A Student’s Perspective

My name is Tyler Robert and I have been a Find the Why! (FTW!) student competitor (see my FTW! Digital Resume below) for 5 years. I am currently a 3rd year Accounting and Finance major at the University of Nebraska Omaha. I recently interviewed with a CPA firm called RG & Associates. 

The interview experience at RG was unique, and it was unique because it did not feel like an interview. Of course, they asked me questions, and we talked about experience, education and the normal things of an interview. In many ways, we were getting a feel for the culture fit, and I felt during that interview that I was already a part of the company. 

They took a particular interest in my experience with the FTW! platform, asking what it was and what it entailed. I explained how FTW! connects businesses to students in a revolutionary new way, and allows for the direct offering of internships and apprenticeships to students that do well and fit the culture of that company. They loved the concept, and dug deeper into my FTW! digital resume I linked to my traditional resume. A good 15 minutes of our interview was focused on the FTW! platform and digital resume, and we had such a great conversation around it. They then asked me if I had taken a personality test before, and thanks to my experiences in the FTW! program, I had. They offer the DISC profile, as well as 3 other assessments. Having this information accessible for the interviewer was super helpful. 

My experience with RG was so particularly impactful, that I left knowing that this was the place for me. The very next day, they sent me an offer letter, I signed it and sent it back. My start date is in May of this year.

Todd Smith On Interpreting the Dashboard

My name is Todd Smith, Founder of FindTheWhy! The students that participate in FTW! choose from current industry or social problems to attempt to solve. Problems that result in solutions such as mental health app solutions for teens, designing light rail systems that move people around a region to solve the workforce crisis, and urban rooftop vertical farming solutions with renewable energy components.  stations. As students discover careers that solve problems that matter to them, they are discovered, recruited and retained by businesses. 

Along the solution iteration journey, each FTW! student team can select up to 3 virtual advisors from our prescreened list of dynamic professionals with knowledge that can help them ideate. Due to the back and forth with highly skilled professionals on our platform, students get the most realistic first-touch experience with a new industry and the culture of the adults in said industries. 

As Tyler mentioned, participants in our 10-day Challenges get access to industry-valued assessments that translate who they are, how they behave and their talents into data that tenured HR professionals can easily assign professional value to. 

The assessments include: 

1. DISC Assessment (How does a person tend to behave) 
2.  My Story Assessment (How they viewed the problem, industries that solve this problem, demographic, work-life balance preferences, demographic preferences and next step in educational/work pathway.)
3. Student Team 360 Assessment (How did they collaborate)

In Conclusion

Programs like FindTheWhy! equip young learners with experiences, language, and competencies that will help them find success in what’s next. They build confidence and career awareness as well as expand social capital and enable students to work on real-world projects.

For more on this initiative in Nebraska, check out the recent podcast episode I hosted with the Omaha Taskforce.

The post A Student’s Perspective on Career and Interview Readiness appeared first on Getting Smart.

On a chilly Saturday morning this March, a sold-out crowd of more than 250 educators got up early and drove from towns all over Western Pennsylvania to gather in a primary school gymnasium at the Ehrman Crest Elementary School in the Seneca Valley School District north of Pittsburgh. The educators celebrated the teachings of Fred Rogers as part of frED Camp. The Ehrman Crest Elementary School is a 2022 Time Magazine award-winning building that is a living example of how “the Fred Method” is based on intentional learning. 

The “Fred” of this day-long workshop’s title is Fred Rogers, creator and host of the groundbreaking television series “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Though many adults remember Rogers as a kindly presence on their childhood TV screens, his legacy includes extensive research into child development and a commitment to leveraging the technology of his day in groundbreaking ways. Beyond entertaining America’s kids, Rogers left behind a body of work that a growing community of educators are now using to improve the ways they teach and mentor children. 

“There’s a growing recognition that we see among teachers that this person they grew up loving for all sorts of different reasons — but mostly because he made them feel good when they were kids — is now someone who can guide them to become better at their jobs as educators and even as parents. It’s a really joyful thing,” says Ryan Rydzewski, co-author of When You Wonder, You’re Learning: Mister Rogers’ Enduring Lessons for Raising Creative, Curious, Caring Kids. 

The book, co-authored with Gregg Behr, was the inspiration for frED Camp. Since its release in 2021, teachers around the world have been applying “The Fred Method” in their classrooms, using technology — and findings from the science of learning and child development — to spark joyful, welcoming learning experiences. “We’ve been talking to teachers for three years now, and they’re always showing us their incredible work, saying ‘Oh, here’s the Fred-like thing I’m doing in my classroom,’” Behr says. “So we thought, ‘Why don’t we bring some of these folks together and see what happens?’”

The program started with an opening plenary session highlighting how “Environment Drives Behavior” led by Anne Fullencamp from the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and Lauri Pendred, the principal at Ehrman Crest Elementary. They explained how every part of the building was designed to engage learners. Hallways become extensions of the classrooms. Even the playground incorporates space themes so play becomes an intentional activity. The center of the building, a spiraling staircase from the first to second floor showcases student artwork and provides opportunities for student voice. The staircase is also an example of how students were incorporated into the design process. It was the students who made the case for the pathway. 

The majority of the morning educators interacted with presenters at educator-led workshops. The educators shared great examples of the Fred Method in action throughout the Pittsburgh region. Anna Blake, a STEAM teacher for the Elizabeth Forward School District, and Melissa Unger, a STEAM teacher for the South Fayette School District, conducted a workshop “Capturing Creativity: Leveraging Engagement and Deepening Reflection through STEAM Learning.” According to Anna, “We are so honored to present at frED CAMP! I felt inspired as I walked in the door at the doors of Seneca Valley. So many chances to wonder and collaborate with Mr. Rogers in mind. So excited to connect and share learning! PD like this IS what fills up my bucket of love for teaching.”

