Year: 2018

In Episode 29, we chatted with Chad Carlson, a coach at One Stone, a high school learning environment in Iowa committed to “making students better leaders and the world a better place,” and Chloe French, a 2nd year learner at One Stone. The learning environment at One Stone is rooted in empathy, innovation, and student-centered learning. Both the design of the school and adults are focused on helping learners prepare to flourish on any path that they choose by providing irresistible experiences for students. One Stone fosters a culture of creativity, collaboration, ownership, and entrepreneurship. One Stone learners thrive on optimism, relish opportunity, build confidence, and strive for success.

Key Competency

Learner-centered leaders believe in the power of students to take ownership of the learning. There is a high level of agency evident in the learning environment at One Stone. It’s clear that the adults have created the conditions for that agency by designing a wide variety of learning spaces for learners to make learning personal and irresistible. The learners respond to these conditions by willingly taking ownership of their learning. The adults trust the learners, and the learners trust the adults. This mutual trust creates a powerful synergy for co-learning.

Takeaways

Learning at One Stone is student-centered and student-driven. Self-directed learners engage with the community and develop their leaedership skills.

Teachers are considered coaches, and their role is to guide students. Learners take ownership for their learning, and work alongside the coaches. The learning model is collaborative, empowering, and a relevant experience. Those big ideas are really important as the most impactful learning does not happen individually. It is socially embedded. Learning happens within groups in all the different learning spaces. Learners build off of each other’s knowledge. The social component of learning at One Stone is empowering because students drive each others learning. The learning is relevant because they work to address real world issues, adding meaning and context.

A few years ago, the school was a set of after school programs – Project Good and Solution Lab. Students and parents were asking why these after school programs couldn’t be the “school” experience. A 24-hour think design challenge resulted in the development of One Stone in the fall of 2016. The school was born as a result of engaging student voice. 

There are approximately 70 learners in the school day, and 150 students come to the after school programs from 12 different high schools.

If you visited One Stone, what would you see? You would see something different everyday!  You might see students working independently or collaboratively in the Foundry. Or teams problem solving in the Design Lab. Maybe students independently pursuing an interest alongside a coach, or engrossed in collaborative courses on topics such as law and the brain. One stone is a learning environment with a variety of different learning possibilities happening in different spaces.

The Foundry is One Stone’s makerspace. Students use tools such as a 3D printers and laser engravers to create designs. Design Lab spreads all around the building. Students self-select around an interest deeply connected to a community organization’s problem. Learners use empathy and ideation to create prototypes, test them, and iterate improved design solutions.

The school also has a commercial grade kitchen – coaches/learners cook for the community every Wednesday. Another learning space is Ripple Studios, basically a closet converted into an actual music/sound studio. Learners use the space to podcast, record and practice their music. The jazz band also plays in the studio, and the students have started renting the space to professional musicians.

The Two Birds room is a student-led advertisement agency. In this space, professional level client meetings are conducted. For example, students work on logos for local organizations and businesses.

Chloe shared an example in which she collaborated with other learners to create an orthotic better suited for patients who experience the condition drop foot.  Learners engaged in the design experience where they first empathized to understand how patients experience drop foot. They ultimately created an orthotic product with improved straps, foam, and an air bladder. Another team has created an app for distracted drivers.  

How is Design Lab organized? Design labs are 12 weeks, and teams are typically 4-6 students. Students meet 4 times a week for approximately 1-2 hours.

Throughout the One Stone learning environment, the role of teacher has evolved to that of a coach. Each Design Lab team has a coach, but lab is led and driven by students. The coach is there to provide help, advice, and to keep the learners on track. Often, coaches may not even have the relevant skills for the task. They work with the learners, guiding them to the right resources and networks to acquire content knowledge and skills needed at the time for the challenge at hand. The coach works as a guide, advocate, and resource officer, but the team is largely student-driven, demonstrating how One Stone values learner agency and the power within each learner.

One Stone works through the lens of opportunities, as opposed to challenges or barriers. The school draws on community members for learning. Students are not learning in classrooms isolated from the community, instead they are learning with the community. One Stone relies on their relationships with the community partners to seek available opportunities and resources. Students are held accountable to the organization or individual.

Every course has specific learning objectives which are similar to other schools, including public schools. Students get qualitative feedback, using a growth-focused model. The students and coaches aim for mastery while validating growth of different skills and strengths.  

