It’s increasingly apparent that young people are grappling with growing disconnection, a challenge that extends well beyond traditional schooling and affects the entire landscape of education. In light of this pressing issue, the question arises: How can we initiate a transformative era of education that not only cultivates deep learning but also actively addresses the complex social issues in our communities? 

We’ve been learning from communities across the country about their thoughts on this very question, listening to their experiences and insights about what they think it will take to transform education. We’ve heard firsthand about the need for collaborative efforts in shaping a more inclusive, responsive, and impactful system for education. We’ve heard a call for public education that looks more like an ecosystem, or more holistic learning systems that place a premium on fostering a sense of belonging, nurturing connections, and empowering both communities and educators alike.  We’ve also heard about how communities more naturally operate in this way and have been doing so long before our formal education system came into existence.

Belonging

The vision of learner-centered ecosystems is anchored in the belief in the unique power and potential of each child. By anchoring education in this belief, we cultivate a sense of belonging—a space where individuals are valued for who they are. As Brené Brown aptly puts it, “Fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming who you need to be in order to be accepted. Belonging, on the other hand, doesn’t require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are.”

To truly center learners, we must reimagine the blueprints of education. This begins with small groups or advisories that serve as a “home base”—a place where every child and educator is known, honored, and supported. For example, at Big Picture Ukiah at South Valley in California, as in all Big Picture Learning network schools, learners are divided into advisories that stay together like a family, and advisors work with students to find internships and community projects connected to their interests and aspirations. Together they navigate a series of experiences, making sense of them as they go along all the while building the agency and self-awareness of each learner. As one learner stated, “This school made me feel it’s all in my hands” she continued, “I came here and found the help that I needed.  They want you to grow and be happy. I am happy.” Advisory is designed to foster these deep-rooted relationships much like an environmental ecosystem. A strong root system provides stability and prevents learners from being underserved.

Connection

Connection is the intricate network of waterways that sustain the ecosystem. It’s through connections with ourselves, each other, and our surroundings that we can develop new ways of being. In order to grow and develop a system that is strengthened by connections, we must let down the walls of school buildings and consider weaving together a web of connected partnerships and relationships that offer learners the chance to pursue their interests, and the opportunity to engage as citizens within the community. 

FabNewport, a non-profit dedicated to positive youth development and place-based learning, is an example of an organization defined by its powerful connections. They offer learners experiences with golf, surfing, cooking, visual arts, music, museums, the bird sanctuary, coding, maker spaces, hiking, farming, biking, sailing, and advanced career pathway connections. All of these opportunities are available through partnerships intentionally woven together as an ecosystem of learning. FabNewport threads together the community by connecting partners, learners, businesses, and the civic structure, and they consider these connections to be long-term relationships. This mindset leads to new possibilities for what can be accomplished within a community. One learner noted how a mentor at FabNewport “wants me to be successful” and helped him see how “something I love doing…he’s showing me different career paths that it could turn into.”  A team of learners, educators, and FabNewport Co-Founder and Executive Director Steve Heath shared more of these experiences during a recent webinar.

Place

Place matters. It’s where we live, learn, and grow. By embracing the unique qualities of our surroundings, we can create meaningful learning experiences that resonate with learners. The power of place goes beyond the physical spaces and geographies and includes lived experiences, histories, and cultures. We see incredible examples of communities coming together to leverage place in their ecosystems.

For example, the team from Launch Expeditionary Charter School, a Middle School in Brooklyn. At an Outward Bound experience, this team stood on the site of an abandoned airstrip and thought, what if we could develop this site and open a school here dedicated to experiential learning and career exploration? In 2023, they created  Runway Green—a groundbreaking project located at Floyd Bennett Field in New York City. The vision for Runway Green is for education, community engagement, and workforce development to converge. Through strategic partnerships with the New York Department of Education, the National Park Service, and various green economy stakeholders, this community is engaged in a community design process creating together a new chapter in the use of this land that will impact thousands of children and families for generations. Every ecosystem will have unique attributes and stories that come from the land, place, and people. 

Learner-centered Ecosystems as a Way Forward

We are at a pivotal crossroads, and young people are in the middle of it. Ecosystems, while the concept isn’t new, provide a timely possibility for a new era in education that nurtures what young people need most right now —connection, belonging, and a deep sense of purpose and place.

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In an era defined by profound demographic shifts and burgeoning diversity within our classrooms, the imperative to cultivate a sense of belonging within educational ecosystems has never been more pronounced. Amidst this backdrop, our report, “Building Belonging: Harnessing the Power of Education in an Era of Demographic Change,” offers a deep dive into both the challenges and opportunities presented by the dynamic demographic landscape of the United States, underscoring the critical need for educational practices that champion belonging as a cornerstone of an inclusive society.

The significance of belonging stretches far beyond a mere sense of inclusion; it is the linchpin for students’ well-being, academic success, and social cohesion. Studies reveal that a robust sense of belonging can mitigate loneliness and depression, bolster self-esteem and resilience—qualities especially crucial for students grappling with identity challenges. 

Academically, those who perceive themselves as integral parts of their educational communities exhibit heightened engagement, motivation, and achievement. Socially, the cultivation of belonging fosters cohesion diminishes prejudice, and champions inclusivity among diverse groups, thereby transforming schools into environments where every student feels valued, understood, and part of a larger community narrative.

The urgency of fostering belonging is further magnified by the societal divisions and cultural anxieties that often accompany demographic transitions. These include polarization, mistrust, and xenophobia, which, if unchecked, threaten to deepen societal fissures. Schools, therefore, emerge as pivotal agents in building belonging within communities, serving as bastions of civic engagement, respect for diversity, and cooperation towards shared goals.

Educators, in this regard, assume a pivotal role. Beyond their duties as instructors, they act as mentors and role models, guiding students through their educational journeys and instilling in them a sense of social responsibility that transcends the confines of the classroom. Schools, by providing equitable access to education irrespective of a student’s background or economic status, stand as beacons of inclusivity and fairness.

To surmount institutional hurdles and effectively foster belonging, schools can adopt a variety of strategies. These include implementing whole-school practices that reflect diversity, engaging in bridging activities across different identities, employing culturally responsive teaching, and fully integrating immigrant students and English Language Learners into the fabric of school life.