“It’s refreshing because it’s not, ‘here’s one more thing you have to do,’” says Rydzewski. “Instead, it’s ‘here’s the value in what you already love to do.’ If you can do that in front of your kids, it’s going to elevate their learning. We know from science that when kids get swept up in the vortex of a teacher’s interest, then they get excited about learning all kinds of other things, too.”

It’s a lesson Fred Rogers knew well. For more than 30 years in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, he introduced viewers to countless guest stars: think Yo-Yo Ma, Wynton Marsalis, Julia Child, and beyond. “Whoever it happened to be, we remember their visits because we saw their passion for what they do,” says Behr. “Fred didn’t focus on their accomplishments or awards. Instead, he focused on the things that lit them up, and that light created the joyful learning atmosphere that still resonates a half-century later.” 

“What we’ve tried to do is make Fred’s lessons and his blueprints more accessible,” Behr says. “But it’s the practitioners who are going to make this stuff matter — and they are. They’re running with it. And their students are running right along with them.”

Jennifer Wachs, a media teacher for the South Allegheny School District, reinforced the impact of the day for practitioners, “What an absolute privilege it was to attend this year’s frED Camp! There was a tremendous amount of warmth and sense of community from the participants. We were all united by a profound love of children, and of course, Mr. Rogers. It was inspiring to witness the collective passion and dedication as presenters shared a host of innovative ideas for sparking curiosity and joy, and participants engaged in hands-on activities and meaningful discussions.  frED Camp reinforced the importance of creating a warm, inclusive, and stimulating learning environment that nurtures children’s social and emotional well-being. The day recharged my batteries and reaffirmed my belief in the transformative power of education.”

Next year’s frED Camp will be held at another venue that embodies its namesake’s legacy: Theperfy Fred Rogers Institute in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Open to educators of all kinds — including teachers, early learning educators, librarians, parent leaders, afterschool directors, coaches, mentors, and more — frED Camp is set for March 15, 2025.

Norton Gusky is an educational technology broker and uses technology to empower kids, educators and communities. You can find him on Twitter at @ngusky.

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Job markets worldwide are buzzing with tech-driven transformations. With robotics and automation leading the charge, there’s a whole universe of new careers unfolding for those with a knack for tech. 

What’s interesting is that a lot of these jobs do not require an expensive four-year college degree. 

This article explores how high schools can be the launchpad for students eyeing technical careers. Community colleges, technical programs, apprenticeships, and innovative skills to jobs platforms all offer effective ways that schools can pave the way toward highly fulfilling and well-paid technician roles.

The Growing Demand for Technician Jobs

Currently, the US boasts over 700,000 employed technicians within the professional, technological, and healthcare sectors. The majority of these technicians are employed by Fortune 500 companies. A robotics technician working for one of these companies earns an average salary of over $67,000.

The surge in demand for technician jobs isn’t slowing down. Robotics technician roles in the US are experiencing a robust annual growth rate of 1.64%. Certain specialized positions, such as wind turbine service technicians, rank among the fastest-growing occupations nationwide. California, Texas, and Massachusetts lead the pack in employing technicians, with states like Wisconsin, Indiana, and Iowa seeing the highest growth in job vacancies and rates. 

Rethinking Post-High School Pathways

Given these figures, it’s high time to broaden our perspective on what constitutes a successful post-high school journey. 

While about 70% of recent grads head straight to four-year colleges, there’s an important conversation to be had about the remaining 30%— for whom the traditional college route may not be a preferred or feasible option. This group represents a significant portion of young adults searching for alternative pathways to success.

Vocational training, community college programs, and apprenticeships offer viable routes to securing well-compensated careers. In addition, platforms like Unmudl offer short courses that equip learners with skills directly aligned with specific job roles, offering an efficient path to employment for many students. 

Each pathway provides access to in-demand skills, such as robotics programming, automation system maintenance, and advanced manufacturing techniques. They challenge the notion that a four-year degree is the only avenue to a meaningful career. 

Accessibility and Equity in Technical Careers

Technician roles are accessible to students from every background and social class. This inclusivity goes a long way in breaking down traditional barriers to a career in a technical field. High schools can significantly level the playing field by actively promoting and supporting such career paths.

They can be especially helpful in making students aware of and prepared to take on the technical and vocational opportunities available to them. This effort involves providing active guidance and the necessary resources to pursue technical careers. Educators at the high school level can make sure every student, no matter their circumstances, has the opportunity to secure meaningful and well-paying technician jobs.

Practical Steps for High Schools

High schools can become catalysts for change by steering students toward exciting technician careers. Here are a few successful programs and strategies that exemplify how this can be achieved: 

• Technical High School Partnerships: In Minnesota, the Minnesota State – Advanced Manufacturing Education Alliance collaborates with high schools to offer dual-enrollment courses. Students gain hands-on experience in manufacturing technologies, preparing them for immediate employment or further education in engineering and advanced manufacturing.

• Apprenticeship Programs: The Youth Apprenticeship Program in Wisconsin connects high school students with apprenticeships in various trades, including automation and robotics. This program blends classroom learning with on-the-job training, providing students with a comprehensive understanding of technical skills and real-world applications.

• Tech-Focused Charter Schools: Brooklyn STEAM Center in New York offers specialized programs in fields like computer-aided design and electromechanical engineering. Students work on industry-specific projects and connect with businesses and colleges, gaining valuable skills and insights into their future careers.

Key Skills Educators Should Emphasize for Aspiring Technicians

As educators, it’s imperative to guide students toward acquiring the skills most relevant in today’s technician roles. This ensures they’re prime candidates for success in their chosen fields. 

