“Whenever we came to a plateau or standstill, Education Elements was able to help us come up with new ideas or approaches.”
— DISTRICT LEADER, UINTA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT #1 (WY)
34 STATES & DC
127 DISTRICTS
600 SCHOOLS
34,000 TEACHERS
545,000 STUDENTS
WE HELP DISTRICTS
• Increase student engagement
• Improve student achievement
• Increase enrollment
• Build district capacity
• Maximize tech investments
Education Elements works with districts to build and support dynamic school systems that meet the needs of every learner, today and tomorrow. Districts come to us to close achievement gaps, leverage technology investments, navigate curriculum strategy, and implement new instructional models. We take the time to understand the unique challenges school leaders face and then customize a solution for each district. We have worked with more than one hundred districts across the country to provide deep expertise, design thinking, change management, expert facilitation, and a collaborative spirit, along with our extensive toolkit of resources and technology, to deliver sustainable results.
OUR DISTRICT SUPPORT INCLUDES • Personalized Learning • Competency-Based Education • Strategy Development • Leadership & Capacity Building • Curriculum Strategy • OER Adoption • Instructional Model Design • PD & Support
Dear Friends, As we close out
Additionally, we welcomed two new team members: Jack Witlin, formerly of Deloitte Consulting, joined our board of directors, and David Irwin, formerly of Gartner, joined our team as managing partner. We know they could spend their time and talents supporting any organization of their choosing. We’re honored that they believe in our mission and our work.
Throughout this past year, we kept returning to the theme of “superheroes,” perhaps because we work with so many teachers, coaches, principals, and district leaders who are doing work that requires unwavering commitment, exceptional talent, and extraordinary passion. I’m pleased to share in this report the stories and successes of our superhero districts and schools as well as some of the amazing individuals behind their school systems’ success.
I’d like to share a few of our accomplishments this year:
While our scope has expanded, we continue to see improved results in student achievement, student engagement, and teacher practices.
• This school year, across almost approximately 36,000 students from five of our districts that take the nationally normed NWEA Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), we saw students in personalized learning classrooms achieve average growth of 130% in reading and 122% in math, compared to nationally normed MAP growth targets.
• For the fourth year in a row, students in the Enlarged City School District of Middletown (NY) and Horry County Schools (SC) have shown the cumulative benefits of consecutive years of personalized instruction. In both reading and math, more students are meeting or exceeding nationally normed growth targets.
• We are already seeing some promising growth on other academic measures from our districts that have been implementing personalized learning for two or fewer years.
• District leaders and teachers are seeing changes in teacher practice and increases in student engagement.
• Districts and schools report that working with us helps them clarify their vision and rollout plans, understand personalized learning instructional models, improve utilization of curriculum, strengthen instructional and IT support, and improve teacher practice.
• We’re proud and grateful that 99% of district leaders consider us to be trusted advisers.
While the goal of many districts is to increase student achievement, districts also turn to personalized learning to solve other issues, including poor student engagement, declining enrollment, and lack of return on large investments in classroom technology.
We’re thrilled to share the stories and videos of districts that have overcome these challenges: districts as diverse as Loudoun County Public Schools (VA), a wealthy, high-performing district in suburban Washington, DC; Yuma Elementary School District One (AZ), a district near the U.S.- Mexico border that struggled with declining enrollment; Fulton County Schools (GA), a large district challenged to move nearly 100 schools to personalized learning; and MSD of Warren Township (IN), winner of a coveted $28.5M Race to the Top grant.
We are a mission-driven team and compelled to do whatever it takes to build and support dynamic school systems where the students of today are prepared for tomorrow. Personalized learning is one way to affect real, sustainable change that improves students’ life trajectories, teacher retention rates, district accolades, and the future workforce. But it is not the only way. This year, as a result of what we heard from district leaders and the experts we hired, combined with what we learned from our own observations of the needs of school systems, we have expanded our work to include support around competency-based education (CBE), open educational resource adoption, curriculum strategy, and new school design, among others. We focus on solving the biggest challenges district leaders face. As those challenges evolve, we will too, just as we have in this past year.
