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the latest on all student-centered models, leadership development, strategic planning, teacher retention, and all things innovation in k-12 education. we answer questions before you think to ask them.
crisis management | district leadership | strategic planning
when i was younger, my mother and i would sit for hours playing the game mastermind. it’s a game of logic, where one person sets a code using a pattern of six colors, and the other tries to guess the code. according to wikipedia, there are over 1296 patterns that can be made - and the person guessing only has 12 tries to crack it.
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district leadership | organizational leadership & change management | strategic planning
last summer, i decided to hit the road for a year as a “digital nomad,” giving up my apartment in brooklyn, consigning my clothes, and storing a few treasured items in the basement of my childhood home. i took this leap because i wanted to be more nimble to visit our district partners, attend education events and conferences, and celebrate simchas (the hebrew word for a joyous occasion, and the root word for my name simma) with friends and family all over the country. this all came to a halt mid-march.
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last week i heard a district leader say, “in god we trust - everyone else, bring data.” i chuckled - because we talk out of both sides of our mouth when it comes to data. in the same breath we demand “data driven instruction” instruction in our classrooms but it’s also clear that we don’t understand (and many times don’t trust) the technology that captures this very data needed to drive instruction. also last week, ed week highlighted this dichotomy in the survey results of school leaders on the use of technology with their students. a majority (57%) believe that ‘digital technologies are an important supplemental resource used to personalize the learning experience based on each student’s strengths, weaknesses, and preferences.’ yet an even higher percentage of school leaders still have valid concerns with how technology companies collect data and influence what and how we teach students.
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three years ago, i received a call from an excited district leader who wanted to chat about student data (of all things)! he dreamt of building a digital “learning ecosystem,” (think instruction/lms, assessment, ieps, grading, attendance, transportation, etc.) to serve as the information backbone for his district’s vision to personalize the learning environment for every student. what he didn’t know was how to make that ecosystem a reality.
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