The transformative potential of schools as community hubs for building belonging is vividly illustrated through initiatives like Sarah Said’s “Pieces of Me” project. Inspired by the children’s book “The Name Jar” by Yangsook Choi, this project encouraged students to explore and celebrate their unique identities and heritage, fostering a profound sense of pride and belonging within the school community. By leveraging students’ names as a starting point, the project catalyzed meaningful discussions on identity, heritage, and culture, thereby making the school’s diversity visible and strengthening feelings of belonging across differences.

Similarly, Donna Neary’s “Emma Lazarus Project” showcases the power of exploring historical migration stories and fostering empathy through literature. By engaging with the poem “The New Colossus” and integrating primary sources, students connected their family narratives with broader themes of freedom and resilience, thereby recognizing their place within the American story.

Sandy Mendoza’s “International Cafe” initiative further exemplifies the impact of creating spaces that celebrate linguistic and cultural diversity. By encouraging English learners to greet peers in the multiple languages spoken by members of the community, this initiative not only celebrated cultural pride but also fostered a spirit of belonging across differences. How did she do that? Her efforts focused on making the diversity that already existed within the school community visible. More than that, the project helped newcomers, who might have otherwise felt excluded or disempowered, to flip the script; no longer simply accepted, newcomers became leaders, changing both how they saw themselves and how they were perceived by their peers.  

These examples underscore the creative ways educators can harness the potential of schools to build belonging, especially when supported by their institutions. Yet, we’ve also heard from educators eager to launch similar projects but apprehensive about administrative support. This represents a missed opportunity. The research is unequivocal: fostering belonging within educational ecosystems is essential for individual well-being, academic success, and societal cohesion.

Instead of mirroring societal divisions in ways that detrimentally impact all students, schools have the opportunity to cultivate inclusive environments where diversity is celebrated, inclusivity is promoted, and every student feels valued and connected. By embracing diverse perspectives, promoting empathy, and fostering a sense of belonging, schools play a vital role in shaping inclusive communities and preparing students for a more cohesive and understanding society.

The endeavors of educators like Sarah Said, Donna Neary, and Sandy Mendoza exemplify the innovative approaches teachers can adopt to tap into schools’ potential as community hubs for building belonging, provided they receive institutional support. By prioritizing belonging, schools can create spaces where every student thrives and develops the lifelong skills necessary to navigate demographic change effectively.

Adam Strom is the Executive Director of Re-imagining Migration
Meisha Lamb-Bell is the Program Director of Re-imagining Migration
Fernande Raine is the Founder of the History Co:Lab

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In the wake of the pandemic, families, educators, and policymakers are all paying close attention to the impact of trauma on learning, as well as on students’ physical and mental health. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has described mental health as “the defining public health crisis of our time,” and recently declared that challenges stemming from the issue were leading to “devastating effects” among young people. 

Schools are increasingly serving as first responders to students’ mental health. One study found that, even in 2018, schools were the second-most frequent provider of mental health services for young people, surpassing general medical settings, child welfare settings, and juvenile justice settings as likely providers of care. They’re also getting better at detecting adverse childhood experiences (ACE), recognizing that trauma can be caused not only by tragic “big” events such as the loss of a parent or being a victim of abuse but also by chronic stress such as instability at home or family conflict. Because of that, it is not surprising that the school teams and educators I speak with every day are eager for practical strategies that can help students. In my work with school districts, I find the place to start is helping educators understand how a child’s brain develops — and then, in turn, help students develop a better understanding of how their feelings and behavior are impacted by their own personal development.

Middle School Development and Neuroplasticity

Let’s take the middle school age, for example. During this age, students are undergoing many changes. Some of the most important changes take place in their brains, profoundly but often subtly impacting their emotional regulation, decision-making, and social behavior. All three of these skills are influenced by the development of the prefrontal cortex, which plays an important role in controlling a person’s emotions, thoughts, and actions, and it undergoes significant changes during adolescence. One key process during this phase is called “synaptic pruning,” which strengthens essential neural connections and eliminates unnecessary ones. As this process progresses, adolescents will typically become better at making sound decisions, navigating complex social situations, and regulating their emotions. However, since these changes take place gradually, and each part of the brain does not necessarily develop at the same rate as others, adolescents sometimes act in inconsistent ways– and that behavior is often exacerbated by ACEs. 

During this crucial phase of development, cultivating self-awareness helps students gain a sense of responsibility for their personal behavior and growth. Once they become more aware of their thoughts and emotions, students can be empowered to identify areas where they may want to make changes. This process is also influenced by how their brains are developing. The brain adapts to novel experiences over time by creating new neural pathways, which enable it to adapt to novel challenges and tasks. This quality of the brain is called “neuroplasticity.” When middle school students repeatedly engage in a behavior, their brains recognize patterns and create neural pathways to perform the behavior more efficiently. With this knowledge of how their students’ brains are developing, teachers can adapt their responses to students in a manner that encourages greater self-awareness and positive behavioral change.

Awareness of their students’ stages of psychological development helps teachers better understand the mental and emotional realities lived by their students, and how those might affect their behavior in the classroom.

A Trauma- and Neuroscience-Informed Example

Courtney, a 14-year-old student, tries her best to navigate her school days but often presents with significant behavioral challenges. In addition to the challenges of adolescence, a parent was recently incarcerated. The stress and anxiety she is facing are resulting in verbal outbursts and high emotionality that often disrupts the classroom. It would not be uncommon for a student like Courtney to be met with disciplinary action. However, Courtney’s teacher approaches her with understanding and compassion. Incorporating Courtney’s trauma history, the teacher empathetically grasps the weight of her recent family struggles. She recognizes that managing impulses and emotions is particularly difficult for adolescents. Courtney’s teacher offers support rather than punishment. With this awareness, the teacher fosters a nurturing environment where Courtney feels safe, valued, and understood, which assists her in navigating through these challenging times with care and empathy.

In response, the teacher adopts a proactive approach tailored to Courtney’s needs. Understanding the importance of structure and predictability for adolescents navigating emotional upheaval, the teacher implements a consistent and visually accessible schedule to provide Courtney with a sense of stability. Recognizing the benefits of mindfulness practices in promoting emotional regulation, brief mindfulness exercises are integrated into the classroom routine to help Courtney and her peers manage stress and focus their attention.