This work has taken us to exciting new places, from partnering with Digital Promise and 10 school districts to develop a CBE toolkit, to helping Wake County Public Schools (NC) design a new school that will open in the fall of 2017. We look forward to seeing what the upcoming school year will bring.
Our approach to working with districts does more than
District leaders say their district meetings are more effective, district staff are more trusted to work in the way they think is best, and roles and accountabilities within the district are clearer. Furthermore, teachers say that, after working with us, they feel more supported by their district and that the working environment in their district is more positive.
To support this culture change, this year we created Touchpoint, our project-management tool that supports our consulting services. We believe that for change to be successful and sustainable, everyone needs to be on the same page. I’m finishing up a book with Alexis Gonzalez-Black from IDEO on organizational systems, in which I’ll share some of our findings on culture change.
We hosted our third annual Personalized Learning Summit that brought together more than 500 leaders from 38 states and 2 countries!
We also graduated our third cohort of Lexington Education Leadership Award (LELA) Fellows. Across three cohorts, 30 district leaders from 19 states have brought what they learned through the LELA Fellowship back to 328 schools, more than 7,000 teachers, and more than 200,000 students.
Additionally, we focused on helping our districts establish themselves as proof points of success in their local communities through leading groups of districts in consortium models and supporting the planning and delivery of regional conferences.
With strong leadership in place, a passionate team, and bold district leaders, we are making strides in achieving our mission of supporting dynamic school systems that meet the needs of every learner, today and tomorrow.
As we move forward, I am proud of what Education Elements accomplished in
Anthony Kim - Founder and CEO, Education Elements
OUR 2016-2017 PARTNERS
1 Christensen Institute (MA)* 2 Rochester School Department (NH) 3 Hartford Public Schools (CT) 4 Orange Public Schools (NY) 5 Enlarged City School District of Middletown (NY) 6 Central Valley School District (NY) 7 Syracuse City School District (NY) 8 Erie 2 BOCES Consortium (NY) • Eden Central School District • Frewsburg Central School District • Pine Valley Central School District 9 BOCES Wayne-Finger Lakes Consortium (NY) • Clyde-Savannah Central School District • Gananda Central School District • Penn Yan Central School District • Red Creek Central School District • Sodus Central School District • Williamson Central School District 10 Marion Central School District (NY) 11 Geneva City School District (NY) 12 Dundee Central School District (NY) 13 Romulus Central School (NY) 14 Waterloo Central School District (NY) 15 District of Columbia Public Schools (DC) 16 Loudoun County Public Schools (VA) 17 The Lexington Institute* (VA) 18 Wake County Public School System (NC) 19 Lexington County School District One (SC) 20 Charleston County School District (SC) 21 Horry County Schools (SC) 22 Fulton County School System (GA) 23 Piedmont City School District (AL) 24 Metropolitan School District of Warren Township (IN) 25 Racine Unified School District (WI) 26 School District 197 (MN) 27 St. Louis Public Schools (MO) 28 Greeley-Evans School District #6 (CO) 29 Uinta County School District One (WY) 30 Nampa School District #131 (ID) 31 Yuma Elementary School District One (AZ) 32 Riverside Unified School District (CA) 33 Corcoran Unified School District (CA) 34 Kenai Peninsula Borough School District (AK) 35 Fairbanks North Star Borough School District (AK) *Foundation/Thought Partner
“Personalized learning has changed the game in Loudoun. I have seen our student engagement and personal responsibility for students increase dramatically.” — Teacher, Loudoun County Public Schools (VA)
We want all students to reach their fullest potential. We want all teachers to love to teach. That’s why we are thrilled to report that our districts and schools have again seen increases in student achievement, student engagement, and teacher efficacy. We
This school year, across 36,000 students from five of our districts with established implementations of personalized learning, students achieved average growth of 130% in reading and 122% in math on the NWEA MAP exam. Fifty-seven percent of those students met or exceeded the reading growth target, and 61% met or exceeded the math growth target.