What do Chad and Chloe see as key competencies for leaders working in an environment such as One Stone? Collaboration – a most valued skill in the professional world. Learners need to be able to work with a range of perspectives, manage different work ethics and value systems. Learners at One Stone build their collaboration skills through guided and structured activities.

Leaders need to be radically open to what learning can look like. Learner-centered leaders believe in the power of students to own the learning.  One Stone empowers students by believing in their power to design solutions to their own and community problems. Learners set their goals, work with their coaches, set targets, achieve goals, and learn how to learn. 

Coaches also serve as advisors. Advisors have a cohort of about 10 advisees. Advisors meet with their cohort as a whole and individually on a weekly basis. They are connected to the learners and provide space for learners to be introspective. Students have someone to go to when they need additional help. For learners, it feels like someone knows them on a really deep level. The relationship can be “super open” and very trusting. Students know the guidance is coming from a good place.

Learners and coaches have growth mindsets and belive in the power of ambiguity. They believe in failing forward, trying new things, learning how to engage in a new, innovative, progressive approach. Chad indicated he sees himself as an equal with learners and always growing. 

One Stone advises other leaders to take risks and provides an environment where educators are supported to try new things. Learners and leaders fail forward and understand there is something to be learned in everything they do. They believe the environment needs to be safe to take intellectual and academic risks so that innovation may occur. Fail forward, and fail fast…a common phrase at One Stone.  Embracing change with an open mindset brings new learning experiences and insights.

Connections to Practice

• We cannot do the heavy lifting on transformation in isolation. How do we create the conditions for everyone to move forward together?
• Our connections to community could be improved. What are some challenges in the community? How can our learners collaborate with the community to design meaningful solutions?

Questions Based on Our Practice

• Do our teachers and leaders know they have permission to fail forward?  If not, how do we better communicate that?
• One Stone empowers students by believing in the power of students. Do our leaders and teachers believe in the power of learners?
• How can we help our leaders, learners and teachers challenge their school-centered assumptions?
• How can we better engage community resources? What are those resources?

Next  Steps for Us

• Talk to our student group about their perceptions of failing.
• Meet with our Leading #YourSalisbury district professional learning cohort to celebrate successes and failures from this year.
• Reach out to the Workforce Development Board to identify some businesses which might like to engage with our learners.

In Episode 28, we spoke with Dr. Pam Moran, superintendent in Albemarle County Public Schools in Virginia and Keaton Wadzinski, a consultant working with Albemarle learners. We discussed what learner-centered learning looks like in Albermarle County Public Schools along with the importance of honoring all individuals as learners.

Key Competency

Learner-centered leaders hold learner agency and students voice at the core of their work. They create conditions for learners to develop a sense of agency in their own learning in school and in life. This developed sense of agency and self-awareness helps learners understand they have influence, seeing change happen in the classroom, school, nation and world as a result of who they are and what they do.

Takeaways

Albemarle started their transformation over a decade ago with the question: What are the kinds of competencies and skill sets learners need to be successful at home and in life?

Classrooms in Albemarle County focus on many models of learning where students not only explore what to learn but how to learn: project-based learning, maker culture, using technology in interactive/connected ways, opportunities to orient within the learning space. Still, some classrooms represent a more traditional model. The new models represent a shift in pedagogy, assessment and curriculum.

There has been a focus on different kinds of assessments beyond the multiple-choice test: portfolios, performance-based assessments, task and skill-based learning.

Project-based learning has helped change the relationship between teacher and learner. Both bring an expertise to the work – instruction, background and interest. In one Albemarle high school, learners complete a passion project. Learners take learning into their own hands with these projects, and that often times result in significant increases in learner engagement.

Power shifts from the teachers to the learners in learner-centered environments. Traditional teacher controls are given up – teacher is in control, compliance is valued. If we want to educate our learners well for this century, we have to shift the power from the teacher to the learner.

Passion is an “educator” word. Learners don’t necessarily connect with this word.

One of the most critical factors influencing learner-centered leadership is to honor the fact that everyone in the organization is moving at a different pace of change. Some teachers are significant risk takers and explorers. Some are waiting to see what happens with the risk takers. Learner-centered leaders provide teachers and leaders with the space to understand change in their own time.

Learner-centered leaders understand relationships and focus on the developmental nature of learning. A focus on learning is a non-negotiable for effective leadership for transformation. Leaders need to listen to those who are challenging the direction of change.

Superintendents shift power from the superintendent’s office to the people that are served – teachers, principals and parent community. There are lots of leaders in the system!

Structure is not the same thing as control. Innovative learning can feel like chaos. How do we design structures to elicit agency and ownership? Structure can be scaffolding that allows leaders and learners in the system to experience agency.