The teacher adopts a supportive stance by praising Courtney’s incremental achievements, no matter how small. This positive reinforcement not only acknowledges Courtney’s efforts but also fosters her confidence and motivation to succeed. By addressing Courtney’s behavioral challenges with empathy and targeted support, the teacher creates a nurturing learning environment conducive to Courtney’s emotional well-being and academic success.

This example illustrates the important role that teachers can play in helping students develop social and emotional competence. Courtney’s teacher recognizes that her classroom can be a place where her student finds consistency, stability, and support, regardless of whatever Courtney may be experiencing outside of the classroom. Her teacher’s proactive approach to addressing Courtney’s needs affords her the opportunity and support needed to develop enhanced self-awareness and greater self-regulation of her emotions. Such an approach is not only a proactive and empathetic response to the challenges Courtney may be facing at home, but also one that is supported by neuroscience.

In Conclusion

Awareness of the different phases of adolescent brain development, as well as the impact that ACEs can have on students’ capacity to learn, is key to understanding some of the factors that affect students’ ability to show up in the classroom. Leveraging that knowledge can help teachers proactively address the behavioral challenges that emerge in their classroom. Utilizing an approach for addressing these challenges that is supported by neuroscience empowers teachers to foster a positive learning environment for all students and guide them toward adopting habits that will sustain them in adulthood.

Reagan Rogers, M.S., Psy.S. is the Vice President of Behavior and Mental Health Services of Invo Healthcare’s IMPACT program. IMPACT (Integrated Multidisciplinary Program to Address Childhood Trauma) is a groundbreaking program that integrates experienced mental health and behavioral health teams into the natural school environment. In her role, she oversees this unique, multidisciplinary team-based model for K-12 students in over 200 schools nationwide.

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Recently, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, served as a vibrant venue for the first-ever International Micro School Conference hosted by Microschools.com, Mysa, and Prenda. This event gathered a global community of microschool leaders, educators, researchers, social entrepreneurs, and innovators, all sharing a common goal: to explore and expand the horizons of microschools –  small learning environments designed to provide highly personalized learning experiences. This gathering was not just a conference but a celebration of innovation, community, and the potential of education to adapt and thrive in diverse environments. As a participant, I had the unique opportunity to engage with this diverse group and now share the compelling insights and experiences from this gathering.

A Global Gathering of Visionaries

The conference featured an impressive lineup of speakers from around the globe, each sharing their unique insights into the evolving world of education. Among them was Tim Vieira, founder of Brave Generation Academy and presidential candidate of Portugal, who shared his vision for a school without walls that extends its learning environment into the community. His approach not only breaks the physical barriers of traditional schooling but also integrates 61 global hubs from the US to Mozambique, creating a truly international learning network.

Another standout session was led by Mohammed Rezwan, founder and architect of Shidulai Swanirvar Sangstha, known for their innovative Floating Schools in Bangladesh. These floating schools, libraries, playgrounds, health clinics, and training centers in flood-prone areas are essential as they offer a poignant example of how education can be tailored to meet the specific needs of a community, ensuring that learning never stops, even in the face of natural disasters.

Challenges and Innovations in Education

Thomas Arnett, senior research fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute, led a session on transforming education and addressed the systemic barriers that often stifle educational innovation. His focus on organizational autonomy, catering to unconventional students, and promoting opt-in adoption provided a framework for thinking about how new educational models can be successfully implemented.

Data-Driven Approaches to Homeschooling

Dr. Angela Watson, founder of the John Hopkins Homeschool Hub and Research Lab, brought attention to the rapidly growing sector of homeschooling and shared insights on trends and regulations. She emphasized the need for policies informed by robust data, saying, “As homeschooling continues to expand and evolve, we need a better understanding of this growing and diversifying education sector. We need policy based on facts, not historical stereotypes. My hope is that the Homeschool Hub will help fill these needs.” Her presentation emphasized the importance of developing stronger data and policies that accurately represent the modern state of homeschooling. This shift away from outdated misconceptions aims to foster a more evidence-based comprehension of its effects and scope by providing accessible data and research to the public.

Historical Perspectives and Future Directions

Professor James Tooley, Vice-Chancellor and President of The University of Buckingham, and described by Philanthropy magazine as “a 21st century Indiana Jones” traveling to “the remotest regions on Earth researching something that many regard as mythical: private, parent-funded schools serving the Third World poor” provided a historical lens on the microschool movement, discussing the evolution of low-cost private schools across various countries. His insights into the characteristics that have helped these schools succeed offered valuable lessons for anyone looking to support or launch similar models. He has helped to create a chain of low-cost private schools in India, Ghana, Honduras, and most recently established one in the north-east of England with the proper infrastructures and resources needed to advance equitable, accessible, and inclusive education.

Creating Spaces of Possibility

The workshop I led, along with notable educators such as Coi Morefield (Lab School of Memphis), Andrew Lee (Vita Schools of Innovation), Oscar Valles (Ellemercito Academy), and Lana Tran (Project Olives) focused on the concept of “Creating Spaces of Possibility: Transforming the Mundane to Magical.” Through a dynamic fishbowl-style discussion, we explored strategies for reconceptualizing educational spaces and cultivating supportive learning communities. We engaged closely with the audience, discussing how any space can be transformed into areas of creativity, safety, and innovation, and offered a holistic approach that views every environment as an opportunity for engaging and transformative learning. The energy in the room was palpable as participants shared their experiences and dreams for creating educational environments and school cultures that transcend the mundane to achieve the magical. The main goal was to provide a time of reflection so that founders could realize they have already created spaces of possibility, as most of our programs represent what parents have desired for their children but did not know existed. The overarching aim was to inspire educators and leaders to view the collective learning cultures of our microschooling communities as what they truly are—unique, needed, and indeed, magical.

Neuroscience and Education

Kaity Broadbent, Prenda’s Chief Empowerment Advocate, delved into the neuroscience behind learning and its implications for education during her workshop “Changing Childhood and Education.” She discussed the critical roles of connection, competence, and autonomy in fostering environments where students can thrive mentally and physically. Understanding brain-based approaches to learning underscores the importance of aligning educational techniques with how students naturally learn and process information, a crucial consideration for anyone involved in educational planning and curriculum design. 