Additionally, many districts individually saw strong growth on both NWEA MAP and other academic measures:
Sustained K–8 Growth Over Four Years
• Students: 7,000+
• Years working with Education Elements: 4
• Rollout approach: Opt-in for all teachers over a period of four years
• Instructional model: Focus on Core Four elements of personalized learning
Middletown’s 2016–17 NWEA MAP results continue to show the cumulative benefits of consecutive years of personalized instruction. In both reading and math across all elementary and middle schools, more students are meeting or exceeding nationally normed growth targets:
• DISTRICT WIDE: This year, 65% of all Middletown K–8 students’ growth in reading met or exceeded the nationally normed growth target for their grade, an increase of 7% from last year and an increase of 21% since 2013–14. Sixty-seven percent of all Middletown K–8 students’ growth in math met or exceeded the nationally normed growth target for their grade, an increase of 6% from last year and an increase of 23% since 2013–14.
• Middletown’s increased student growth means over 1,000 more students met or exceeded growth targets in reading and 1,100 more students met or exceeded growth targets in math
• Middletown’s consistent growth translates to substantially increased student proficiency rates compared to their first year of implementing personalized learning. Fifty-six percent of Middletown K–8 students tested proficient in English Language Arts (ELA) this year, up from 43% in 2013–14. Fifty-eight percent of Middletown K–8 students tested proficient in math this year, up from 47% in 2013–14.
Sustained 6–8 Growth Over Four Years
• Students: 40,000+
• Years working with Education Elements: 4
• Rollout approach: Middle schools first, then high schools, then elementary schools
• Instructional model: Focus on Core Four elements of personalized learning
This year, Horry County Schools students in grades 6–8 grew by 40% more than nationally normed growth targets in reading and 37% more than nationally normed growth targets in math on NWEA MAP. Compared to four years ago, that’s a 40 percentage point rise in average reading growth and a 45 percentage point rise in average math growth.
Additionally, Horry has seen a 7 percentage point rise in middle school students meeting or exceeding growth targets in reading and a 17 percentage point rise in math.
That means approximately 600 more middle school students in reading and 1,460 middle school more students in math met or exceeded growth targets in reading and math, respectively,
Small District, Steady Growth
• Students: 1,300+
• Years working with Education Elements: 4
• Rollout approach: Grades 6–8 first, then Grades 4–5 and 9
• Instructional model: Mastery-based, blended model
Math: This year, 55% of Piedmont 3–8 students tested as “on target” to be College and Career Ready on the ACT Aspire exam. That’s 20% more than two years
Reading: This year, 72% of Piedmont 3–8 students tested as “on target” to be College and Career Ready on the ACT Aspire exam. That’s more than twice as many as two years
Showing Progress
• Students: 12,000+
• Years working with Education Elements: 2+
• Rollout approach: All schools across three different cohorts of readiness
• Instructional model: Focus on Core Four elements of personalized learning
This school year was Warren’s first year with reliable NWEA test data, and the results are promising. Warren K–8 students grew 22% more than nationally normed growth targets in reading and 7% more than nationally normed growth targets in math. Fifty-seven percent and 56% of all Warren’s K–8 students’ growth in reading and math, respectively, met or exceeded the nationally normed growth target for their grade.
These are highlights from districts we support that were ready and able to provide academic data at the time of publication of this report. Some of the districts were not able to share academic data due to the timing of this report, and others are still establishing baseline data.
For many districts, including those that take NWEA MAP such as Loudoun County Public Schools (VA), Rochester School Department (NH), and Romulus City Schools (NY), SY 2016–17 was a foundational year to build a common language and strategy for personalized learning and to begin slowly implementing personalized learning strategies. Other districts have internal research and evaluation teams that have focused on monitoring implementation fidelity and will investigate personalized learning’s impact on student outcomes in the upcoming school year. These districts include Fulton County Schools (GA) and Syracuse City School District (NY).
We’re excited to support these districts over the coming years and to report back on their academic progress.
We want all students to love school. We believe that to achieve at high levels now and be prepared for the future, students must be engaged in their learning. We believe students will not love school unless they have effective teachers who meet their individual needs.
District leaders are seeing changes in teacher practice and student engagement. Since their district started personalized learning, they have seen the following results: 1
• 92% of district leaders say that teachers are more effective,
• 90% of district leaders say that students are more engaged in their learning,
• 86% of district leaders say that students show more self-direction in class, and
• 74% of district leaders say that teachers collaborate more effectively.
