Tag Archives: Getting Smart

Fundamentally, a microschool can be located anywhere. These nimble schooling models, while at the forefront of current education innovation, are a return to education at its most elemental. Microschools are a modern iteration of the age-old one-room schoolhouse concept, where small groups of students engage in often personalized and experience-based learning experiences. These schools oftenContinue reading “Where Seldom is Heard a Discouraging Word: Farm-based Microschools”

By Tyler Thigpen  Join me in a thought experiment where we envision creating a school focused on cultivating dependent students. Yes, you read that correctly—dependent learners who rely heavily on others for guidance and decision-making. While this concept might initially strike us as unsettling, let’s temporarily set aside our judgments and explore how such aContinue reading “Building Better Schools: The art of leading change in education”

By: Seth Kannarr When we consider taking a vacation, we often make plans to visit our national parks. Whether it is the nostalgia from family road trips growing up, or just a desire to escape our daily routine and reconnect with the outdoors, over 300 million Americans travel to the 429 units managed by theContinue reading “Five Reasons to Bring Our National Parks into the Classroom”

Youth violence causes death and injury. Homicide is the third leading cause of death among young people aged 10 to 24.  Every day, approximately 12 young people are homicide victims, and nearly 1,400 are treated in emergency rooms for nonfatal assault-related injuries. Youth violence is expensive. According to Federal Data on Youth, “Youth homicides andContinue reading “The Power Of Peace Project: Healing Wounded Communities”

By: Erin Whalen As school builders, how do we best minimize blindspots, respond to inequities, and create universally designed spaces that account for the diverse array of lived experiences within our schools?  By building from the margins, or redesigning in deep consideration of the most underserved, we have the opportunity to create empowering schools thatContinue reading “Tips and Tools for Equitable and Sustainable School Design”

The unique connection between wolves and humans has been researched and chronicled in film, literature, and art. Additionally, the connection between teenagers and wolves might even be more aligned as both have a strong need to belong socially, are often misunderstood or misrepresented, and sometimes are even abused and neglected. This special relationship is atContinue reading “At-Risk Youth Discover Support, Healing With Wolves”

By: Danish Kurani Here’s an alarming statistic: in a 2019 survey of 47,000 high school students, just 40% of students said they felt like “a real part of this school.” That means 60% of students show up to school each day feeling, to some degree, like outsiders. Given the intense isolation many students have feltContinue reading “How to Design a School for Belonging”

By: Mat Erpelding Starting and operating a microschool, can be challenging to maintain quality and educational consistency as your school grows. Because microschools are designed to be small, and maintaining learning intimacy is crucial to success and, simultaneously can limit scaling. That’s why it’s critical to get your students involved from the beginning and selectContinue reading “Designing Competency-Based Models for Students by Students”

With the increased use of artificial intelligence in the world and our classrooms, especially since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, it has never been more important to get students involved in learning how to use these tools ethically, responsibly, and safely. We need to promote digital literacy and, more specifically, AI literacy. AsContinue reading “Stories of AI Literacy and How to Get Started”

In the face of the evolving educational landscape, teachers are navigating a dynamic environment shaped by multiple factors. The intersection of a teacher shortage, rapid advances in educational technology (EdTech) and artificial intelligence (AI) and the growing demand for a more diverse workforce has set the stage for transformative changes. The power dynamic in educationContinue reading “The Changing Role of Today’s EdLeader”