Reflections and Future Outlooks

The two days of the conference were not just about sharing knowledge but also about building a community of individuals committed to rethinking and reshaping education. The collaborative atmosphere was a reminder that while the challenges are significant, the potential for impactful change is enormous.

As I reflect on the myriad discussions, workshops, and panels, I am struck by the resiliency, social entrepreneurship, and creativity of educators worldwide. The shared commitment to improving education through innovative, community-focused solutions was inspiring. The conference not only provided a platform for sharing best practices but also sparked conversations that will resoundingly continue to influence the educational landscape long into the future.

Lizette Valles, M.Ed., is the founder of Ellemercito Academy, a Los Angeles-based microschool, with a focus on project/place-based learning with a strong focus on trauma-informed teaching approaches.

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There’s been a lot of talk lately about how things like screen time and pandemic-driven lockdowns are impacting children’s mental health and creating an “anxious generation.” What we haven’t heard nearly enough about, though, is what can happen when teachers and school leaders let students lead their own learning experiences that critically examine their communities and the broader world while designing real-world solutions to local and global issues. 

Long story short? When you give students the tools and autonomy to engage meaningfully with their surroundings, they learn to navigate the world with resilience while actively contributing to making it a better place.

On Friday, May 3–and every other first Friday in May since 2018–schools nationwide will celebrate Better World Day. Better World Day is an event created by the nonprofit organization EL Education, which showcases student learning that contributes to a better world. This year, students from more than 130 schools (up more than 600% from the 18 inaugural Better World Day school projects) will clean up trash around their communities, build and stock Little Free Libraries, pack and hand out meals and care kits for vulnerable community members, plant pollinator gardens, paint murals, and much, much more, all in service of making the world a kinder, better, more beautiful place.

This year, three of Better World Day’s most anticipated projects include students at Arbor Vitae Woodruff School in Arbor Vitae, Wis., joining forces with local charities to combat food insecurity, students at Westchester Elementary School in Decatur, Ga., fostering inclusivity through their “WE Build Bridges to Belonging” initiative, and juniors from World of Inquiry School No. 58 in Rochester, N.Y., planting tulip bulbs and hosting a community art project to commemorate their school’s founding amid historical events. Over the last seven years, students have built early literacy programs that honor the legacy of their former teacher, launched a button-making initiative that helps create dialogue around differences in identity, participated in countless community clean-up efforts, made murals with meaning, and so much more.

Community service might be nothing new, but Better World Day is different from other one-off community improvement initiatives.

It’s not just teachers sending home permission slips and busing students to and from events, snapping a few photos for the school’s weekly newsletter, and sending kids straight back to their desks and workbooks; Better World Day is about building citizen scholars who get smart to do good and change the world with skills like critical thinking, stakeholder engagement, project management, problem-solving, collaboration, empathy, cultural competence, public speaking, research, data analysis, and leadership.

Students are knee-deep in Better World Day, from the strategy and vision-setting stages to execution. They lead brainstorming sessions, vote on community needs to address most urgently, connect with community stakeholders to gather resources, collaborate with educators to design and implement sustainable solutions that have a lasting impact on their communities, share their accomplishments locally and even nationally to audiences of nearly 100,000 across email, television, social media, web, and more. 

Then, as their schools continue to participate annually, students’ skills and leadership grow, leading to higher-quality, higher-impact events and, most importantly, students who realize the power of their voice and want to use it now in service of a better world. 

We’ve seen it time and time again: Khadijah Hilmy, Ava Pittman, Saniyah Cunningham, and Marissa Barnwell are just a handful of students who got involved with Better World Day or their school’s partnership with EL Education and went on to join EL’s Student Advisory Council. Now, they’re guest speakers, panelists, and emcees at national conferences, bloggers, and education activists working to inspire future student leaders to contribute to a better world.

In today’s discussions about the challenges facing young people, Better World Day–and the students leading the charge–demonstrates the incredible impact of focusing on what our youth can do instead of what they cannot. When we give them the tools and opportunities to engage with their communities and the world meaningfully, students can become citizen scholars who make the world a better place.

Whitney Emke, the director of communications for EL Education, is a former special educator and behavior interventionist who specialized in working with students diagnosed with emotional and behavioral disorders and autism spectrum disorders. She is a first-generation college student who spent five years in the foster care system and is passionate about the power of education to disrupt intergenerational cycles of poverty and violence.

The post ‘Anxious’ Generation? More Like ‘Action’ Generation: America’s Students Are Building a Better World appeared first on Getting Smart.

Join me in a thought experiment where we envision creating a school focused on cultivating dependent students. Yes, you read that correctly—dependent learners who rely heavily on others for guidance and decision-making. While this concept might initially strike us as unsettling, let’s temporarily set aside our judgments and explore how such a school could be developed. 

First, our hypothetical institution would prioritize structured learning environments. Students would navigate carefully orchestrated steps, minimizing the need for independent problem-solving. We’d enforce limited autonomy, furnishing students with explicit rules and guidelines for every facet of their educational journey. To further restrict freedom, we’d implement rigorous daily routines, rigidly dictating students’ schedules. 

When it comes to the curriculum, we’d decree the subjects they study, leaving little room for choice. To bolster their dependence, we’d offer abundant academic and emotional support resources, ensuring they could lean on assistance whenever needed. Information sharing would be closely guarded, concealing planning processes, policy decisions, and disciplinary verdicts to keep students in the dark and reliant on authority figures. 

Continuous supervision would be paramount, minimizing opportunities for independent problem-solving. Classrooms would exude conformity, celebrating uniformity with well-defined learning objectives, discouraging individuality and independent thinking. Direct instruction would dominate, emphasizing teacher-centered learning to restrict independent exploration. Assessments would focus on finding singular correct answers, discouraging diverse perspectives and creative solutions. Risk-taking and experimentation would be discouraged, sheltering students from the consequences of their choices. Predefined pathways would limit exposure to options, discouraging vocational exploration. 

Ultimately, this approach would solidify students’ dependence on authority figures, reinforcing the notion that authority possesses the right answers. Critical thinking and independent inquiry would be discouraged in favor of conformity and reliance on external guidance. 

Ok, whew, the thought experiment is over. 