Teachers also say they feel more effective and that students are more engaged. After implementing personalized learning, they cite the following achievements:
• 70% of teachers say they are confident that personalized learning has a positive effect on teaching and learning,2
• 68% of teachers say that they feel more effective since they started personalized learning,3 and
• 67% of teachers say that students are more engaged since they started personalized learning.4
• After one year of implementing personalized learning, 72% of teachers across 15 schools in Loudoun County Public Schools (VA) say they feel more effective.5
• After two years of implementing personalized learning, 67% of teachers in MSD Warren Township (IN) say they feel comfortable innovating and taking risks with their instruction to personalize learning.6
• After three years of implementing personalized learning, 95% of teachers in Piedmont City Schools (AL) say they are able to use digital content very well to complement their offline curriculum.7
• After four years of implementing personalized learning, 94% of elementary school teachers in the Enlarged City School District of Middletown (NY) say they target instruction to address specific student needs and learning goals. After three years, 91% of middle school teachers had the same opinion.8
1 Includes 65 responses from 25 districts. 2 Includes over 2,000 responses from 15 districts. 3 Includes over 2,000 responses from 14 districts. 4 Includes over 1,700 responses from 12 districts. 5 Survey of 271 Loudoun teachers. 6 Survey of 260 Warren teachers. 7 Survey of 28 Piedmont teachers. 8 Survey of 160 ES and MS Middletown teachers.
We are passionate and love what we do. We do not think of the work we do as a series of projects but instead as the building of partnerships and friendships. We measure our success by the success of the districts we support.
We believe that everyone should be aligned around the “why” and should understand the need for change. We believe that implementation with fidelity is critical. We believe that, like students, every teacher is different. No two teachers are quite in the same place with regard to their abilities and mindset.
That’s why we are excited to report that our districts and schools report that working with us helps them clarify their vision and rollout plans, understand personalized learning instructional models, improve utilization of curriculum, strengthen instructional and IT support, and improve teacher practice.
We are honored to share that:
• 98% of district leaders say Education Elements’ support was effective in helping their district to understand personalized learning,9 and
• 93% of district leaders say Education Elements’ support was effective in helping their
9 Includes 44 responses from 25 districts. 10 Includes 44 responses from 25 districts.
We work with our district partners to survey teachers at the beginning and end of the school year. Survey questions align to our personalized learning implementation framework. Across districts, comparing our fall and spring survey results reveals the progress we see in a single year:11
Growth was particularly high for several districts in their first year implementing personalized learning:
• Central Valley School District (NY): 91% of teachers understood their school’s vision and purpose for personalized learning, +28% from the beginning of the year.
• Chicora Elementary School, Charleston County School District (SC): 71% of teachers now give an opportunity for student reflection, +42% from the beginning of the year.
• Rochester School Department (NH): 79% of teachers can use digital content to complement their curriculum, +36% from the beginning of the year.
• School District 197, West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan (MN): 89% of teachers are better able to use data to differentiate instruction, +33% from the beginning of the year.
School District 197 (MN) Principal Tom Benson’s school turned an old computer lab into a collaboration space “think tank.” Read Tom’s story
“Whenever we came to a plateau or standstill, Education Elements was able to help us come up with new ideas or approaches.” — District Leader, Uinta County School District #1 (WY)
We provide consulting services to help districts solve their biggest challenges.
Districts come to Education Elements for help with the following needs:
• increasing student engagement,
• declining enrollment,
• building district capacity, and
• getting the best return on large investments in classroom technology.
Loudoun County Public Schools (VA)
• Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) consistently ranks near the top of all Virginia districts on traditional measures of school performance. Despite these successes, LCPS wanted to go beyond state assessments and ensure students were meaningfully engaged in their learning.
• After one year of implementation, 68% of teachers report that students are more engaged in class.
Yuma Elementary School District One (AZ)
• Yuma Elementary School District One (Yuma) is the largest elementary school district in Yuma County with 8,600 K–8 students across 17 school sites. Yuma is near the U.S.-Mexico border and supports a diverse range of students, including children of migrant workers and military families.
• For 10 consecutive years, Yuma faced declining enrollment. The district wanted to be the premier district in its area to provide innovative programs, district-wide technology, and personalized instructional models to meet the needs of its students.