Here are a few essential skills:

• Automation & Robotics: Proficiency in managing and maintaining cutting-edge automated systems.
• Electrical Systems: A solid grasp of electrical circuits and a commitment to safety standards.
• Mechanical Systems: Knowledge about mechanical components and how they come together to function.
• Programming for Automation: Skills in specific programming languages, like Python or PLC ladder logic, are essential for modern automation.
• Troubleshooting & Problem Solving: The knack for identifying and resolving issues within complex systems swiftly.
• Preventive Maintenance: An understanding of regular maintenance tasks to prevent unexpected system failures.
• Adaptability: A readiness to embrace and utilize new technologies and methods.
• Critical Thinking: Logical reasoning skills to solve technical challenges innovatively.

High schools are the critical piece linking students who are not keen on a four-year college degree with emerging job prospects in technical fields. 

It’s time to forge partnerships, integrate tech-centric courses into the high school curriculum, and discuss diverse career avenues. 

Dr. Parminder Jassal is the CEO of Unmudl, a leading Skills-to-Jobs® marketplace for developing skills through hands-on training, propelling workers into job roles with the nation’s leading employers.

The post How Can Educators Build Support Systems for Students Eyeing Technician Jobs? appeared first on Getting Smart.

Over the last decade, since school districts around the country began to adopt the Portrait of a Graduate model to define a vision for their learners’ outcomes, we have heard a similar story from many district leaders about these efforts. Typically they speak of the enthusiasm that this vision brings to the community, particularly when their Portraits have been designed with input from all community members including teachers, students, and families. Portraits of a Graduate focus on the mindsets and skill sets that enable lifelong learning, success in all careers, and personal fulfillment—the attributes that have received great attention in the movements for 21st Century Learning and increasing uncertainties about the technical skills and knowledge that will be most useful in a rapidly changing future.

However, while school leaders find inspiration in the collective buy-in (which has become increasingly rare to develop in other areas of school), they also tend to express concern over the difficulty in ensuring that students are achieving these outcomes. While the skill sets and mindsets represented in Portraits of a Graduate have received growing attention, there are still many fewer available systems-wide resources and support for achievement and assessment than there are for academic goals. Meanwhile, the programs and supports that do exist tend to address only particular skills rather than the whole Portrait. As school leaders add more and more of these programs in an attempt to fulfill the complete vision of their Portrait of a Graduate, they also often engender “initiative fatigue” and burnout from the educators and support staff charged with implementation.

How can school districts deliberately and systematically create the structures that enable all learners to become their envisioned Portrait in public schools that are already overtaxed and strained? That is the question our team sought to answer as we began an effort to examine the promise and pitfalls of the Portrait of a Graduate. In our recently released report, Shifting Education with Learning Pathways: Becoming Your Portrait of a Graduate, we share what we have learned about both the Portrait of a Graduate model itself and offer a systematic approach to integration that we see as a key to success in learners achieving the vision of the Portrait.

The Skills that Portraits of a Graduate Say are Necessary for Learners to Thrive

We began by analyzing the content of a sample of Portraits from school districts across the country. While Portraits are designed uniquely by each school district with input from their communities, we found an overwhelming alignment across them in terms of what skill sets are emphasized. In our analysis, 90% of named attributes across all 69 Portraits we studied are aligned to the following six skill sets:

• Analyze to Understand 
• Care For and Contribute to Society 
• Collaborate Across Difference 
• Communicate in All Media and Modalities 
• Create to Solve and Share 
• Practice Self Awareness and Regulation 

While the specific terms used to specify these attributes vary, there is significant unity in the nature of the outcomes being expressed. School leaders and PoG design teams can leverage these resources to support schools and districts in customizing the specific contexts of their own community-developed Portraits.

While districts across the nation agree that these six skill sets are essential for learners, they face challenges in operationalizing them systematically. Each skill set is broadly defined, universally applicable, and deeply interconnected, making it difficult to concretely align them to curricular and pedagogical decision making. They also do not directly correlate to the current assessment and credentialing paradigm, which relies heavily on standardized tests and course grades. 

Integrated Learning Pathways Make the Vision of a Portrait More Achievable

In our direct work with districts, we have seen that a first step in making these attributes concrete is to identify observable practices within these skill sets at each developmental stage or grade level. Schools can use these identified practices to design and define “horizontal” learning pathways that intersect each academic “vertical,” creating a cross-cutting curriculum that allows teachers to see the specifics of how they can implement Portrait practices in their contexts. This reduces the burden on teachers to identify, on their own, every necessary opportunity to integrate Portrait skills, and enables them to concentrate their expertise on ensuring those integrations meet the needs of each of their individual students. 

Partnering with districts from across the nation, we have co-designed Integrated Learning Pathways to identify and implement opportunities for students to develop Portrait of a Graduate skill sets cumulatively through each grade and complementary across subjects. This approach allows the burden of implementing a Portrait vision to be more shared between teachers and leaders and reduce the impact of “initiative fatigue.”

This horizontal approach to creating a Portrait of a Graduate learning pathway also allows districts to more seamlessly integrate new priorities by aligning them with the Portrait pathway, further reducing the burnout caused by continued introduction of new initiatives and programs. In our paper, we share how Indian Prairie School District in Illinois has leveraged this approach to align their focus on Computational Thinking to their Portrait implementation. Portrait attributes are broader than computational thinking alone; however, in this case, computational thinking was a productive framework to operationalize universal and crosscutting Portrait attributes into classroom teaching and learning. Indian Prairie’s Director of Innovation, Brian Giovanini shared, “As we thought about computational thinking, and really, the skills and competencies that feed underneath that term, it really helped us visualize parts of the Portrait and build a learning pathway for our students to get to that outcome.” 

We recommend district leaders leverage Integrated Learning Pathways to align teaching and learning to their Portrait of a Graduate and ultimately better prepare students for a successful future. 

Josh Weisgrau is Chief Learning Officer, Learning Experience Design at Digital Promise

Kelly Mills is Director of Learning Pathway Design at Digital Promise.