Transformation takes time! And in Albemarle, they are in this for the long haul – well over 10 years of supporting teachers at the edges of educational innovation!

When we feel we have “arrived” in the transformation process, we realize we haven’t. There is always more to achieve!

School boards are essential to achieving a transformation. Learner-centered superintendents provide the school board with professional learning. Boards need to understand the work as well as those within the schools.

Connections to Practice

• As we shift mindsets, we focus on shifting the power in the classroom – from teacher to learner.
• Our Profile of a Graduate and Learning Beliefs are filled with educational jargon. How do we make that language accessible?
• Our board is supportive of this work because we provide them opportunities to deepen their own understanding of what is happening in the district.
• Transformation does take time! And it’s messy. Stakeholders will move towards this vision at different paces.

Questions Based on Our Practice

• What new models of learning do we see in the Salisbury environment? How can we promote more of the models with our teachers on the edges?
• How are our assessments shifting as we move toward a more learner-centered environment?
• How can we influence teachers to share control in the classroom?
• How can learners help us explore this idea that “passion” is an “educator” word? What words would learners use to describe their passions?
• How can we create conditions for learners to be engaged in more real-world projects providing impact on a greater scale beyond the school walls?
• When is it time to stop waiting to see what happens with change?
• How are we scaffolding agency in our leaders and learners? What structures do we put in place?

Next Steps for Us

• Implement the new walkthrough tool to gather data on learning in Salisbury.  What does our data say? How learner-centered are we? How can we grow more learner-centered models?
• Engage learners across the district in a conversation about the vocabulary we use as we transform our learning environment. How much of the terminology is not connecting with stakeholders? How do we brand the message?
• Identify structures that create the conditions for greater agency among leaders and learners in the organization. How can we better share leadership?

In Episode 27 we spoke with Jon Hanover, Founder and Executive Director of Roots Elementary School in Colorado. We discussed the history and GROW values of Roots Elementary, their transformation to a learner-centered environment, barriers they have overcome, and advice for learners and leaders as they move towards a more learner-centered environment.

Key Competency 

Learner-centered leaders place learner passions at the center of learning in core academics and social-emotional learning.

Takeaways

The work at Roots Elementary looks through the learner-centered lens at each learner and then designs and builds the work around learner needs. The work falls in three buckets: core academics, social-emotional learning, and learner passions.

Sometimes learners need to move across grade levels in order to get the instruction they need. Roots is keenly aware of individual learner strengths and needs, examining data and designing a core academic program for each learner.

Core academics is not enough for learners to thrive. Learners at Roots have experienced a wide array of situations prior to coming into the learning environment, including trauma. Roots works to understand how trauma impacts the brain, understanding the gaps in social-emotional development and competencies. This requires building deep relationships between teachers and learners.

Project Wonder focuses on uncovering each learner’s passions and personalizing for core academics. Learners are asked questions such as, “What lights your fire? What are you passionate about? What is it that you want to learn more about?” Once these questions are answered, deep learning projects are designed to support each learner to achieve their goals and interests. Customized, small group work as well as external speakers are common facets of the deep learning work of Project Wonder.

Jon shared how the GROW values (developed during the initial design of the school) are the heart of the Roots learning community.

• Grit – How do learners manage learning and the failure and frustrations that often accompany it?
• Relationships – How do learners develop the self-competency for success in core academics?
• Ownership – How do learners own their progress and growth? How do learners understand themselves as learners and where they are on their learning pathway?
• Wonder – How are learners encouraged to be curious about the world? How does this work foster connection to individual passions?

The Roots model represents a break from the traditional school-centered model. In core academics, one-size-fits-all instruction, by age cohort, along with whole group instruction do not fit with the way learners learn. School cannot be only about core academics, but must be supported by the effective social-emotional development of learners. Learners are more than just their reading and math skills. Project Wonder helps learners build the entrepreneurial skills to apply what they’ve learned in core academics to the real world.

Transformation is not easy work. Jon shared a number of barriers that Roots has overcome to make it the school it is today. One of the barriers included underestimating the importance of social-emotional skills for the adults in the school. Since teaching is being radically transformed, educators need to develop the skill to intensely collaborate and communicate with others. Nothing happens without the complete work of the full team. Roots has spent a lot of time investing in developing the social-emotional skills of the team.