Of course that was just an exercise, but the trouble is this—an imaginary educational design that would cultivate dependency in its graduates dangerously resembles the current design of most K12 schools across our country. Rigid schedules, adult-made rules, mandated curriculum, and single-answer tests are the norm. Students—and many teachers, for that matter—have limited choice and autonomy. 

Today’s K12 students are spending the vast majority of their time in classrooms listening to answers to questions they did not ask and following rules they did not have a hand in making. Given that this dynamic goes on for years, what is it doing to students’ minds and spirits? To their agency and empowerment? Are we unintentionally graduating dependent young adults? 

The Achievement Era in Hindsight

We haven’t arrived at our current state haphazardly. In her book Schooling America, former Harvard Graduate School of Education dean Patricia Graham divides a century’s worth of educational history into four distinct eras, which she labels as the four A’s: Assimilation, Adjustment, Access, and Achievement. We’ve been in the latter focus of Achievement, she contends, since the 1980s and the publication of A Nation At Risk. The focus in this phase has been on shepherding students toward academic achievement and gainful employment. We’ve stiffened school structures to hit this bullseye. 

Five-ish decades in, the Achievement era has been a mixed bag. Some upsides of an achievement focus are increased accountability, measurable progress, and student preparation for success (in some arenas). But there are plenty of downsides, including an overemphasis on grades, fear of failure, a sense of competition over collaboration, and an overreliance on adults for both instruction and validation. With an achievement focus, students are incentivized to seek satisfaction and assess their self-worth through accomplishment and others’ opinions. 

The most insidious downside of the Achievement epoch is that all students are guided to learn the same or similar skills, knowledge, and mindsets (i.e., one size fits all) instead of being guided toward their own personal growth. When children are pushed to achieve goals that are set by others, they lack self-direction. That is a tragedy. Like adults, every young person has thoughts, feelings, and plans. Unfortunately, the design of the industrial-age school model—a batch processing approach—usually shuts them down in children. People become dependent when they lack awareness of their thoughts, feelings, and plans (Goldman, 1995). 

But what if the opposite were true? What if schools empowered children to flourish? What if schools were the places where they could explore, identify, express, and develop their thoughts, feelings, and goals? There’s power in the uniqueness of every child. It’s time that school designs honor students’ unique calling, preferences, and goals, and encourage them to pursue those. It’s time to move fully into a new era for learning where learners can develop greater self-leadership than ever before. 

Building a Future-Ready System

Thankfully, the work of building a future-ready system full of excellent schools is already underway. Many leaders in the public and private school sectors are redesigning learning models to help children learn what they need in order to live the lives they want. Though their styles vary, these leaders are generally making five key moves when leading school transformation.

Articulate a bold new vision. School leaders work directly with their communities to unearth parents’ and caregivers’ hopes and dreams for their kids. They also ask students about their goals and treat those goals as precious and foundational. Then they co-create and champion a compelling vision for excellence in education. This vision serves as a guiding light, aligning the efforts of everyone involved. Leaders identify innovative teaching methods that foster deep disciplinary learning, student collaboration, and authentic assignments. They build new signature learning experiences that give students choice and voice. The ninja move that most leaders make at this stage is creating a vision that works within the constraints of their system. Select leaders manage to upend and reshape the landscape to improve conditions more quickly. Either way, the new vision, methods, and experiences set the stage for transformative change. 

Clarify the knowledge, skills, and craft that teachers need to bring the new vision to life. With new methods, often the educator competencies required are new, too. In their preparation or prior experience, teachers may not have encountered the abilities or mindsets needed to activate new methods. Some leaders use the title “Portrait of a Teacher” to describe needed competencies. Each portrait can be tailored to the school’s unique approach and serve as a framework, guiding teacher development, recruitment, and support. 

Leaders design signature learning experiences for educators. Seeing themselves as learning designers, leaders create experiences that align with their vision and Portrait of a Teacher. These experiences become invaluable tools for professional development. They help ensure that what happens in classrooms matches the school’s bigger vision to maximize opportunities for children. Some of this work is threading through to our nation’s graduate schools of education, albeit slowly. Forward-thinking leaders start their own teacher training programs. 

Leaders work tirelessly to gain buy-in for the new vision. Though the work of getting legitimacy and support starts at the first stage of co-creating a new shared vision, it is work that never ends. Change always faces resistance. So leaders must perpetually cultivate buy-in from teachers, parents, students, and school partners. Leaders find strategies to foster a deep belief in the importance of transformation. Leaders learn both public-facing and also behind-the-scenes tactics to garner support. It’s incredibly hard work. It’s like tilling rocky soil for a seed to take root and grow. 

Leaders establish systems for continuous improvement. Amy Edmonson (2008) calls this “organizing to execute” and “organizing to learn.” Transformative work is messy. No one gets it right the first time. Leaders in ‘advanced player mode’ figure out how to deliver quality experiences, learn quickly from imperfections, and keep the entire community informed and talking. Sustained progress amidst organizational change requires effective systems and structures. So, these leaders develop community practices, communication strategies, and continuous learning mechanisms to know what to keep doing, what to stop doing, and what to change.

Preparation is key. Leaders looking to take their schools on a transformation journey are well served by building their own leadership skills in certain areas. In particular, Elizabeth Chu (2023) of Columbia University’s Center for Public Research and Leadership contends, racial and cultural fluency, creative problem-solving, communication, teamwork, team building, and project management are key skills that empower them to be top-notch guides shepherding the process. 

Despite the arduous transformation journey, skilled leaders can guide communities to a promising frontier. Recalling Graham’s four eras—Assimilation, Adjustment, Access, and Achievement—what if the next era in education was Abounding, where all students flourish? Where they can experience personal growth and opportunity. Where ultimately they’re self-directed, interdependent learners instead of dependent ones. Where they can explore, express, and develop their own thoughts, feelings, and plans in service of finding a calling that will change the world. It won’t be perfect, and there will be downsides. But it will be better suited for our times. 

Courageous school leadership can help make this vision a reality. Let’s applaud and support visionary educators helping shape our children’s future. In fact, the next time you see or meet one of them, give them a hug, high five, or an encouraging word because this work is far from easy. And it’s vital for the next generation.