The post Design Integrated Learning Pathways to Realize Your Portrait of a Graduate appeared first on Getting Smart.

I was invited to share the opening keynote for Three Rivers Educational Technology Conference (TRETC) 2024, a conference working to revolutionize learning and work by bringing together educators and technologists from around the Pittsburgh region. 

As part of the career development in schools conference track, my keynote was to model a career conversation with four students from the South Fayette Township High School using the RIASEC. 

Developed by John Holland, RIASEC themes help to identify potential worker- career fit. He also suggested that the theory can be used to explain vocational behavior and to suggest some practical ideas to help young, middle-aged, and older people select jobs, change jobs, and attain vocational satisfaction.

While in most cases RIASEC is used as an assessment, I like to think of it more like a language. These conversations are held such that students can explore themes and identify two or three top preferences rather than being held accountable to RIASEC tests. 

The themes that we use to  provide a common career language include:

• R: Realistic – “Doers”
• I: Investigative – “Thinkers”
• A: Artistic – “Creators”
• S: Social – “Helpers”
• E: Enterprising – “Persuaders”
• C: Conventional  – “Organizers”

Describing both the “worker” and the “work environment,” the RIASEC can describe personal interests and preferences for individuals and the style of work that is needed for jobs and tasks. Thus, the RIASEC can help at all levels of career management and themes provide a vocabulary for how a person sees themselves now, where they might be growing their skills, exploring available options, and where they are headed. 

Amplifying Student Voices

As much as I was processing my own role in this experience, I was more focused on caring for the four students who would be sharing personal aspects of their learning journey in front of strangers. When I greeted the students prior to going up on stage, we agreed to a few norms to ensure their comfort with the process and we established a working alliance that would lead to a successful experience. It was clear that the students were curious and passionate about this conversation.

As the audience watched, students were able to differentiate their RIASEC-themed interests and make quick connections between their preferred interest areas and careers. During the onstage conversation, one of the students stated, “I’m definitely going to talk to my parents about this.” Another student commented, “Having this conversation made my understanding so much more clear.” 

I’ve done 25+ of these events since 2023 and as always I was struck by how the students:

• Were able to differentiate their interests using our approach and make quick connections between their themes and career interests they wanted to pursue.
• agreed that even though they were given definitions of each RIASEC theme prior to our conversation and had guessed each other’s themes, it wasn’t until our conversation that they fully understood each theme and were able to claim the themes that matched them best.  
• Indicated they would speak to a parent or friend about what they’d learned.
• Agreed the tests they take in school to assess their career interests are not effective.
• Began to use RIASEC.

RIASEC Reflections

Carrie Akins, Career and Technical Education Principal with Calvert County Public Schools, reflected on a session with career advisors at Northern High and Plum Point Middle and shared: “Using the RIASEC gives students, educators, parents, and even our community’s employers a powerful common language so that we can all engage our students in meaningful discussions and planning about careers.” What was learned will help Akins build their program so students can effectively navigate their individual career journeys to find future employment that is a perfect fit for their skills and interests. Akins strives to pivot from “old status quo of transactional, ‘matchmaking’ activities” to “transformational, empowering experiences that support students right now, tomorrow, and forever down their paths.” 

Throughout the past 25 sessions, it’s become abundantly clear that students want to have conversations about their current and future possible selves. The language of RIASEC helps to facilitate this conversation and the dialogic approach opens a deep and wide world to explore. It’s such an honor to hear stories from students and how they plan to share their learnings with family and friends. What comes after learning RIASEC is the thing I worry about most. Who will come alongside these students to help them take their new understanding forward? 

Ed Hidalgo is a Career Development Advisor and formerly was Chief Innovation and Engagement Officer for the Cajon Valley Union School District.

The post Career Development Stage Left: RIASEC as Career Exploration appeared first on Getting Smart.

Sweeping waves of change are nothing new in the education landscape. Trends, methodologies, and practices come and go—sometimes leaving before they’ve even penetrated the red tape of the public school system. However, over the past decade, there has been a growing movement outside of the conventional education system that is holding strong in its mission. Enter the microschool—trailblazing learning environments, often learner-centered, that promise to redefine the very essence of how we imagine education.

Recent years have seen an unprecedented increase in the interest and creation of highly personalized learning environments, predominantly driven by millennial parents. This generation, born between 1981 and 1996, stands at the forefront of innovation, boldly challenging the established norms of, well—everything. Examining privilege and ensuring equity has become a core value that many of us strive toward. 

In this cultural shift, microschools emerge as a vanguard of change, embodying the spirit of a generation that refuses to accept the status quo. Such boldness begs the question, what compels them to challenge the conventional narrative, especially when it comes to the education of their children? What lies beneath the surface of this movement, and how does it reflect the aspirations and challenges of a generation that refuses to conform? And how can we collectively ensure justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion within these environments? The answer lies in a dynamic intersection of sobering experiences, communal values, and a fervent desire to redefine success.

The Millennial Cultural Revolution

Millennials, those vibrant (and sometimes squirrely) individuals aged 27 to 42, are spearheading a significant shift in values and aspirations, diverging from traditional norms and long-held beliefs about everything from marriage and family planning to careers and social justice. Millennials are steering away from the “American Dream,” a neatly packaged narrative used to demarcate predetermined goalposts in one’s life and career that would ensure upward mobility, affluence, and security. Instead, millennials find themselves at the forefront of redefining what success looks like, and welcoming the freedom in discovering that it is theirs to decide.

This journey is deeply intertwined with a series of historic events and economic challenges that have, in many respects, defined a generation. From facing the aftermath of terrorist attacks, to the Great Recession of 2007–2009, and witnessing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—the collective experiences of this generation have left an indelible mark. Millennials emerged from postsecondary institutions as the most educated generation, but also as the first modern generation to be economically worse off than their parents; a defining moment that further shaped their outlook on life and the shattered illusion of a guaranteed formula for success.