• Last year, after one year of personalized learning, Yuma saw its enrollment stabilize. As of fall 2017, enrollment is up by 180 students: an increase of over 2 percent!
Metropolitan School District of Warren Township (IN)
• In 2012, MSD Warren Township won a $28.5M Race to the Top grant. Despite some initial success implementing its plans, Warren struggled with how to successfully use its technology to personalize instruction for students.
• After nearly two years of implementing personalized learning, 80% of teachers understand their school’s vision and purpose for personalized learning and 75% of teachers say they can use digital content to effectively complement their curriculum.
• Sixty-eight percent of teachers feel more effective since implementing personalized learning.
Fulton County Schools (GA)
• Fulton County Schools (FCS) is the fourth-largest school system in Georgia, serving 96,500 students across 105 schools.
• FCS spent two years developing a strategic plan and vision for personalized learning. The district was ready, but it lacked the process to turn its plans into reality at the school level.
• Since the spring of 2015, all schools have gone through a process with Education Elements to develop personalized learning instructional models, professional development plans, and communications plans.
“Each time we engage in conversation, I leave with clearer thoughts and direction.” – District Leader, MSD of Warren Township (IN)
“If I have any reservations, it is simply this: now that I have seen what education can look like, it saddens me that this is not the standard.” — District Leader, Central Valley School District (NY)
In 2016–17, we expanded our work to formally include support around competency-based education, open educational resource adoption, curriculum strategy, strategic planning, and new school design, among others.
We focus on solving the biggest challenges district leaders face. As those challenges evolve, we will too.
Surveying the CBE landscape, it can be difficult to know where to start. For many, CBE involves rethinking many of the fundamental structures in school districts, from assessment schedules to grade levels and teacher roles. Education Elements helps districts plan for CBE, from initial steps at a few pilot schools to strategic planning for districtwide transformation.
This year, Education Elements developed a CBE Framework to help district leaders focus on what really matters by breaking CBE planning down into actionable areas. Using this framework as our guide, we partnered with Digital Promise to document and share lessons learned on CBE from school districts across the country. We designed and facilitated a workshop where 20 districts from the League of Innovative Schools collaborated to document their efforts to shift to CBE.
From there, we worked with 10 districts to help them deeply reflect on their work and share it with the education community at large. The result was a CBE Toolkit that includes each district’s rationale for moving to CBE, surprises and tradeoffs they’ve faced, considerations for other organizations, and artifacts that show “what it looks like.” We are also working with Fulton County Schools (FCS) (GA) to help a variety of stakeholders think through how to plan for, communicate, and support a shift to teaching and assessing with a CBE approach. FCS uses the term “Standards Mastery Framework” to describe this work, which will flow from districted principals’ meetings down to teacher-led professional learning communities. Our work will ensure that the tools developed by FCS allow schools to implement a more personalized curriculum that is guaranteed and viable for all students. The Standards Mastery Framework builds upon our work with FCS over the past two years, bringing personalized learning instructional models, professional learning plans, and communications plans to 96 schools.
The increasing accessibility of open educational resources (OER) creates a need for schools and districts to understand, evaluate, support, and monitor the types of freely available resources that teachers use to drive instruction.
This year, we worked with the Enlarged City School District of Middletown (NY) and Loudoun County Public Schools (VA) to build their understanding and support their implementation of OER to offer students access to significant, relevant content. We provided professional development to help them understand the current landscape of OER, OER providers, and implementation options; conducted strategy sessions to develop a district road map for implementing OER; helped build an OER
We relied on a mix of case studies, massive open online courses (MOOCs), and the U.S. Department of Education’s #GoOpen initiative to bring a national and international perspective to the work at each district.We identified clear challenges that OER could address, such as out-of-date textbooks or fragmented resource repositories, and opportunities, such as the professional learning that occurs when a group of teachers
We relied on a mix of case studies, massive open online courses (MOOCs), and the U.S. Department of Education’s #GoOpen initiative to bring a national and international perspective to the work at each district.We identified clear challenges that OER could address, such as out-of-date textbooks or fragmented resource repositories, and opportunities, such as the professional learning that occurs when a group of teachers
As districts and schools grow in their comfort with personalized learning, our support evolves with them. We were fortunate this year to work with two districts to deepen their understanding of instructional practices around student collaboration and creativity.
