failure Archives

Demystifying the role of the school board director

Key points:

School boards field long-term priorities like strategic planning and budgets
School board directors must never forget that they are responsible for the overall strategic direction of a district
See related article: 4 focus areas to embrace innovation and avoid school system failure
For more news on district leadership, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership page

In the often stormy waters of public education, there’s an analogy I like to use to describe what school boards do: I think of each school district as being a ship–not a smaller size boat, but more like an ocean liner. In a time when there is confusion around what school board directors do and don’t do, this analogy can help clarify the role of the school board.

Think of the superintendent as the captain, the one who’s responsible for steering the ship and making sure everyone is doing their job to ensure it’s heading in the right direction. School board directors are akin to the navigators. They’re looking out across the horizon and pointing toward where the ship should be heading. That direction should align with the community’s desires as well as the needs of the students. School boards lay out big, long-term priorities such as strategic planning, budgetary goals, and financial stability. They also support and evaluate the superintendent, who is their only employee.…Read More

4 focus areas to embrace innovation and avoid school system failure

Key points:

Challenges from decades of educational inequity are now the impetus for school system transformation
Researchers have identified four key areas to help schools innovate and avoid stagnation
See related article: 5 education innovation trends worth watching in 2023
For more news on school system innovation, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership page

Following years of challenges brought on by COVID-19 and the inequities in education highlighted by the pandemic, decades- and centuries-old educational systems are finally being challenged as the way for school innovation is paved. The school systems and dynamic leaders that embrace change will succeed and create an educational environment that is more equitable and prepares students for their futures.

A report from The Partnership for Leaders in Education at the University of Virginia (UVA-PLE), “Exploring New Frontiers for K-12 Systems Transformation,” determined that these challenges have sparked a transformation of education systems in the United States.…Read More

What students are reading

Key points:

Teachers and librarians play a pivotal role in helping students find what–and how–they like to read

Let’s take a look at some of the most-read titles by grade level

See related article: I work with struggling readers–here’s what’s standing in their way

About five years ago, my New Year’s resolution was to read all the books on my bookshelf I’d never managed to crack. While that resolution was a complete failure (I still have unread books on my shelf), it reignited my love of reading.

Each year, I document my #BritReads reading journey on my social media channels. This year, I decided to bring #BritReads to life with my close family and friends. In lieu of a Christmas present, I’m buying each of them four books a year – books I’ve read or those that are at the top of my list to read. Rather than a one-size-fits-all #BritReads Book Club, I’m curating books just for each of them. For example, my Christmas movie-loving, hopeless-romantic childhood friend will not get my favorite thriller or whodunit!…Read More

How AI could save–or sink–creative writing in schools

Key points

AI tools like ChatGPT can change the way students approach writing by facilitating rapid prototyping and offering real-time feedback
Using AI to support student writing has the potential to help students see failure as an opportunity for growth
See related article: Dear parents: 3 ways AI will show up in your child’s classroom this year

This story originally appeared on the Christensen Institute’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Ninth-grade English was a paradox for me—both the best and worst year for helping me learn to write. …Read More

Schools must embrace these 4 innovative focus areas to avoid failure

Following years of challenges brought on by COVID-19 and the inequities in education highlighted by the pandemic, decades- and centuries-old educational systems are finally being challenged. The school systems and dynamic leaders that embrace change will succeed and create an educational environment that is more equitable and prepares students for their futures.

A new report from The Partnership for Leaders in Education at the University of Virginia (UVA-PLE), “Exploring New Frontiers for K-12 Systems Transformation,” determined that these challenges have sparked a transformation of education systems in the United States.

“Our New Frontiers report spotlights the most successful education leaders who are courageously rising to the moment and making once-in-a-generation investments and changes to their educational systems for the benefit of their students, their staff and their communities,” said William Robinson, executive director of UVA-PLE and co-author of the New Frontiers report. “Districts that innovate and embrace change will thrive, and the districts that choose to ignore or, worse, resist transformation put themselves and their students at risk.”…Read More

How mixed reality glasses can help struggling readers

Imagine you are a struggling reader. You dread reading…in any class. You feel like a failure, and you are starting to hate school. One day, your science teacher brings in a Microsoft HoloLens headset. You put on the mixed reality glasses and pick up the science article that the teacher wants you to read. You begrudgingly begin reading.

After only a few sentences you are lost because you don’t know what “light energy” means. Because your eyes stopped on that phrase, an animation jumps off the page through the glasses demonstrating an example of the concept with a voiceover explanation. Several moments later you read the word “photosynthesis” and another animation appears with an audio explanation. Suddenly, reading in science class takes on a whole new emotion…you are feeling success and are even interested in reading more about science.

Characteristics of struggling readers…Read More

Edtech tactics for both success and failure

In this episode of Getting There: Innovation in Education, with Kevin Hogan:

How a more equitable school-home communication system helped one district
3 ways to better engage remote students
Exclusive interview with Carl Hooker on his new book Ready, Set, Fail!

Let’s Talk About Your Job Search

A record 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment last week. It’s the biggest jump in new jobless claims in US history. There are nearly 67 million Americans working in jobs right now that are considered high risk for layoffs, and some experts predict the Covid 19 pandemic could ultimately eliminate 47 million jobs. Additionally, 3.3 million high school students and 4 million post-secondary students will be graduating into a world that isn’t hiring in the way it was two months ago.

There’s no other way to put it: it’s a scary time, especially if you’ve unexpectedly lost a job, or were poised to go into an industry that’s experiencing massive layoffs. Our first advice? Breathe and take this one day at a time. Also, realize this is not a failure or misstep on your part. This is a situation you had no control over.

Unfortunately, we aren’t here to offer you a blanket solution. None of us know how the long-term economic impact of the pandemic will play out. However, as career exploration experts, we can give you the following advice:…Read More

10 reasons edtech works sometimes, but not all the time

There are a number of factors—10, to be specific—that are likely to have a sizable impact on the success (or failure) of and edtech implementation.

The EdTech Genome Project, a collaborative effort of more than 100 education research and advocacy organizations, reached unanimous consensus on an initial list of those 10 factors hypothesized to have the greatest influence on whether an edtech implementation succeeds or fails.

3 ways to combine trauma-informed teaching with SEL

When trauma goes unacknowledged by caring adults, students can feel suffocated by the burden of their experience. Research shows that traumatic experiences can drastically hinder students’ academic development, and that “children who have three or more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are three times more likely to experience academic failure, five times more likely to have attendance problems, and six times more likely to have behavioral problems than those with no ACEs.“

These findings, coupled with the fact that almost half of the students in the U.S. have experienced at least one or more traumatic experiences presents a significant barrier to academic success for a large population of students.