In the midst of shedding the weight of this manufactured ideal and embracing a life crafted on their own terms, education emerged as a focal point—a canvas upon which millennials experiment with new approaches, challenging the long-standing notion of a one-size-fits-all system. This isn’t just a rebellion against the status quo; it’s a reimagining of the purpose and possibilities of education. Millennials are not just rejecting norms but actively seeking to illuminate the misalignment of the preexisting static structure and content of conventional schooling with the dynamic, relational, and self-directed nature of the world we live and work in today. 

Millennial Influence on Microschools

The innovative educational havens we know as microschools are not simply a product of circumstance but are a deliberate manifestation of millennial values. While early microschool networks such as Acton Academy (founded in 2009), QuantumCamp (founded in 2009), and 4.0 Schools (founded in 2010) carved an early niche based on the vision of a one-room schoolhouse for the 21st century, millennials have played a pivotal role in accelerating the reach of microschools. This has led to a conversation around the necessity and validity of alternative education models punctuated by both the pain and the progress of a generation. 

The success and rapid growth of platforms like Sora School and the Prenda network, led by millennials with diverse professional backgrounds, reflect the viewpoint that learning happens everywhere and anyone can step into the role of an instructor at various phases of a learner’s journey. Often having no formal background in education themselves (nearly 40% of founders being professionals from non-education fields), these individuals aren’t just founders, they are architects of a modernized learning philosophy. 

Privilege and Equity in Microschools

As we celebrate the strides made by microschool founders, one must pause to consider the challenges presented by the inherent privilege of operating outside of the system. One crucial aspect to consider is if the current makeup of microschool leadership truly represents the diversity and inclusivity that these schools champion. It’s a question that demands attention, especially when the landscape is predominantly occupied by young, white, male founders. According to The National Microschooling Center, 65% of microschool founders are white. A worrisome statistic when you consider that Black families are the fastest growing homeschool demographic nationwide. In an effort to free their children from the bias and systemic racism faced in conventional school systems, Black parents are seeking alternative options at record-breaking rates. The potential and pitfalls of technology add further layers of complexity to the issue. While technology promises scalability and replication of these models, how equipped are the majority of founders to serve the unique needs of diverse communities of learners once the power of advanced technology has been unleashed?

Challenges, Opportunities, and Demographics

The allure of envisioning schools as hubs of self-discovery, curiosity, and community-based learning experiences is undeniably captivating. For many, it fulfills a childhood dream of escaping the constraints of conventional schooling. For others, it is a bold step toward ensuring a future that honors the genius and fortifies the natural strengths that live within every child. 

I am still tearful when I recall my twice-exceptional child’s teacher shaming versus celebrating his unique way of learning. The future that I saw in that moment, a future where the light in my young son’s eyes would slowly dull as he was forced into the status quo, is what propelled me to found The Lab School of Memphis. The learning environment I envisioned for my own children—one in which academic and life skills were fostered through project- and community-based learning experiences—became not just an imaginary ideal, but a promise to families like mine throughout our community. 

Parents touring The Lab School of Memphis often express sentiments like, “If I had had this when I was their age, things would have been different.” Yet, within this promising shift, challenges loom large. These challenges are intricately tied to the nuanced demographics shaping microschools and the likelihood of these environments becoming subject to the very systems millennial founders sought to escape.

Millennials, known for their advocacy of social justice, a propensity to vote by issue versus party, and a commitment to equitable practices, have undoubtedly imprinted their ideals on these alternative learning spaces. However, the fact that these environments have historically been largely privately funded makes it difficult to ensure inclusivity across demographics. How does one build an out-of-system space that does not become, by default, only available to those with the social and economic capital to opt-in. Data indicates that the majority of founders’ primary goal is to serve marginalized communities, yet the barriers for those who possess the expertise and lived experiences to do so effectively, are often insurmountable. 

For those firmly established in the microschool landscape, scaling responsibly will require putting the collective before the individual. Leaders and founders must guard against the microschool space becoming an exclusive bubble of power and privilege where freedom, access, and humanity come with a price of entry. The path ahead demands a commitment to dismantling barriers and ensuring alternative learning environments become, and remain, accessible to all learners. 

Sustaining Efforts and Community Engagement

With heightened demand from Black and Brown communities, and parents of neurodiverse learners, the urgency to secure a sustainable future for microschools is more clear than ever. A growing number of Black and Brown founders point to sustainability as a primary pain point as they race to meet the growing demand within their communities. Waiting around for legislation or the benevolence of the small pool of private donors with deep pockets is not a long-term strategy. Such challenges require creativity. The transformative power of community organizing, partnership, and collaboration are a beautiful foundation for leveraging resources creatively. 

Microschools, naturally deeply rooted in community engagement, must evolve from simply a consistent presence in the community to platforms that empower and foster genuine collaborations. Adopting a relational approach, training community members, and amplifying impact stories are not just theoretical concepts but actionable steps toward a future where microschools thrive. As demonstrated by organizations like Engaged Detroit and Apprentice Learning, building robust connections within the community and with external stakeholders fosters collective responsibility for microschool success. The failure of a learner-driven hub in any community is a loss for the entire community. Our work is to make sure the community understands that.

Looking Ahead

Microschools, powered by millennial ideals, stand as beacons illuminating the path to a truly redefined educational experience. Parents have rejected conventional schools and approaches in favor of flexible environments built to ignite curiosity and cultivate the next generation of changemakers, while simultaneously meeting learners right where they are. Despite the hurdles, their transformative impact on education radiates with a boundless optimism that challenges founders and parents alike to truly trust the instincts and curiosities of young people. 