We have worked with Horry County Schools (SC) since 2012. This year, our work focused on ensuring that personalized learning classrooms are places where “teachers facilitate an authentic exchange of ideas and students learn to become caring, principled people as well as thoughtful, creative learners and thinkers.” We worked with Horry County Schools to bring this vision for collaboration to life by developing tools to support teachers and facilitating learning walks to provide feedback to school leaders and a district-wide overview of instructional practices.
We have also worked with the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) (DC) since 2013. While DCPS teachers have become quite comfortable with integrating digital content and targeted small group instruction, they wanted to improve collaborative learning in their blended instructional models. This year, we worked with their elementary literacy team to create a collaborative learning framework and trained a select group of teachers on how to incorporate the framework into their instruction.
Training and supporting teachers, coaches, and principals
In Charleston County School District (SC), where we just began work this year, we provided coaching support in tandem with the district-level strategy work and intensive support for three schools in 2016–17.
In Yuma Elementary School District One (AZ), where we have been working since 2015, we designed and facilitated coaching workshops during which coaches created a new professional learning system for teachers to self-identify growth goals through a district-wide Core Four rubric and designed plans to meet with teachers to deepen personalized learning knowledge, skills, and mindsets.
In Piedmont City Schools (AL), where we have worked since 2013, our focus this year was to provide onsite and virtual support to build the capacity of their coaching staff. Support focused on using observation debrief cycles (ODC) to encourage and support teachers struggling to adopt the personalized, competency-based models.
In Dundee Central Schools (NY), where we have worked since 2015, school “design teams” hosted monthly “Core Four Wednesdays” to offer professional development. On these early-release days, faculty attended choice-based professional development sessions focused on Core Four practices. The teams surveyed teachers and used observation data to plan topics for each session.
Education Elements worked with the St. Louis Public School District (MO) to guide the district through the Master Planning for Innovation curriculum adoption project. We reviewed the current state map for curriculum adoption; examined the capabilities model; provided a
Education Elements partnered with the Wake County Public School System (NC) to design, launch, and support a new personalized learning elementary school that will open in fall 2017. The new school will focus on personalized learning, align with the district’s 4C’s (Collaboration, Creativity, Communication, and Critical Thinking), and support the specific student population and school community. Our work together included designing an instructional model and staffing and support plan.
“In 23 years [in education], our partnership with Education Elements and the professional development model has been the most valuable, productive, focused and collaborative [partnership] I have participated in, to date.” – Principal, Loudoun County Public Schools (VA)
“Education Elements has helped us build a ‘we are in this together’ work environment with school leadership teams.” — District Leader, Horry County Schools (SC)
We believe that to create lasting effects for students, more than instructional practices and support structures must change. The entire district culture must change.
That’s why our approach to working with districts does more than
Our work with districts goes beyond strategic planning or professional development. Our approach has a positive impact on the organizational culture of the districts we work with, building trust and helping school and district leaders work together effectively to create lasting change for students.
Since moving to personalized learning, district leaders have noticed meaningful gains:
68% of district leaders say district meetings are more effective. of district leaders say district staff
66% of district leaders say district staff
56% of district leaders say relations between the district’s central office and school staff are more positive.
68% of district leaders say roles and accountabilities within the district are clearer.
When compared to teachers preparing to start personalized learning, teachers at the end of their district’s second year partnering with Education Elements report positive changes in their working environments:
+21% more teachers feel their school is a positive working environment: 69% compared to 48%.
+11% more teachers feel their school is supportive of their professional growth: 77% compared to 66%.
We believe that for change to be successful and sustainable, everyone needs to be on the same page. For that reason, this year we created Touchpoint. Touchpoint is a cloud-based tool that complements the on-the-ground support from our expert consultants:
• Touchpoint helps create alignment between the district and each school site to support the successful execution of high-level strategy. Regardless of whether a district is implementing personalized learning or adopting a new curriculum, Touchpoint provides a visual
• Touchpoint reduces the number of websites, documents, and resources you use to manage change in your district. With Touchpoint, there’s no more navigating to multiple sites and pages or losing track of key decisions and documents in email. Everything is easy to find, in one place, through the Touchpoint experience.