Dr. Tyler Thigpen is Academic Director of the Leading School Transformation program at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, and head of The Forest School: An Acton Academy and Institute for Self Directed Learning in Trilith south of Atlanta.

The post Building Better Schools: The art of leading change in education appeared first on Getting Smart.

When we consider taking a vacation, we often make plans to visit our national parks. Whether it is the nostalgia from family road trips growing up, or just a desire to escape our daily routine and reconnect with the outdoors, over 300 million Americans travel to the 429 units managed by the National Park Service across the United States every year.

Instead of reserving these cherished protected areas for just our travel plans with friends and family, educators have the opportunity to take these natural and historic wonders and bring them directly to the students in their classrooms. As an instructor at the University of Tennessee over the past year, I have used our national parks as an application of the lessons I teach. Below are five reasons why I believe this works well.

National Parks Increase Student Engagement

Whether it is the wildlife, beautiful scenery, culture and history, camping, hiking, or spending time with others, it is easy for students to find something to love about our national parks. Parks are fun and relatable, so if educators can channel that potential energy via student learning, then students will demonstrate their excitement and engagement. One study shows that allowing students to express themselves and make choices based on their interests increases their engagement. 

In one assignment, I have had students use Google Earth to create a guided tour of a national park of their choice. They also play the role of park ranger as they write out descriptions for the five most important stops they make on their tours. The students have enjoyed that assignment and the others, writing in their course evaluation that “the activities we did were super fun and informative”. 

I have even met an elementary school teacher who uses ‘Leave No Trace Principles’, which include reminders for people recreating outdoors such as ‘Respect Wildlife’ and ‘Leave What You Find’, as inspiration to set the rules of the classroom. It is a very creative way to make something considered boring to listen to more relatable and fun for students.

National Parks Offer Lessons for Almost Any Subject

No matter what topic or class an educator teaches, it is very likely that those lessons can be grounded in real examples with our national parks. If someone teaches fifth-grade science, those students can learn about ecosystems and invasive species. If someone teaches high school English, maybe they can host a discussion on the writings of John Muir that helped inspire the establishment of national parks. If a professor teaches a university anthropology course, students can learn about the violent removal of Indigenous people from their homelands that would become future national parks. 

Whether a teacher is trying to teach essential science concepts or lead difficult conversations on today’s pressing social issues, our parks provide case studies to get it done. Educators can also use national parks to reinforce new content standards, such as the Next Generation Science Standards. Our parks have connections to so many aspects of history, culture, and science, there is no shortage of educational opportunities with them. The National Park Service also hosts an online portal for educators to share and use resources, all freely available to the general public as well.

National Parks are Great Places for Field Trips and Experiential Learning

What better way to teach students about our national parks than to show them directly with their boots on the ground? I’ve watched the faces of first graders light up in delight as they step off the bus to look into the woods at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It can be a magical experience for people of all ages to have. Visitor centers at National Park Service sites also have lots of interpretive exhibits and ranger programs, some even with hands-on activities and guided tours provided. It is an amazing opportunity to teach a particular lesson in the classroom, and then take students to see that lesson in action in real time. 

The National Park Service also hosts a special initiative for fourth graders to get a free family interagency access pass for a year, so families can build on what students learn in school with trips of their own. This matters because studies show that children and young adults benefit from spending time outdoors, as it can help sharpen their senses, increase appreciation for the outdoors, improve their mental health, and beyond.

Our National Parks Have Made Great Strides in Accessibility

Although there is so much more work to do still in regards to addressing the historic racial injustices of our parks, such as the previously segregated park amenities and continued lack of representation, they are more accessible and welcoming than ever before. 

Following the COVID-19 global pandemic, all the online resources that employees and volunteers with the National Park Service developed to continue teaching students about their park from the safety of their homes are still freely available for anyone to use. A fourth-grade classroom in downtown Chicago can spend an hour virtually exploring Olympic National Park in Washington, or a high school environmental science class can use an Esri StoryMap to learn about brown bear management in Katmai National Park in southern Alaska. 

Even for educators with the resources and ability to take students to visit our parks in person, an intentional increase in accessibility accommodations and more diverse representation of park employees help to make our parks more welcoming than ever. A majority of National Park Service sites are free to visit, and there is likely a place nearby, which you can find with the National Park Service’s Map Finder tool.

National Parks Provide Opportunities to Reflect About America

Novelist Wallace Stegner famously said “National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.” However, I would argue that our parks reflect us both at our best and at our worst. They serve as social laboratories, exemplifying what is happening and changing in our society as time marches on. 

To this end, parks are also great venues to teach American history. Evidence of the Great Depression, the Civil Rights movement, and more can be found in the history and cultural landscape of our parks. Examples could include the historic buildings constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps as part of President Roosevelt’s “New Deal”, or the Confederate monuments erected in the 1950s and 1960s within our protected areas nearly a century after the conclusion of the American Civil War. 

Contemporary social movements in our national parks can also help to highlight previous racial injustices and offer solutions that make a difference to these disadvantaged communities. For example, the proposed renaming of Clingmans Dome to Kuwohi by the Eastern Band of Tribal Cherokee in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will remove a Confederate name from the landscape and repatriate the sacred mountain to the original name given by the Cherokee people hundreds of years ago. 

Educators can use these moments of dispute and uncertainty as an opportunity to have tough conversations and reflect on who we are, as individuals, as a society, and as a nation. Our students will grow for the better from it, and we owe it to them and the future of our nation.

Seth Kannarr is a Geography PhD Student at the University of Tennessee.

The post Five Reasons to Bring Our National Parks into the Classroom appeared first on Getting Smart.

As school builders, how do we best minimize blindspots, respond to inequities, and create universally designed spaces that account for the diverse array of lived experiences within our schools? 

By building from the margins, or redesigning in deep consideration of the most underserved, we have the opportunity to create empowering schools that use the experiences of the most at-promised youth to enhance the overall school. 

The design process must be centered around the user experience. Youth must be at the table to share insights, illuminate blindspots, and critique current practices to design and revise the overall school model. Cogenerative dialogue is a useful tool for eliciting the voices of youth to drive and direct change. 

Secondly, design processes must be focused and scaffolded. What is the capacity of your school for change? Does this change align with your current priorities and mission? All must be in alignment for meaningful growth to occur.  