In defying societal norms, millennial parents are often ridiculed for their progressive take on parenting, often seen as indulgent or permissive. However, these forward-thinking individuals, perhaps driven by their own longing for genuine acceptance without judgment, are constructing homes, schools, and workplaces tailored to diverse needs. They champion the embrace and amplification of differences, considering them essential for building a just and equitable world, rather than a basis for marginalization or exclusion. In the microschool universe, millennial parents aren’t just leaders; they’re visionaries crafting spaces tailored to individual needs. 

The rallying cry is crystal clear—let’s charge ahead, building relationships, empowering communities, and forging partnerships impactful enough to interrupt cycles of poverty, academic disparity, and workforce skill gaps for future generations. There is a strange irony in the millennial parents’ relentless pursuit of future-focused environments that offer young people the same security that was once sold to them, but in an authentic, accessible, and, most importantly, attainable way. 

This blog was originally published on Education-Reimagined.org

Coi Morefield is the Founder and Executive Director of The Lab School of Memphis, The New School, and Me Among the Trees.

This post is a part of our Microschools campaign which shares stories and resources to raise awareness of microschools as a high-quality option for all learners.

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Ben, a high schooler in Los Angeles, is an avid gamer. He is always coming up with imaginative storyline ideas, but he’s never known anyone with design experience to help him create original games. 

When Ben attended a summer program in 2023 to explore his career interests, he had access to an AI assistant, a resource built in just 20 min by the Reinvention Lab at Teach For America using Playlab. Ben prompted the tool with the broad topic of game design and the assistant asked: “Are there any topics, genres, or themes you might be interested in?” He responded: “I really like Marvel and DC comics. And fighting games.” After some back and forth, the AI tool recommended Ben make a Marvel versus DC Comics fighting game on Scratch, a programming tool designed for young beginners. 

Even though none of the on-site instructors or peers had gaming experience, Ben was able to pursue his passion during the program. AI helped him refine the idea, narrow a topic, pick an approach, and decide where to start, while Ben remained in the driver’s seat to choose what he took from the tool.

By harnessing the intelligent assistance, personalization, and real-time interactions of generative AI, students are independently following their curiosities and learning new skills more easily than ever before. In order to help realize the full potential of generative AI as a tool for youth agency, learning, and leadership, education leaders need to unlearn assumptions about adults as gatekeepers of knowledge. 

Education isn’t just what happens when adults assign coursework in a classroom. One potential power of AI is that young people aren’t bound by or reliant on adults to drive their learning. Young people can ask questions of chatbot tools and get direct, synthesized responses tailored to their age, grade, or level of understanding. For example, a student can ask: “I’m a 6th grader and an introvert. I want to stop the cyberbullying at my school, but I am scared of becoming a target myself. Can you help me think about what I could do?”  

The accessible, actionable responses from AI, whether written, verbal or visual, shift power to young people in unprecedented ways. Izzy, a first-generation college student in San Francisco, explored financial literacy information that had not been part of her high school curriculum. She started with a simple prompt: “What are the basics I should know about financial literacy, but without any confusing jargon?” After learning more through the AI tool, she created a card game for other first-generation college students to share resources in a playful, low-tech format.

Alexandra, a 5th grader in Denver, was curious about animal psychology and asked a conversational AI app if animals could choose a favorite color. This launched her into a discovery process about how some animals have color preferences based on what is beneficial to their survival, such as birds who see ultraviolet light to find ripening fruits and insects. Both Izzy and Alexandra were able to initiate learning beyond the required content and curricula already available in school.

For this wave of innovation to be deployed for greater student agency, adults need to reject assumptions that they are and should be gatekeepers for learning. Not only are today’s young people tech natives, they will likely utilize AI tools before their teachers. And they are doing so with incredible results.

Students from Delhi, India used AI to build a boat that can monitor water quality and help identify clean water sources for villagers. A Nebraska college student leveraged AI to make a major breakthrough in deciphering language on 2000-year-old scrolls. Students can use AI to simplify tasks, such as producing professional presentations or social media content, and then build interest and momentum among their peers. The newest advancement with Sora’s text to video capabilities shows that an activist-minded teenager who wants to create art or film will need significantly less equipment, software, and training to advance their vision of social change. AI is taking youth initiative, ingenuity, and impact to the next level.

Young people are already at the forefront of addressing the serious issues and racial biases that remain with AI. Encode Justice, a youth movement for ethical AI, thwarted a California proposition to use surveillance software in criminal justice settings and has pushed for more federal regulation and oversight of AI. 

To be clear, teachers, experts, and peers remain critical partners in education and should never be fully replaced by AI. Learning is an inherently relational act, and students need support that positions them to engage critically and cautiously. 

As educators, we believe that if used responsibly, this wave of advancements in generative AI has the potential to transform education and youth leadership. Let us dream up and build a future of AI where students are in the driver’s seat.

Michelle Culver is the Founder of the Reinvention Lab at Teach For America. She serves on the board of RISE Colorado, a non-profit that works to put families most impacted by the opportunity gap at the forefront of the movement for educational equity. She is an advisor to Playlab, aiEDU and The Circle in India.

Tiffany C. Taylor is a Partner and Chief People & Impact Officer at GSV Ventures. She serves as a director on the AI Education Project board, a non-profit that creates equitable AI literacy learning experiences.The ASU+GSV Summit is hosting the inaugural AIR Show, an April 2024 exposition on the transformative future of AI and learning.

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Multilingual learners (MLs) face unique challenges as they navigate learning a new language and culture while also pursuing academic learning. An increasing number of multilingual students arrive in the U.S. also having endured trauma resulting from war, instability, or persecution in their home countries. Language barriers and cultural differences can further exacerbate students’ challenges, underscoring the critical need for educators to address their social and emotional needs. 

Though MLs comprise nearly 10% of the school-age population, the most widely-used social-emotional skills frameworks and programs currently lack an intentional focus on how to support multilingual students’ unique strengths and challenges. To foster MLs’ academic success and well-being, educators must consider students’ cultures, languages, assets, expectations, norms, and life experiences when integrating social-emotional practices. All students thrive when they are validated and supported to achieve their goals, empathize with others, build relationships, and make responsible decisions. 