• Each component of the Touchpoint experience is customized for the needs of your district and schools. A member of the Education Elements consulting team will customize a road map, create a set of prioritized actions, and help you build a library of resources, all based on the needs of your team.
“The Touchpoint tool is REALLY helping us organize all of the materials we accumulate and share resources. I like it VERY much.” – District Leader, Racine Unified School District (WI)
“The Summit provided opportunities for inspiration and exposure to fresh ideas… the stuff that excites educators and motivates us to go back and use this enthusiasm to make what’s happening in our schools even better.” — Teacher, Dundee Central Schools (NY)
Our school and district leaders are doing amazing work. They are bold, innovative risk-takers. They see opportunities where others see roadblocks. They relentlessly pursue what’s best for students.
That’s why we are so passionate about helping them connect with like-minded leaders and share their stories.
Our third annual Personalized Learning Summit was our largest and best yet! The Summit brought together more than 500 leaders for two days of powerful professional development, inspiration, idea sharing, storytelling, and fun! Since we had a 125-person waitlist, next year’s fourth annual Summit is sure to be even bigger and better. Stay tuned! 38 states and 2 foreign countries 75% of attendees work in a school district 50% hold leadership roles in their school or district 17 tours of innovative Bay Area companies 46 workshops (selected out of more than 200 applicants) 93% rated it as a great experience 92% said they would recommend it to a friend, with 73%extremely likely to do so
Keynote Speakers: • Brad Montague, Creator of Kid President • Kaya Henderson, Former Chancellor of DC Public Schools • Ray A. Owens, Ph.D., Pastor of the Metropolitan Baptist Church of Tulsa • Lilly Hall and Brian Alvarenga-Molina, an elementary school student and a high school student Select Workshop Titles: • Breaking the Cycle of School Turnaround: Year 0 in Denver Public Schools (Presenting Organization: Denver Public Schools, CO) • Effective OER Planning & Implementation (Presenting Organization: Lakota Local School District, OH) • The Droids You’re Looking For: Teaching With Drones, Robots, and More (Presenting Organization: Workbench Platform) • From Traditional to Data Driven—One Urban Math Class’s Blended Learning Journey (Presenting Organization: Racine Unified School District, WI*) • The Evolution of Blended Learning Models (Presenting Organization: Blended Learning Universe) • Using Micro Credentialing to Supercharge Your Personalized Learning Initiative (Presenting Organization: Marion Central School District, NY*) *Denotes Education Elements client
This year, we graduated the third cohort of Lexington Education Leadership Award (LELA) Fellows. The LELA Fellowship, a partnership of the Lexington Institute, is a six-month program designed to expose district superintendents and their teams to personalized learning and facilitate the first steps toward implementation.
Across three cohorts, 30 district leaders from 19 states have brought what they learned through the LELA Fellowship back to 328 schools, more than 7,000 teachers, and more than 212,000 students.