Example Design Process

1. Assess the assumed need or challenge (do so without making general assumptions, but rather devise questions to ask your youth to inform your problem statement. Avoid getting attached to claims about the problem and allow the true issue to be surfaced through empathy interviews and discussions with the community) 
2. Survey your youth/community 
3. Revise your need or challenge 
4. Assess your school’s capacity for change 
5. Plan backward from the desired outcome with frequent check-ins with students on the impact these changes have on their experience in schools (focus on slow meaningful change rather than rushed changes) 

While this design process is a great way to lay a foundation for starting, there are numerous pitfalls of school and system transformation. Below are a few of the most common and some guidance on how to anticipate and overcome them. 

Identify the Locus of Control

A common trap of the school redesign process can be overemphasizing all of the factors that we do not control within schools. Ultimately, a huge portion of our students’ personal lives directly impacts their performance in school and overall ability to learn. Though schools and school personnel cannot control it all, it is important for us to adequately assess how we can operate as community hubs to address the most challenging issues our youth face which may lead to inequitable learning experiences. To address these factors, it is important to consider two things; advocacy and fundraising. 

Spot Inequities

When building from the margins, it is common to expose inequities that are not considered by the status quo. Once this is identified it can be important to expose the inequity to local, state, and federal leaders to be considered for future policies. This can also direct funding and resources to ensure these changes have long-term sustainability. 

Fundraise and Staff Accordingly

When designing schools that provide extraordinary resources (i.e. housing support,food beyond school hours, extended counseling services, etc.)  or services, it is imperative to devise long-term sustainability models in tandem with designing the system. Innovative ideas are often attractive for grant funding when paired with concrete action plans, deadlines, and impact assumptions. Having someone on the team document the impact and process to later be used for grant writing can save time and effort. Codify and memorialize as you build! 

Don’t Recreate The Wheel

Transcend Education’s Innovative Model Exchange is an amazing toolkit for accessing innovative and successful school models and resources. I would advise that anyone seeking to make meaningful changes to their model use this toolkit only after they have engaged with their community to unearth the root of the problem and the most meaningful level of change. 

Looking to other school models prior can lead to misidentification of the needed change and ultimately adopting a system or model not tailored to your particular community. Building from the margins is all about recentering the most disenfranchised as a way of building a more encompassing model capable of equitably serving all. 

Erin Whalen, is the Executive Director at Da Vinci RISE High School.

The post Tips and Tools for Equitable and Sustainable School Design appeared first on Getting Smart.

Here’s an alarming statistic: in a 2019 survey of 47,000 high school students, just 40% of students said they felt like “a real part of this school.” That means 60% of students show up to school each day feeling, to some degree, like outsiders. Given the intense isolation many students have felt during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s hard to imagine this lack of belonging has gotten any better. In fact, it’s likely gotten worse.

So, what happens to those kids? Research shows that a lack of belonging at school causes students to disengage. Their performance suffers. And they come to believe that certain futures aren’t available to them. 

We’ve seen cultural movements around diversity, equity, and inclusion that are meant to help people feel included. But, is merely being included enough for a child, or does she need to feel like she belongs and is a valued member of her community? 

Just about every school experience improves when students feel like they belong. According to one 2022 review, students become more confident, motivated, and engaged overall. That means they’ll speak up more confidently in class, ask more questions, work better with their classmates, and perform better academically. Ultimately, if you can model a place of belonging for children as they’re growing up, they’re more likely to become adults who create this kind of world for others—and isn’t that the highest goal education can achieve?

Most school leaders probably think they already do things to make students feel like they belong. But, this isn’t the case. Painting your walls blue and yellow just because those are your school colors won’t make students feel like they belong. Chances are, it will just give them headaches. To create a school of belonging, an institution’s leaders need to consider what really gets people of any age to feel connection: ownership, representation, and community.

Exceed Student Expectations

Not long ago, I designed a tech lab in Oakland, California for students to use after school and on the weekends. It’s called Code Next. On a typical Friday afternoon, Code Next is relatively quiet. There’s the low humming of a laser cutter as a student etches a piece of wood, and a few 3D printers whirring in the makerspace. Pretty soon, a handful more students filter in. Without hesitation, they grab a laptop and a pair of headphones. Then they grab a few other essentials: a bottle of Vitamin Water, a pack of Oreos, and a piece of Swiss chocolate. They get down to work. 

The work that gets done at Code Next is permissionless. Students don’t need to ask anyone if they can work on certain projects or use whatever materials and tools they need. They just do it because they feel comfortable in that space. When the Code Next team at Google asked me to design a learning lab where students would feel a sense of belonging, I knew that meant students had to feel like the space was theirs. 

I designed the entire lab to feel accessible, where all of the supplies and fancy equipment were in reach, not hidden or locked up in cabinets. Students have front-door access and show up whenever they please. Furniture is movable and modular, so kids can create the workspaces that make sense for them. The space is theirs, and it’s in that sense of ownership where we most feel like we belong. 

Within weeks of Code Next’s opening, a student told me, “The design of the lab really makes it feel like a workspace for engineers. You really feel that engineering feeling going through your body. It really helped me understand what I want to pursue in the future.”

A staff member shared, “The space is so cool, and open and fun. It kind of feels like a playground but in an educational way. And that’s kind of the best part — it motivates you to say ‘What can I learn?!’  We have students come on their lunch breaks or after school even when there’s no programming.”

Ask Students for Input So They Can Make it Their Own

It’s also crucial that school leaders consult the students themselves about the kind of school they want to attend. If students have a say, they’re more likely to feel like the space belongs to them and that they belong there. 

An example of this came from the City Neighbors High School in Baltimore, Maryland. When it opened in 2010, the school did something fascinating. They let students design the cafeteria. In fact, they asked students, “If you could have the all-time coolest cafeteria for your high school, what would it look like?” The kids came up with a long wish list: black leather couches, a stage with a piano, pub-sized tables, and booths. And the school gave it to them! 

This act alone, of involving students in the design process, makes students feel like it’s partly their space. This leads to feelings of belonging, in the same way a child would feel more at home if their parents let them design their living room. 