Strong evidence shows that social-emotional skills support students’ well-being, however, a one-size-fits-all approach can undermine cultural heritage, limiting the potential benefit to multilingual learners. Culturally relevant assessments offer a crucial starting point for meeting the needs of multilingual students. These assessments not only help educators gain a deeper understanding of their students but also foster a more inclusive and supportive learning environment that allows students to have the same experience as their peers with support in their native language. 

Creating Culturally Relevant Assessments 

The first step in creating culturally relevant assessments is ensuring accurate translation. Best practices recommend a certified translation company that will create a consensus translation that considers regional dialects. Guidance from the International Testing Commission suggests that translation alone is not enough to guarantee the cultural relevance of an assessment, particularly for constructs influenced by language and culture. A comprehensive cultural review by native speakers can bring to light constructs or items that might pose potential issues. This expert cultural review can be done by native speakers of the relevant language who have expertise in education or child development. 

Next, studies investigating measurement invariance evaluate the comparability of the translated and English versions of the assessment to show whether the assessment functions similarly across groups. Invariance suggests that comparisons can be made across groups and that results can be interpreted in similar ways. 

At Aperture Education, we have used this process to create several translated versions of the DESSA Student Self-Report social and emotional assessments, including Spanish and Chinese, two of the most common languages other than English used in the K-12 school system. After translating the DESSA into these languages, we worked with expert reviewers to determine the cultural relevance of the items and constructs included. Reviewers in both languages agreed that the items and constructs of the DESSA were culturally meaningful for Spanish and Chinese-speaking students. 

However, the reviewers also noted some items that could warrant additional review when interpreting an individual student’s results. For example, a reviewer noted that the item, “believe that you can make a difference”, is less emphasized in Chinese cultures because there tends to be a greater focus on collective efforts to make a difference. 

We used the results of our expert reviews to prepare guidance for educators who work with multilingual students. We included notes like the example above to help educators interpret assessment results more thoughtfully and to better understand their students’ needs. Furthermore, it can pave the way for conversations that help educators delve deeper into their students’ cultures, languages, and unique life experiences. 

Community Engagement

Strong family and community engagement is a key component of effective SEL programs. Families new to the U.S. benefit from inclusive practices, and sharing culturally relevant social and emotional assessments. Some school sites using culturally adapted versions of the student self-report also choose to share copies of the assessment in the relevant language with families. Sharing assessment items in their native language helps families feel included and can support their engagement in schools’ SEL efforts. It can also help families discuss the social and emotional skills included in the assessment and consider how to support students’ development of these skills at home. 

Other sites have not only shared the assessments but also invited families to complete and share the assessment of the student with the school. This promotes active engagement, and can also provide the school with a more holistic assessment of a students’ social and emotional skills. If there are notable differences in how certain items are rated for example, a community liaison or educator can reach out to families to learn more. 

Social-emotional skills play a crucial role in students’ academic success and well-being. Adopting culturally relevant assessments and inclusive community engagement practices can ensure that the unique strengths and challenges of multilingual students are addressed. Engaging multilingual learners and their families through culturally adapted assessments fosters a more supportive learning environment and can better support students’ social and emotional development.

For more information on what a culturally responsive classroom could look like, listen to a conversation with Alex Red Corn and a conversation with Hollie Mackey. 

Evelyn Johnson is the Vice President of Research & Development for Aperture Education and Professor Emeritus of Early and Special Education at Boise State University.

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It’s a big year for democracy. In America and around the world, the justness, equity, and strength of democracy is being tested. Surrounding these debates are many questions about how to create the future our children deserve, with an education that develops their resilience for an unwritten and ever-changing future. Amid frustration centered on the challenges facing public schools and concern over the shrinking of “Main Street” in towns across the country, community-based, learner-centered ecosystems offer a path forward. In this design for public education, learning leverages the assets, insights and expertise of a wide variety of organizations and people in a community, prioritizing learning that is tangible and relevant to each young person.

But how can we make these ecosystems possible throughout the country? Ecosystems for the Future of Learning, a report conducted by The History Co:Lab and Education Reimagined, commissioned by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, examines this question. The culmination of months of fieldwork, this report outlines what an ecosystem development process might look like in different communities and what’s needed to make the ecosystem successful. 

The report established and utilizes the Ecosystem Readiness Framework to show how communities could grow their ecosystem by starting with one of four focus areas: people, practices, connections and conditions. Here, I explore key insights from two of the sites exploring ecosystems through the lens of this framework. The hope is that inventors, educators, funders and community leaders see that this approach is not just a dream, but a viable opportunity with roots that we can all contribute to nurturing, supporting, and growing.

PRACTICES: Norris School District

“Aligned sets of methodologies and approaches that develop the networked learning experiences of young people and the ways in which families, educators and community members can contribute.”

As a rural, public school district in Waukesha County, WI, Norris School District presents a unique opportunity for young people to engage with learning in ways that are authentic to them. Norris primarily serves learners whose ambitions, challenges or needs couldn’t be met by the conventional school system, including adjudicated youth. The passionate educators at Norris ensure a culture of belonging, respect and responsibility, all while developing the skills needed for a meaningful future. 

One piece of Norris’s framework centers around learner profiles, which help each person to identify and attain goals across the four dimensions of academics, employability, citizenship, and wellness. This practice helps learners understand themselves more fully, such as what motivates and interests them. In turn, this offers the educators at Norris additional ways to connect with their young people as full human beings and set goals for continued learning. 