Jon also talked about the inherent dissonance between personalization/individualization and community/relationships. Leaders need to realize that when you optimize for one over the other there are trade-offs and affordances and constraints that come with that optimization. For example, optimizing for personalization can lead to incredibly dynamic scheduling. Learners are seeing many adults during the day. Groups are fluid and change easily. This optimization impacts the depth of community and relationships you can build as time is a finite resource. In the early days, Jon reflected, Roots may have optimized too much for personalization. Some kids thrived, but others felt lost, struggling to build relationships with teachers. The challenge is finding the point that’s right for the organization – balancing personalization with community/relationships.

Leading change and leading the innovation process is the most important skill leaders need to bring about an impactful learner-centered environment. To really innovate, leaders need to feel comfortable taking risks and changing course when necessary. This can be hard on teachers, learners and families. Leaders cultivate an understanding that the “old way” isn’t working and decide to lead the charge for change. Meaningful innovation happens through developing an interesting hypothesis for change, testing the hypothesis, reflecting on what is working and what is not, pivoting when necessary and designing the next iteration. Leaders help their team get comfortable with this process, involving “a ton of teacher voice.”

Jon’s final piece of advice for leaders shifting to learner-centered? “You just have to do it.” The system isn’t working for all of our learners. It’s scary and hard, but continuing to do what we’ve always done will lead to certain failure. Moving to learner-centered, while it may lead to failure, could lead to success. When given the choice between certain failure and possible success, we have to choose possible success.

Connections to Practice

• We are struggling with the “why” in our district. Many of our students (over 88%) graduate and attend further education in a two-year, four-year, or trade school. Our school community values this and views it as a success. Based on our learners’ success in achieving this next step, our urgency for change is reduced.
• This year, with our Leading #YourSalisbury professional learning cohort, we are working to build the way. Through inquiry and discovery of future work place skills and careers, this small pocket of teachers is understanding the urgency of change.
• We are having more conversation about leading change with our leadership team.  We are currently engaging in a Lunch and Learn series using Cale Birk and Charity Allen’s exceptional and fun book, Changing Change Using Learner-Centered Design: From Failed Initiatives to a Change Process that Connects, Empowers and Actually Works.   Learn more about their book at this TLTalkRadio podcast.

Questions Based on Our Practice

• Do our teachers view themselves as a member of the “tennis” team or the “soccer” team?
• Would they see the benefits/differences between the two?
• Do we as leaders have the sub-skills required to lead change?
• Do we have the will to reflect critically on our practice?  Have we cultivated an understanding that the old way isn’t working for all of our students? Are we willing to just do it?
• Do we need to invest more time developing our own social/emotional skills?

Next Steps for Us

• Have a reflective conversation about these questions with learners at an upcoming superintendent advisory council.  How do you as learners manage learning and the failure and frustrations that often accompany it? How do you as learners develop the self-competency for success in core academics?  How do you as learners own your progress and growth? How do you get to know yourselves as learners? How are you encouraged to be curious about the world? How does this work foster connection to your individual passions?
• As a result of our Changing Change book study, each of us as leaders will take a risk and redesign a learning opportunity.
• We will also seek additional ways to incorporate teacher voice.  How can we learn more from our teachers’ perspectives?

 

In Episode 26 we are revisiting Springhouse Community School located in Floyd, VA. You may recall that in Episode 23, we had a wonderful conversation with school co-founders Ezekiel Fugate and Jenny Finn through the leadership lens. A significant part of our conversation in this episode is with two learners at Springhouse, Gabby Howard and Leah Pierce who provide us with a deeper dive into the kinds of learning experiences Springhouse provides. In addition to the learner experience our conversation includes discussion of learner agency and how the concept of relationships at Springhouse differs from other learning organizations.

Key Competency

Learner-centered leaders invest time in developing deep connected relationships.

Takeaways

We started the conversation by asking the learners at Springhouse to describe their learning experiences in three words. Gabby described her learning experience as individual, whole/all encompassing, and interactive. For example, as a learner, she focuses on the details of the project as well as the emotional and personal aspects of the process of completing the project. It is not enough to just do the project, instead learners reflect on process.

Leah described her experience as self-awareness, empowerment, and growth. Learners take time to focus on themselves throughout the process. They explore themselves through what they are learning and their daily life at Springhouse. For example, Leah is studying how to become an ER nurse. She volunteers with hospice once per week, is interested in doing ride-alongs with the local ambulance company, and is learning about other programs around the world – even considering internships in colleges and hospitals. She thought about what she wanted to do, and then she sat down with her advisor at Springhouse where they developed possibilities together.

