i recently read chip and dan heath’s new book, the power of moments: why certain experiences have extraordinary impact and was struck by the impact that expressing gratitude and appreciation has on both the receiver of the message, as well as on the giver. according to research, the feel-good benefits of sending or saying a sincere thank you can last up to a month. so as i sit here, outside on a balmy evening on vacation with my family, i recognize how much i have to be grateful for and know that i should write about it more than once a year...for my own benefit as well as for the benefit of others. and as always, my potential list is long but i recognize our average attention span is short and getting shorter, so here it is - just 7 of the many things we are grateful for this season.
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the 140 districts, 750 schools, 40,000 teachers and 630,000 students in 34 states we have been lucky enough to partner with, and who every day are making teaching and learning the powerful experience it should be. we know how hard you are working and appreciate all that you do.
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our team - the members who have been with us since nearly the beginning (richard, keara, justin, janice, angie, jenni, ben and filip) as well as all the amazing teammates who came next (too many to list!) and those who came in the last few months (andy, justin, dexter, natalie, baltazar, katie, chris, jill, jason, thomas, jenn, maggie and sujatha). you all inspire me daily with your passion, your drive, your commitment and your sense of purpose.
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that anthony’s new book, 卡塔尔世界杯32强比赛时间 , is changing how districts work and has made it to corwin’s bestseller list. (pssst. if you can get him to 50 reviews on amazon i would be even more grateful - as of the writing of this post we are at 38.)
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student outcomes that just keep getting better - in districts like the enlarged city school district of middletown, ny, district leaders report sustained academic growth, with a 17-point growth in ela proficiency and 18-point growth in math proficiency. this year, 57% of middletown students in grades k-8 tested proficient in ela, up from 40% five years ago and 62% tested proficient in math, up from 44% five years ago.
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the transformative partnerships we’ve formed with organizations like google, kiddom, unlocking time, learning commons and others. we love that by working together we can better support school districts.
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the 750 people who came to our personalized learning summit in san francisco last year and made it our best one yet, as well as all those east coast districts who lobbied us and convinced us to move the summit to atlanta this year because we can’t wait to take georgia by storm this spring!
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you. yes, this last one is for you, dear blog reader. because i know your wednesdays are as busy as every other day of the week for you and yet you open the email, and you click on the post because you are a lifelong learner, because you know that you may learn something that will help the leaders, teachers or students in your district. you are dedicated, and we are grateful for you.
it is impossible to overstate the importance of education, and i am so grateful that i get to be part of an organization that is so dedicated to supporting school systems so that they can provide the best possible education for each and every student in the district. but we know that while we act as guides, it is all of you that do the work on the front lines every day. so thank you. because your students and the community may not say it enough, we will say it again and again. thank you for everything you do for your students, for innovating and iterating, for taking risks and for learning forward, for being brave and for standing strong, for challenging yourselves and your organizations to get better, for being relentless and never letting good be good enough. thank you.
we would love for to join us at the personalized learning summit 2019 in atlanta, georgia, may 14-16. register today to get the early bird rate and save your spot on innovation tours. see you there!