While our reach is national, we are passionate about fostering local communities of collaboration as well as meeting the different needs of districts through varied support models. For that reason, this year we have more intensively supported unique local efforts, including pioneering a consortium approach in New York, supporting several local summits, and promoting success stories through local media. Consortium Model New York: Since 2013, Education Elements has worked in New York to design, implement, and support personalized learning. Currently, 18 districts and two Boards of Educational Cooperative Services (BOCES) across the state have moved to a personalized learning instructional model, changing the educational experience for over 45,000 students. This year, we worked with many smaller districts through a consortium model to better meet their needs. Though much of the work is individualized for each district, it is accomplished through a series of collaborative and group working sessions. These touchpoints build the capacity of the districts and enable Education Elements to pass along cost savings to each participant. Local Summits Several districts expressed interest in pulling together “local summits” to showcase the amazing work at their schools and increase excitement and momentum around personalized learning in their regions. In June 2016, Metropolitan School District of Warren Township (IN) held its first Warren Blended Learning Forum. The forum brought together 260 district and school leaders from five districts and featured keynote speakers, workshop sessions, and blended learning simulations. Due to the success of the first forum, in July 2017, Warren hosted its second Blended Learning Forum with over 300 attendees and 10 districts. Education Elements worked with Warren to craft the agenda and topics for breakout sessions as well as provide connections to keynote speakers. In October 2016,
Consortium Model New York: Since 2013, Education Elements has worked in New York to design, implement, and support personalized learning. Currently, 18 districts and two Boards of Educational Cooperative Services (BOCES) across the state have moved to a personalized learning instructional model, changing the educational experience for over 45,000 students. This year, we worked with many smaller districts through a consortium model to better meet their needs. Though much of the work is individualized for each district, it is accomplished through a series of collaborative and group working sessions. These touchpoints build the capacity of the districts and enable Education Elements to pass along cost savings to each participant. Local Summits Several districts expressed interest in pulling together “local summits” to showcase the amazing work at their schools and increase excitement and momentum around personalized learning in their regions. In June 2016, Metropolitan School District of Warren Township (IN) held its first Warren Blended Learning Forum. The forum brought together 260 district and school leaders from five districts and featured keynote speakers, workshop sessions, and blended learning simulations. Due to the success of the first forum, in July 2017, Warren hosted its second Blended Learning Forum with over 300 attendees and 10 districts. Education Elements worked with Warren to craft the agenda and topics for breakout sessions as well as provide connections to keynote speakers. In October 2016,
New York: Since 2013, Education Elements has worked in New York to design, implement, and support personalized learning. Currently, 18 districts and two Boards of Educational Cooperative Services (BOCES) across the state have moved to a personalized learning instructional model, changing the educational experience for over 45,000 students. This year, we worked with many smaller districts through a consortium model to better meet their needs. Though much of the work is individualized for each district, it is accomplished through a series of collaborative and group working sessions. These touchpoints build the capacity of the districts and enable Education Elements to pass along cost savings to each participant. Local Summits Several districts expressed interest in pulling together “local summits” to showcase the amazing work at their schools and increase excitement and momentum around personalized learning in their regions. In June 2016, Metropolitan School District of Warren Township (IN) held its first Warren Blended Learning Forum. The forum brought together 260 district and school leaders from five districts and featured keynote speakers, workshop sessions, and blended learning simulations. Due to the success of the first forum, in July 2017, Warren hosted its second Blended Learning Forum with over 300 attendees and 10 districts. Education Elements worked with Warren to craft the agenda and topics for breakout sessions as well as provide connections to keynote speakers. In October 2016,
Local Summits Several districts expressed interest in pulling together “local summits” to showcase the amazing work at their schools and increase excitement and momentum around personalized learning in their regions. In June 2016, Metropolitan School District of Warren Township (IN) held its first Warren Blended Learning Forum. The forum brought together 260 district and school leaders from five districts and featured keynote speakers, workshop sessions, and blended learning simulations. Due to the success of the first forum, in July 2017, Warren hosted its second Blended Learning Forum with over 300 attendees and 10 districts. Education Elements worked with Warren to craft the agenda and topics for breakout sessions as well as provide connections to keynote speakers. In October 2016,
Several districts expressed interest in pulling together “local summits” to showcase the amazing work at their schools and increase excitement and momentum around personalized learning in their regions. In June 2016, Metropolitan School District of Warren Township (IN) held its first Warren Blended Learning Forum. The forum brought together 260 district and school leaders from five districts and featured keynote speakers, workshop sessions, and blended learning simulations. Due to the success of the first forum, in July 2017, Warren hosted its second Blended Learning Forum with over 300 attendees and 10 districts. Education Elements worked with Warren to craft the agenda and topics for breakout sessions as well as provide connections to keynote speakers. In October 2016,
Sharing Success Through Media We are passionate about helping districts share their stories. We work with leaders to write and publish articles in a variety of sources. In just this past year, we helped leaders get published in EdSurge, Getting Smart, and District Administration, among others. To see some examples, check out the list at the end of the report.
Through
Sustaining Success. Overcoming Challenges. Going Beyond Personalized Learning. Changing Culture. Connecting Leaders. As we look back on school year 2016–17, we are proud of what we and our district partners have accomplished and are grateful to the extraordinary educators who have trusted us in this work. We look forward to the 2017–18 school year and continuing to help school districts solve their toughest problems.
