that would fill my cup and tend to my own wellbeing. I knew I wanted to exercise, learn, and create and I did! This visual around the critical consumption, inspiration, and creative work cycle from John Spencer pretty much captures my weekend. D ..read more

I had the opportunity to connect with teachers this week who are reading Evolving Education. As we reviewed part 1 of the book, we reflected on these key shifts and which ones were the priority for them.  Evolving Education Part 1 Key ShiftsWhat does success mean to you? I was chatting with a small group that was particularly focused on redefining success as teachers, school leaders, and parents. They highlighted this graphic and shared how they had been revising their questions in the classroom and how they were using it to have conversations about what success meant to their students an ..read more

Agency by definition is the power to act. But too often this is misconstrued as a free-for-all. We all operate within constraints, but we don’t have to do things the same way to reach the intended learning targets or goals. Educators have certain expectations they are accountable for meeting and there’s a variety of content and skills that we want students to learn within the content. There can still be opportunities for purposeful learning where young people are engaged and driving their own learning process based on shared goals and expectations. In order to create opportunities for learners ..read more

I love Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead podcast and recently she had on James Clear to talk about his book creating identity-based habits. There are 2 episodes and I would highly recommend listening to but one point that I think is absolutely critical for us as educators to hone in on is this: You don’t rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of our systems.  Think about it, we can say that we want all learners to be critical thinkers and lifelong learners. We can say that we value the whole child and have goals to develop global citizens but if our systems are only set up to pri ..read more

Many students are in different places with what they know and are able to do. As we are settling into the year, we are learning about some strengths and opportunities that coexist for all of our students. In math particularly, there are some gaps that are more present than ever. The pandemic is obviously a factor and for middle and high school students, we shouldn’t ignore the implications of young adolescence and all that comes with this time in life.  As I learned in my own classroom and was also reinforced in my graduate studies, the growth that young adolescents experience is second o ..read more