City Neighbors did something else interesting to break down the barrier between students and teachers, which led to greater belonging. In the cafeteria, all around the walls, they put up framed photos of the students and staff from when they were young children. For example, there’s a photo of the school principal when he was a young boy with his big brother at the kitchen table. To the students, this humanized their teachers. It made it easier to connect with them since they could see how the faculty was once just like them—that they too used to love video games or playing pranks with their siblings. 

Once it was easier to form these relationships, students started to feel like they belonged, because they truly knew one another. They became a part of a community. 

Use Representation to Help Students Dream Big

Lastly, a way to create a sense of belonging is through seeing the space as a place “where people like me succeed.” A couple of years ago, I got the chance to design a campus for Tech Exchange. It’s a program where university students from HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions spend a year studying at Google’s headquarters, a place where (like many tech companies) Black and brown faces are noticeably sparse.

To help these college students feel greater belonging, all over the campus I plastered billboards of successful Black and Hispanic engineers who went to the very same universities that these students were coming from. Walking around, students see billboards of successful people of color. They see people who came from where they came from and made things happen—that even though they don’t look like Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg, they belong on this campus and in the tech world because people of color can and have achieved great things. 

I also located the billboards so they’d be seen by Google’s hiring managers. If these hiring managers saw success stories of Black and brown people, maybe they’d see more potential in these kids. They would look at them differently, and even treat them differently—like they belonged as much as students from Stanford or MIT. 

This way, students can enjoy more upward mobility with help from adults in power who also believe that the students belong and feel compelled to support their success.

Inclusion Isn’t Enough

While it’s important that no one feels excluded at school, that should be the bare minimum. As education leaders, the real goal should be to make everyone feel like they belong. People should look forward to coming to school. 

The way to do that is to create experiences where teachers interact more meaningfully with students. How much agency you give to students makes a difference. And whether they see themselves in that world and have a say in creating it, too, also makes a big difference. 

Remember, the environment is not neutral. Our spaces influence how we feel from moment to moment, week to week, year to year. If six out of ten students are saying they don’t feel like they belong, that means they’re counting on their teachers, community leaders, and parents to fix that. They are counting on you to roll up your sleeves and create a place where they do feel like they belong.

Danish Kurani is an architect and created the Baaham design philosophy. In 2021, Fast Company named him one of the world’s Most Innovative Architects.

The post How to Design a School for Belonging appeared first on Getting Smart.

Starting and operating a microschool is challenging. Maintaining educational consistency as your school grows is especially difficult. Because microschools are designed to be small, learning intimacy is crucial to your success, which can make scaling your school very challenging. That’s why it’s critical to get your students involved from the beginning and select a satisfactory assessment methodology to grow alongside your school and leave room for dynamic and lasting impact metrics. An equitable and personalized learning environment requires that we listen to our students’ voices and ensure they are heard when developing learning experiences. Whenever possible, tying learning to a student’s interests and curiosities with purpose will create relevance, importance, and ultimately substantial value for the student’s growth. 

As students grow and experience life, their perspective is crucial to their learning. When students spend time identifying their interests, passions, and purpose, they become more in tune with who they are and what they want to accomplish. To that end, when students explore their interests and curiosities with purpose, they see the relevance of learning discrete and durable skills because each skill applies to their personal goals. When students recognize the connection between durable skills, such as resilience or desire to grow, and discrete skills, such as applied mathematics, it fosters meaningful growth-oriented conversations as students work through challenging tasks or projects that may not play to their current abilities. 

Growth-Based Assessment 

In the United States, most students are provided a cumulative GPA based on their work in specific subject areas, which can feel irrelevant and disconnected from a student’s future goals. In many cases, a family emergency, mental health crisis, or other uncontrollable event can negatively impact a cumulative GPA even if by the student’s final year, they are excelling by every measure.

Students experience more success when measured for their growth over time in durable and discrete skills. Students must be encouraged to try new things, challenge themselves, and fail without punitive impacts. The most important assessment is whether or not they can actualize their skills when they are ready to move on to college or a career. 

The Growth Framework, a durable skills competency-based model designed and tested by One Stone,  includes a holistic portrait of a graduate (Bold Learning Objectives) and a college-approved learner record, the Growth Transcript. The Bold Learning Objectives consist of four quadrants of learning (mindset, creativity, skills, and knowledge) and include research-backed skills and sub-skills for learning. The Growth Transcript is a dynamic learner record that measures growth over time in hard-to-measure durable skills.

Facts about Student-Driven Competency-Based Assessment

1. Competency-based assessment eliminates the silos associated with traditional grades.
2. Durable skills can be objectively assessed over time.
3. Student-driven education achieves equity through the personalization of learning.
4. Assessment takes place in every learning context.
5. Comprehensive assessment from multiple coaches, mentors, and external advisory creates a holistic assessment of “hard to measure” durable skills.
6. Provides an opportunity for authentic, real-world application.
7. Recognizes that growth in discrete skills occurs in unison with durable skills.
8. Student Portfolios create a learner record that aligns with the student’s growth transcript.

Student-Led Growth

The Growth Framework is a great starting point for launching a school or rolling out a new learner-centered assessment approach. Student-driven learning is a cornerstone of the Growth Framework, emphasizing the critical role of fostering autonomy and ownership in learners. By placing students at the helm of their learning journey, educators empower them to actively engage in the process, cultivate critical thinking, and harness their curiosity. This approach aligns with the Growth Framework’s principles, which advocate for personalized learning experiences that cater to individual interests and needs. Through student-driven learning, learners are encouraged to set goals, reflect on their progress, and adapt strategies;  thereby helping them develop a growth mindset and resilience.

This method enhances motivation and engagement and prepares students for real-world challenges by promoting independence and self-directed learning skills. Ultimately, integrating student-driven learning within the Growth Framework fosters a more inclusive, adaptive, and effective educational environment where learners can confidently navigate their growth and achievements.

Mat Erpelding is the Director of Business Development at One Stone.

Call to Action

Join us this summer for a virtual community of practice on revolutionizing assessments in microschools. Explore innovative approaches, share best practices, and collaborate with fellow leaders to redefine student success metrics. Complete our interest form to stay updated and be part of the conversation. Let’s reimagine assessments together!

This post is a part of our Microschools campaign which shares stories and resources to raise awareness of microschools as a high-quality option for all learners.

The post Designing Competency-Based Models for Students by Students appeared first on Getting Smart.