Learners participate in independent project studio. Older students work with Ezekiel for about an hour and a half per week to work on their projects.

What are some challenges to learning in Springhouse? Each learner is required to engage professionally with his/her mentors, demonstrating agency in solving problems and creating relationships.

Students meet with mentors multiple times throughout the week. They talk about school and their personal lives. Conversations about school projects, family lives, and friendships help learners better understand themselves

When asked about positive, memorable learning experiences, learners shared about Springhouse presentation nights. Juniors and seniors are required to complete a presentation, performing in front of an audience to share the work they have completed.  Failures are also celebrated in this forum. For example, when Gabby didn’t finish her project, she was vulnerable and shared the process she used and took responsibility for failing to meet her personal goals.

Learners also participate in experience week trips 2-3 times per school year. One mountain lake trip included white water rafting, caving, and hiking.  Learners connect with each other and develop stronger relationships through the shared activities and daily life. Cooking and dining bring the learners together and strengthen the community bond. Learners even raise the funds for the trips through bake sales and community events.

Learners at Springhouse demonstrate agency and leadership and are prepared for success once they leave the school. They are developing independence even though they are guided and supported every step of the way.

What do leaders need to know in order to support the development of agency in learners? Leaders need to be willing to take risks and listen to their learners in order to develop understanding, connection, and compassion. Teachers and leaders need to be intentional about course design. When developing an entrepreneurship course, the facilitators are asking themselves about what kind of real-life experiences students can participate in to learn entrepreneurial skills. They turned to a current school issue – school recruitment. Students identified possible reasons for the challenges with recruitment and ways to confront/manage those issues. The facilitators realized they don’t have to make up a project – instead they need to involve the learners in their current, authentic challenges.

Each individual is honored and has something valuable to contribute. Learners are not empty buckets which need to be filled. Leaders value the process of relationship-building and the time it takes to connect. They invest the time to uncover and value vulnerabilities in order to help students develop resiliency to challenges.

The adults in Springhouse demonstrate integrity in their work, and they place knowledge, skills, and relationships on an equal platform. They have the personal philosophy or mindset of the importance of building deep relationships. Some barriers to developing strong relationships may include: time, fear of connection, vulnerability, and/or skills.

Leaders need to be connected to their context – themselves, their community, and the earth or larger system.  They need a sense of purpose. Why do they do the work? What are they oriented towards? Leaders need to keep each other honest – asking tough questions, being aware when avoiding challenging issues, and having the ability to lavish praise on themselves and each other.  

Connections to Practice

• Our Profile of a Graduate articulates dispositions we want to develop in our learners. How do we work towards those ideas across our organization?
• This year, we are sharing SuperPower recognition. Do our learners, teachers, and leaders celebrate their internal SuperPowers? What is the evidence?

Questions Based on Our Context

• How can we develop a family-like structure with our learners?
• Are our learners all deeply connected to an adult?  If not, why not?
• What are our barriers to developing strong relationships?
• Do our learners have time to talk with advisors about projects and personal lives?
• What types of place-based experiences do our learners have in our schools?
• Are we designing courses around real, authentic issues?
• Do our learners own their successes and failures?

Next Steps for Us

• Evaluate our current advisory programs.
• Talk with our learners in superintendent advisory council about whether or not they feel connected to an adult in school. What are their perceptions of the relationships of the adults in the organization?
• Work with school leaders to plan with intentionality how we can support our learners to think about the world of work beyond high school.

In this episode, we focus on leadership and a conversation with Big Picture Learning Co-Executive Directors, Dr. Andrew Frishman and Carlos Moreno. Our conversation dives deeply into how Big Picture Learning represents the five elements put forth by Education Reimagined and the key role of leadership in educational transformation. We also discussed a reframing of the term “relationships,” the power of giving up control, policy and mindset barriers and the shifting role of the teacher.

Key Competency

Learner-centered leaders explicitly redefine the role of the teacher. Teachers are no longer the sole keepers of the knowledge. Instead, as advisors, they develop deep relationships with learners and their families to co-create meaningful, personalized learning experiences.

Takeaways

Big Picture Learning (BPL) works to maintain integrity of its brand through intentional leadership. The engagement continues beyond the initial implementation. The BPL schools remain connected as a network. Those within Big Picture schools collaborate and learn with one another. Leaders, practitioners, and students connect with one another to share learning experiences with their own communities. This provides continuous growth and improvement in BPL schools.

