Category Archives: Uncategorized

By: Lizette Valles & Victoria Andrews The inaugural VELA Con 2024, hosted by The VELA Founder Network, and held from June 13-15 in Washington, D.C., gathered educators and edupreneurs from across the country to share ideas, champion personalized learning, share struggles and hear from philanthropists.  This debut event, themed “New Frontiers in Education,” attracted a dynamicContinue reading “New Frontiers in Education: VELA Con 2024 Ushers in a New Era of Learning”

What is the purpose of school? In recent years, there’s been a resurgence of possibility in answering this question with different timelines, school models, and rationale. With the access and rapid development of AI tools, the tumultuous workforce and industry climate, and the acknowledgement of creating environments that support mental health and well being, theContinue reading “The Time is Now for Revelatory Assessment”

By Jessica K. Jackson, Jeffrey Starr, Ed.D, and D’Andre Weaver, Ph.D For more than a decade, Digital Promise has been at the forefront of conversations and efforts to close the Digital Learning Gap—caused by differences in how learners access and use technology both in and out of school to improve learning opportunities and outcomes. RecognizingContinue reading “A New Approach to Digital Equity: A Framework for States and Schools”

In December 2023, the Educating All Learners Alliance (EALA) hosted a Community of Action with the intent to fund at least one project that could provide a solution to an identified challenge in the field of education related to students with disabilities and learning differences. At the end of 36 hours, each group pitched ideasContinue reading “Amplifying Excellence in Career Education and Development”

By: Sujata Bhatt You’re a mom. A dad. A grandparent or godparent or stepparent or close family friend. What do you want for the children you care about?  Are you truly excited that they get all ‘A’s’ and high scores on their SATs or ACTs? Is that the goal in life? Or do you wantContinue reading “How to Design Schools to Grow Thriving Adults: A Provocation”

By Alyssa Faubion Before I became a teacher or an instructional coach, I was told my success would be measured in a nice, neat box known as an assessment. Multiple-choice questions were not where I shone. Luckily, my high school photography teacher introduced me to the idea that creativity was a valuable skill. In theContinue reading “How AI Knocks Down Classroom Barriers”

In an era where education is constantly evolving, microschools have emerged as catalysts for innovation, providing personalized and community-centered learning experiences. At Getting Smart, we see microschools not as a threat to public education but as one of many equitable solutions to the challenges of delivering quality education to all students. Our commitment to supportingContinue reading “Empowering Small Schools for Transformative Change”

By: Kara Bobroff (Dine’/Lakota) Our Present: From Schools to Networks You start with a single school – like a small garden designed to speak to the hopes, needs, and vision of the community – a space where you can create new designs and draw on Indigenous wisdom to create new conditions, experiences, and build aContinue reading “Our Past, Present, and Future”

By Shannon King, Ph.D. Accountability is crucial in education. As educational leaders, we must ensure students meet high learning standards. However, our single-minded focus on standardized testing is extinguishing the joy of learning for many students. Now, imagine an education system where accountability and joy go hand in hand. As educational leaders, we have theContinue reading “How the ‘Portrait of a Graduate’ Infuses Student Learning with Joy and Hope”

By Josh Schachter and Melinda Englert When 80 middle school students from Billy L. Lauffer Middle School, a Title I school in southeast Tucson, hopped off the bus at the University of Arizona, it was not for an ordinary field trip. Despite living just 10 miles away, for many students, this was their first timeContinue reading “Making Learning Relevant to Students’ Lives and Communities”