Schools Worth Visiting
The Getting Smart team visits hundreds of schools each year and is grateful for the opportunity to see high-quality teaching and learning in action. This series features stories of schools that share best practices, lessons learned and next-gen teaching practices that support high-quality, personalized, project-based learning for all students.
3 Ways to Prepare Educators to Teach PBL
By: Dr. Art Fessler. For project-based learning to reach its full potential, teachers must learn to step back and be facilitators in the classroom. Here are my three best practices as a superintendent to effectively support educators in a PBL environment.
Lean School District: 12 Service Delivery Opportunities
How can school district leaders get in front of declining budgets to give their schools the best chance to be successful? Here are 12 school district functional areas where there are usually opportunities to boost efficiency and effectiveness.
Teaching Core Values
Bailey Thomson, Director of School Operations for SPARK Schools, spoke at TEDxJohannesburg about the significance of teaching core values to students. Here are SPARKS five core values and what they mean.
By 2025, Swarms of Self-Driving Vehicles Will Transport Students to Learning Sites
Recent breakthroughs in computing and maturation of autonomous driving systems are rapidly making self-driving vehicles a reality. So how could this innovation impact education?
The Results Are In: Kindergarten Transition Programs Work
By: Philip dela Houssaye and Fernando Madrid. Starting kindergarten off on the right foot is one of the strongest indicators of a child’s success in school. Here are four key takeaways from our district’s Early Kindergarten Transition (EKT) program.
David Haglund on Lessons Learned in Santa Ana
As he transitions to a new role in a new district, David Haglund shares lessons learned during his time as deputy superintendent and chief academic officer for Santa Ana Unified School District.
Closing The Achievement Gap With The Power of Data
The Education Equality Index (EEI) site recently released its national data analysis findings, providing insights from high achieving schools that could help close long-standing achievement gaps for students from underserved communities.
How to “Pick the Lock”: The Five Secrets to One Stone’s Success
One Stone thrives because it places students at the center. Here, I take a deeper look at the techniques they use to develop and maintain their culture.
AltSchool: Designing the Future of Learning
For the past four years, AltSchool has been building a technology-enabled network to empower and connect families, students and teachers. Learn more about what else this innovative school is working toward.
A Maine School District’s Approach To Personalized Learning
When districts are considering personalized learning, it's important for them to reflect on their own vision, culture and transparency. I asked RSU-2 Superintendent Bill Zima to share his insight on these three themes for his district's personalized learning journey.