Much of the work of transformation begins with the school leaders. They assist in providing “high touch” professional development for the school community. BPL encourages current school leaders to consider internal succession planning as well as develop their own talents. Veteran leaders are often tapped for additional leadership roles. Distributed leadership is employed to build capacity.

What does the learning look like in BPL schools? BPL seeks to lay out an approach to learning which encourages deep connections to learning and to each other as learners. Before students enter the school, they are connected with an advisor (redefined role of the teacher). An advisor works with the student to explore several questions – Who are you? What are you passionate about? How do you want to go out into the world? How can we help you design learning experiences to get you there? Advisors meet with the student and his/her parents outside of school in their community. The advisor seeks to understand the student as a learner and a person. They learn about the students’ interests, hobbies, challenges, etc.This connection goes far beyond academic content and technical skills.

Students are also connected to other students through advisory. A group of fifteen to twenty-five students stay with one advisor over the course of 2-4 years.  The combination of the deep individual relationship and getting to know students in advisory benefits the learners. 

Regarding relationships – the value is in the relationship itself. By placing the advisor/student relationship at the center of the learning, the advisor can work with the student and his/her family to co-create learning experiences.  For example, If a learner is interested in architecture, how would they find 5-10 places in the community where that is occurring? How can they set up a research interview? Who works there? How could they get that career? What does the day-to-day job/work look like? The students complete informational intervews to answer some of these questions. Then the work wth the advsor continues. How can we craft with you and your family an individualized learning plan? The advisor supports and scaffolds students experience in internships and helps students think about authentic projects and assessments.

BPL embodies the five elements put forward by Education Reimagined. The learning is open-walled, going beyond the walls of the school with internships and connections as shared above.  Learning at BPL is highly socially-embedded both in and out of school. Because it is student interest-driven, there is a tremendous amount of learner-agency. By defintiton, the work is highly personalized by each learner. Learners are developing and demonstrating competencies and skills. The competencies and sklls are deeply contextualized to the work the learners want to do.

Relationships in a school-centered environment look different from relationships in a learner-centered environment. In the learner-centered environment the deep, strong relationships are used as the foundation to co-design learning experiences. The connectons go beyond developing academc rigor; instead, the value is in the relationship itself. Buildng relationships and connections is important work.

In order to create this learnng environment BPL, does not completely abandon traditional elements of education. BPL sees the value in the concept of teachers, students spending some time in a school with peers, and some time with other experts, many of whom have more knowledge than the teacher. Teachers have to let go of control and the notion that they are the center of the room with all of the power and knowledge. Instead of transferring content, the advisors identify that each learner has a set of knowledge which the teachers do not have. The role of the teacher has shifted, and often that person may not be recognized upon immediate entry into a classroom. Voice and choice are distributed beyond the advisor to the learners.

BPL is a new form and design of a student learning experience that requires different cultures and structures in order to provide the most powerful experience. It requires a shift in mindset beyond the regularities of school. A key barrier to implementation of personalization can be a lack of resources – both human and financial. This system works across the country and around the world – 25 states in both rural and urban settings.

What competencies do leaders in this space need?  Leaders need a clear purpose for being in this work. Ideally, they are reflective practitioners with a continuous growth mindset. They care about students in very deep ways and believe in learner-centered education very deeply. How are leaders visionary? What is their vision 10-15 years ahead for their school? Leaders need to be distributive in leadership – not the keepers and holders of everything, instead sharing the leadership with others including students and staff.

What nugget of advice could you offer us and our listeners? Just do it! If you wait for conditions to be perfect, you wil be waiting forever. You will never have all the perfect technical skills. Get a group of people together and get excited! Start doing it? Make mistakes and learn. Iterate to get better. As you get into it, you will make more and more beautfiul things. Leaders need to embrace the messiness, and lean in as learners.

Connections to Practice

• We have advisory in our middle school and high school.  How can we better utilize this time?
• Change is loss, and that can be scary for our teachers and leaders. How are our teachers and leaders feeling about our vision?

Questions Based on Our Context

• How can we develop a family-like structure with our learners?
• Are our learners all deeply connected to an adult?
• On a regular basis, do we ask students where they want to be in 5, 10 or 15 years?
• Do our teachers believe they are the center of all content knowledge? If so, how can we shift that mindset?
• How would we redefine the role of the teacher? How can we best think about this question?

Next Steps for Us

• Evaluate our current advisory programs
• Talk with our learners in superintendent advisory council about whether or not they feel connected to an adult in school.
• Work with school leaders to plan with intentionality how we can support our learners to think about the world of work beyond high school.