Effective Professional Learning: More Essential Than Ever

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]May is always a frenetic time in the field of education. Graduation looms like the checkered flag in Indianapolis, as graduates, parents, and educators alike are heading down the homestretch. That underlying sentiment bound by the rhythms of tradition is no different, even if we’re celebrating graduation this spring in a new, mutual way.

For those of us who make a career in education, we also know it’s the time for thinking about all that must occur operationally before the new school year launches — master schedules, hiring and contracts, purchasing, and vendor agreements to put it all in order for day one. Except…

We’ve never experienced such a back to school like what’s to come.

Getting Smart knows the launch of the 2020-21 school year could not be more different and we want to help your school, district, or network prepare for a radically different start of the school year. From strategic planning, to technical assistance we are here to help. Recently Tom and Brooklyn Lab School’s Eric Tucker rolled out their 10-point plan for reopening schools. It underscores our work for the next three months as we help schools and districts create customized solutions and plans for their various needs.

Today, we’re shining a spotlight on the services we provide in the event that our collective expertise is what your team and community needs. Our work runs the gamut of supporting professional learning services, such as the tailored development of materials, processes, and facilitation like Rebecca Midles  is providing to Kansas City area districts participating in the Kauffman Foundation sponsored Real World Learning development work. Our team pivoted in-person school visits to a virtual professional development series that continued exposure to exemplar models and approaches to real-world learning.

Our team is also supporting River’s Edge High School in Washington State with their school design and coaching needs. We are leading the development of a transformed school schedule and personal learning plans for students to engage with community partners and align learning with competencies to be more efficient and nimble for post-pandemic learning requirements.

[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_btn title=”Free Leadership Guide” align=”center” el_class=”gs-branded-btn getting-ready”][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text]Through virtual consults, webinars, and coaching we are currently leading several schools and districts in their desire to shift to new, comprehensive learning models. Like the two examples above, we are passionate for chances to come alongside a school or district and design strategic plans for shifting to competency-based education (CBE) and/or project-based learning (PBL). And this side of the pandemic, we are even more excited to see educators personalize their practice for each student. We predict more will use this coming school year to move away from traditional, direct instruction and assessment to authentic, real-world learning, connected intrinsically to their communities, and assessed with specificity to the learner’s growth, skill-by-skill, competency-by-competency.

The Getting Smart team is eager to engage new school partners and help design learning experiences that bring these sorts of ideas to life in your schools.

What support do you need for your learning community? Just let us know and we’ll schedule a call to learn more about your team’s needs ahead of summer.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_btn title=”Let’s Get Started” align=”center” el_class=”gs-branded-btn work-with-us-2″][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text]For more, see:

• How to Reopen Schools: A 10-Point Plan Putting Equity at the Center
• Getting Through: Distributive Leadership
• 12 Onramps for Personalized and Competency-based Learning
• Perfect Storm: Toughest Year Ever Ahead

Stay in-the-know with innovations in learning by signing up for the weekly Smart Update.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]