Systems Designer

I’ve worked in my district for three years, and I think I can accurately state what it is we do well. For example, I was immediately impressed by the district’s initiative to increase student voice and choice, opportunities offered for flexible pathways, and its willingness to take the deep dive into proficiency-based learning. Like every district, though, we’re not perfect. I’ve worked for and interacted with a lot of school districts, and I’ve never seen one that nails all of the ISTE Essential Conditions, a list of standards that measures how well a school leverages technology for learning.

For many schools, the passing of time and shifts and culture cause slow changes to curriculum. At the same time, advances in technology happen, and maybe some teachers use it well in their class. However, there may be very little deliberate attention paid to connecting these shifts in curriculum with advances in technology. In the twenty-first century, it is essential that districts emphasize the importance of technology in the classroom, and the creation of a thorough Technology Plan that explores all fourteen of the ISTE Essential Conditions. For example, a school may have solid IT support staff, but how many districts empower all stakeholders to lead effective change? Many districts work hard to provide equal access to technology, but how many districts are adamant about offering trainings to educators that will help them to effectively use it?

Designing Change

I work in a good school district. We’ve led the way in a lot of modern approaches to education and my colleagues are very dedicated to the work they do. That being said, we struggle with a lot of the same things other school districts struggle with (figuring out how to manage PLPs without boring students, integrating proficiencies, dealing with behavioral issues, etc.) The principal that hired me three years ago held an ambitious and inspiring vision for the whole school (grades 7-12) involving student voice and choice, but then due to problems within our new school board, she resigned her position. I haven’t heard much about the vision for our learning organization since then.

Despite this, there have been several people in our school who have taken it upon themselves to be the force of change. In the year I was hired, one of our high school social studies teachers won the Rowland Fellowship to investigate and integrate the Harkness Model into our school, and I think it’s been largely successful, as many teachers have trained and used it. Last year, we hired a psychologist who has implemented positive changes in regards to the emotional needs of modern students. In the middle school, me and some of my colleagues have worked hard to push an interdisciplinary approach to our core classes. To our credit (it seems), we’ve focused more on the process rather than a specific end goal, in line with the message of Brett Ledbetter. Still, I think we can do better. Fortunately, we have a new principal who I believe will be instrumental in helping to put forth a strong vision for our learning organization.