B.Y.O.T Bring Your Own Thoughts
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.
Education Elements | Organizational Leadership & Change Management | School Leadership | Strategic Planning
It’s hard to believe, but we’re approaching the three-year anniversary of the COVID-19 shutdown in our schools. We’ve all been through a great deal of disturbance over these past three years. One of my coworkers recently shared this article on the hidden toll of “microstress” and it resonated with me. In my work with community members across the country (teachers, staff, families, school and district leaders), I’m finding that people are tired. I have a 2 year old y’all -- I’m really tired. On any given day, change is hard. Right now, it’s really hard.
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Communication | Decision-Making | District Leadership | School Leadership | Strategic Planning
“I want to be in the room where it happens...” There are so many powerful scenes in the award-winning musical, Hamilton. The moment Aaron Burr laments being left out of the decision-making process is not only a turning point in the story but a great depiction of how many feel when it comes to the all-important “rooms” where decisions that affect their lives are made.
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Curriculum Strategy & Adoption | District Leadership | School Leadership | Strategic Planning
The creation of a shared instructional vision brings many benefits to a school or district. An instructional vision can provide a shared understanding of what instructional excellence looks, feels, and sounds like. It aligns classroom practices to a clear set of principles and expectations. It can also bring instructional unity to any district plagued with uncertainty about instructional practices. There is a common misconception that a superintendent should create an instructional vision in isolation and only rely on the most current research and best practices. And that once an instructional vision is in place and shared, then it will be easily understood, accepted, and adopted by district leaders, school leaders, teachers, staff, and students.
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District Leadership | Strategic Planning
You have just spent months engaging your community, identifying your priorities and getting your wording just right. It feels like you are inches from the finish line as you think about rolling out your final plan to the community. This is certainly a huge feat and worth a celebration but you are not quite done yet!
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It's been a year since the school district surrounding Columbus, Indiana started their strategic planning process. The district team partnered with Education Elements, and during a time of increased uncertainty, chose to set a clear direction. Now, as the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation prepares to roll out their new plan this coming fall, we talk with superintendent Dr. Jim Roberts about how he is positioning the work with the community, so that together they can do the challenging work of reaching their goals.
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Curriculum Strategy & Adoption | Organizational Leadership & Change Management | Strategic Planning
In our work with districts across the country, we frequently hear questions about instructional materials–from how to select high quality programs that match their needs, to building processes that are inclusive of key stakeholders, to developing sustainable processes for regularly reviewing and refining curriculum, just to name a few. Oftentimes, we see teams wanting to jump directly into reviewing materials or selecting a new program. But where we have seen the most success is in beginning with a clear instructional vision and using that to drive future work with curriculum or academics.
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