Blog | Getting Smart

What if the crisis in urban public education is not a resource problem but a design problem? In this thought-provoking piece, Mason Pashia examines the history of mayoral control, the promise and peril of city-school mergers, and what an abundance mindset could mean for governance, financing, and who gets to learn. For education leaders navigating declining enrollment, strained budgets, and a public losing faith in the institutional model, this is both a diagnostic and a call to reimagine.

Future of Learning

Bridging Passion and Possibility: Chicago’s Approach to New Pathways

Guest Author

Oct 13, 2026

What does it look like when a city braids entrepreneurship, the arts, and community into the fabric of K-12 learning? Getting Smart's latest New Pathways Convening in Chicago brought together district leaders, funders, workforce organizations, and students to answer that question together. From Academy for Global Citizenship's sustainability-rooted Villages model to Fenton High School's early adoption of entrepreneurial programming, the convening surfaced a shared conviction: the skills that will matter most in the future, human connection, creativity, and adaptability, are already being cultivated in classrooms right now. This is a story worth reading for any leader asking what learning can and should become.

Future of Learning

Our Rooms Are Full of Collective Intelligence. We Need Collective Measurement.

Guest Author

Oct 12, 2026

What does it mean to be educated if our transcripts cannot capture the student who made every group around them smarter? In this new piece, Jane Shore challenges the foundational assumption of traditional assessment, that learning lives inside individual heads, and invites education leaders to imagine what becomes possible when we measure contribution, collective growth, and ripples of impact alongside academic knowledge. This is essential reading for anyone rethinking what counts, and for whom.

Future of Learning

From Compliance to Contribution: What Happens When Students Do Work That Matters

Guest Author

Oct 6, 2026

What if the most important outcome of a learning experience was not a credential but a shift in how a young person sees themselves? Nikki Stancampiano and Reem Al-Adhami share how the PAST Foundation's work-based learning program moved students from compliance to contribution, and from career exposure to genuine identity formation. This piece is essential reading for leaders designing learning experiences that build agency, belonging, and purpose alongside academic skills.

	Beginning	Piloting	Implementing
From Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery	BeginningFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Beginning	PilotingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Piloting	ImplementingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Implementing
From One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning	BeginningFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Implementing
From Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry	BeginningFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Beginning	PilotingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Piloting	ImplementingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Implementing
From Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning	BeginningFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Implementing
From Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities	BeginningFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Beginning	PilotingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Piloting	ImplementingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Implementing
From Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment	BeginningFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Beginning	PilotingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Piloting	ImplementingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Implementing
From Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets	BeginningFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Beginning	PilotingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Piloting	ImplementingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Implementing

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