As part of the exploration work for this report, site leaders visited some of each other’s sites. While visiting FabNewport, a vibrant youth development organization in Newport, RI, leaders at Norris saw examples of how they could further expand opportunities for their learners beyond their campus. Norris witnessed deep partnerships within FabNewport’s community that opened worlds for learners. These included a wildlife sanctuary, local farms, and art studios. By seeing FabNewport’s community connections in action, the leadership team at Norris began brainstorming ways to connect their learners with more opportunities, particularly within their extended community. To bring this expanded vision to life, the Norris team has mapped their community assets—identifying over 100 resources—and begun forging relationships with these potential partners to serve as field sites and learning hubs. 

What Norris is building toward is the ability for learners to integrate meaningful community connections into accredited learning, supporting each learner in their individual goals. By connecting learning experiences back to the individual’s learner profile, Norris can meaningfully validate learning that continually happens all around us. Building these bridges and richly adding onto existing practices is one way learner-centered ecosystems can begin to flourish. 

CONDITIONS: Purdue Polytechnic High School

“The financial and policy forces that combine to create an enabling environment in which an ecosystem can be built and operate.”

Purdue Polytechnic High School (PPHS) is a public charter school founded by Purdue University and the city of Indianapolis in partnership with community, industry and academic leaders, and a statewide innovative charter network operator with multiple locations and no admission requirements. 

The PPHS team has big ambitions to engage learners with an ecosystem approach to learning. However, this rich learning environment still feels the tension of providing every learner with a unique, relevant experience within the structures of a comprehensive high school. To explore learner-centered ecosystems, PPHS opened a microschool with two advisories, serving as home bases for young people to build relationships and learn in a more personalized setting. It can be difficult to ensure every young person is known in a school of several hundred, but with microschools, anonymity is not an option. While the viability of microschools are historically fragile, these microschools have a huge benefit—access to shared services. 

Educators and learners in the microschools can utilize all of the services of the larger high school—dining, recreation, even support staff services and human resources. These shared services lower the financial overhead of the microschools, allowing learners to access the resources, all while being in a smaller environment where they can be seen and known. These conditions allow the microschools to be nimble and serve learners in dynamic ways.

Leveraging the ability to connect to shared services, this pilot proved successful. As PPHS explores what comes next beyond their expansion, it’s clear that this microschool model—which mirrors the home base of a learner-centered ecosystem—has viability for helping all learners access meaningful opportunities. 

With 13 sites featured in the full report, these are just two examples of how sites are beginning to develop learner-centered ecosystems and identify areas for intentional expansion. These ecosystems will require many moving parts to work in harmony to successfully exist. By identifying a strong foundation of people, practices, connections, or conditions, ecosystem engineers can add the pieces their community needs for authentic and meaningful learning experiences for all young people.

Be sure to register for the upcoming Getting Smart Town Hall to learn more.

Alin Bennett is the Vice President of Practice and Field Advancement at Education Reimagined.

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When Polk County schools began focusing on career and technical education in the spring of 2023, one of their goals was to help students succeed in the workplace by offering the opportunity to develop soft skills and earn micro-credentials to communicate with potential employers. The district collaborated with Education Design Lab, Muzzy Lane, Polk Vision, the Central Florida Development Council, and Southern New Hampshire University to make this dream a reality. 

How The Credentialing Initiative Got Started

To make sure students were learning locally relevant skills, the partners convened 32 Polk County employers. Through this convening, the group sought to create awareness about the value of soft skills and micro-credentials and to ask the employers what skills mattered most for their entry-level jobs. One set of these employers/businesses was engaged through participation in the Polk County School District Career Academy Advisory Board composed of employers, business support agencies (chambers and economic development), the public sector, etc. Additionally, the initiative engaged the county-wide Polk Vision operating board composed of community leaders and agencies. Based on input from these groups, the project focused on three skills: Critical Thinking, Oral Communication, and Initiative.

Next, they needed to spread the word. Information was shared at the school level via the District Workforce Education Department. Teachers were provided with face-to-face training in the district and the Career Academy/Workforce Education staff assisted in the identification, administration, communication, and deployment of the digital micro-credentials. The county-wide agencies supported the storytelling locally and provided an audience for the work. Teachers provided communication to students and families. To increase participation, $50K in scholarships was also made available to learners who earned the micro-credentials and the Polk Education Partnership assisted in communication to guidance counselors and countywide sources to enhance knowledge of this exciting opportunity.

So far the program has served 12- to 15-hour courses in the selected skills to 450 11th and 12th-grade students. The program aimed to make students both college- and workforce-ready, and even offered a financial incentive: for every credential they completed, students earned a $1,000 scholarship they could use at the college or university of their choice. These credentials and the learning process were facilitated as a part of the career academy (technical skill development) curriculum supervised by a credentialed teacher. The content was delivered via a system called vsbl, offered by Education Design Lab, which embeds the Muzzy Lane assessments as part of the learning and evaluation process.

Lessons Learned

While attendance rates were a significant challenge during the first year of this program (COVID), they saw marked improvement during the second year of implementation. One of the major challenges associated with micro-credentials is earning employers’ confidence that students have mastered the skills for which they’ve earned credentials. To build that trust, the partners were transparent with their community partners about the competency-based framework that the courses were built on. 

At the end of the project, the state of Florida began requiring navigation of the technology tools and required documentation for moving forward. This last feature remains a hurdle to broader dissemination beyond the businesses that participated in this process.  

Despite the challenges, this initiative has already begun to pay off. The Board of County Commissioners of Polk County recently told the district that it would guarantee a job interview to any resident who has graduated from high school and completed any of the micro-credential courses. In its first few years, this collaboration has not only taught students valuable skills but has also provided employers with new recruitment opportunities and a linkage to a talent pipeline that they otherwise wouldn’t have had.

David McCool is president and CEO of Muzzy Lane, a company that recently released its SkillBuild Critical Thinking Microcredential Course. Dave was previously involved in the founding of 2 successful startups. He graduated from MIT with a BSEE in 1987. He can be reached at dave@muzzylane.com or LinkedIn. 

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