What would it look like to make a commitment that come graduation every senior will have at least basic AI literacy? This includes an appreciation of AI as a creation engine and learning partner but also an understanding of the risks of deepfakes and biased curation. We’re entering a time where to quote Ethan Mollick “You can’t trust anything you read or see ever again.” Whether formal or informal, it’s time to start building AI literacy.

In a recent article for EdSurge, teacher Mike Kentz provides tips for how he engaged his students in learning about and how to use AI,  

“When I introduced the HoldenAI project to my students, I explained that we were entering uncharted territory together and that they should consider themselves explorers. Then I shared how I would monitor each aspect of the project, including the conversation itself.

I guided them through generating meaningful, open-ended interview questions that would (hopefully) create a relevant conversation with HoldenAI. I fused character analysis with the building blocks of journalistic thinking, asking students to locate the most interesting aspects of his story while also putting themselves in Holden’s shoes to figure out what types of questions might “get him talking.”

Next, we focused on active listening, which I incorporated to test a theory that AI tools might help people develop empathy. I advised them to acknowledge what Holden said in each comment rather than quickly jumping to another question, as any good conversationalist would do. Then I evaluated their chat transcript for evidence that they listened and met Holden where he was.

Lastly, we used text from the book and their chats to evaluate the effectiveness of the bot in mimicking Holden. Students wrote essays arguing whether the bot furthered their understanding of his character or if the bot strayed so far from the book that it was no longer useful.”

This kind of curriculum can be brought into any subject and not only teach the students about AI but also about themselves, the importance of asking the right question and much more. 

Emerging Programs and Resources

Several organizations have released useful AI Literacy courses applicable for high school students including: 

• aiEDU has a 10-week project based intro course and quick challenges 
• SkillsBuild from IBM offers a suite of free AI courses 
• Amazon Educate has an Intro to Gen AI. 

Sector leaders have published useful guides for school adoption:  

• XQ published a guide to Incorporating Generative AI in High School Classrooms
• AI for Education from Amanda Bickerstaff offers helpful guides and prompts to get educators in the sandbox
• ISTE released valuable AI resources and Standards for Students 
• Michigan Virtual released a roadmap for upskilling their teacher force.
• TeachAI summarized guidance in a toolkit 

The Middle States Association recently announced Responsible AI in Learning (RAILS), a framework for safely and effectively deploying AI in schools. RAILS is a series of self-study modules that result in a series of endorsements that will allow schools to signal their progress. 

We’re excited to be supporting the forthcoming ASU+GSV AIR Show, an exciting opportunity to gather with those on the cutting edge of AI and education, including many of those mentioned above.  

We Have a Civic Duty

We’re at an inflection point — a moment where information and trust are some of the most fragile (and essential) elements of society. Without developing the necessary critical thinking and literacy skills, AI will undoubtedly play a wedge role in the continued fracturing of truth.  

A great new book, Verified: Discerning Truth in the Disinformation Age, authored by Mike Caulfield and Sam Wineburg suggests implementing the SIFTing technique as a fundamental building block of AI literacy:

• Stop: What do you know about the argument and its source?
• Investigate: Is the source trustworthy?
• Find: What do other credible sources say?
• Trace: What’s the original context of the claim?

It’s time to build, select or pilot an AI literacy strategy and sprint to the end of the year. One option might be to invite a couple of upper-division students to make campus-wide AI Literacy a capstone project. Let’s make sure that every student and faculty member heads into summer AI literate.

The post AI Literacy: A New Graduation Requirement and Civic Imperative appeared first on Getting Smart.

The four high schools in the North Kansas City School District are implementing career academies to integrate real-world learning into pathways for all secondary learners. NKC educators are visiting schools with strong examples of real-world learning. In January they visited four inspiring San Diego schools.   

Kearny High

Kearny High opened in 1941 in the Linda Vista neighborhood of San Diego. It’s six miles north of downtown and Balboa Park on the Cabrillo Parkway (SR 163, the first freeway in San Diego County). Mesa College was built on a hill 20 years later right around the corner. 

By the 1990s, three-quarters of Kearny students were economically disadvantaged and achievement and graduation rates were low. In 2004, the school reopened as the Kearny High Educational Complex with four small career pathway schools:

• School of Biomedical Science and Technology (BST) 
• The School of Digital Media & Design (DMD)
• The Stanley E. Foster School of Engineering, Innovation and Design (EID)
• The School of College Connections (SCC)

In her 20th year at Kearny, Ana Diaz-Booz is the principal of the 1,400-student complex and supervises SCC. Rob Meza-Ehlert is in his 21st year leading DMD. James Michaelian leads EID. Dr. Shannon Garcia heads BST. The quality, longevity, and collaboration of their leadership has been key to the success of the pathway schools.  

Kearny schools share a 4×4 block schedule which enables students to complete four classes each semester and allows them to enroll in career courses and electives. Kearny students can graduate with up to 51 college units, a full year of college. Some juniors and seniors enroll in dual enrollment at nearby Mesa College.

Each school has its own entrance, distinctive culture, leadership structure and career pathway curriculum. What’s common is “The Kearny Way,” a shared instructional expectation and a commitment to know every student well. Stronger adult-student relationships have led to a decrease in discipline and an increase in engagement.

The remarkable quality, coherence, and path relevance of Kearny learning stems from strong teacher teams of grade-level cohorts. Shared planning time leads to tight integration of pathway projects that include real-world learning experiences. For example, seniors conduct a capstone project, a culminating presentation focuses on the defense of learning objectives with evidence and examples. Throughout their learning journey, learners reflect on their growth and preparation to step into postsecondary plans.   

Clairemont High

A few miles west of Kearny (toward Mission Bay) is Clairemont High, which opened in 1958. Serving 820 students, Clairemont is one of the smaller high schools in San Diego USD. 

In 2015, with help from ConnectEd, the Clairemont staff implemented career pathways that gave learners the choice of four academies: Business, Digital Media, Health, and IT/Game Design. Alongside industry partners, teachers help learners build and manage projects across the curriculum. Each academy has about 70 students per grade level.

During the first two years of each academy, students have a common experience across an A/B schedule. The Freshman Foundations course provides an introduction to professional skills and project-based learning, goal setting and portfolio development. After these first two years, juniors and seniors begin their more personalized schedules with internships, dual enrollment courses and capstone experiences. Juniors meet with industry mentors monthly during the first semester and take a five-week introduction to Essential Workplace Skills. During the second semester, they engage in a 10-12 week internship (at least 70 hours). About 60% of graduates enroll in community college, while 30% attend four-year colleges and universities.

High Tech High Mesa

In between Clairemont and Kearny and just north of Mesa College is High Tech High Mesa, the sixth and newest K-12 campus in the High Tech High network. Located at an old elementary school, the K-8 grades share a traditional California campus. The high school is an updated facility featuring the classic HTH format with pods of two double classrooms around a common space with shared teacher offices and height, light and exposed structures.

The school’s mission is “to prepare a diverse range of students for postsecondary education, citizenship, and leadership grounded in the deeper learning competencies.” The school features integrated projects, performance-based assessments, internships for all students, and close links to the high-tech workplace. 

On creating great real-world learning schools, HTH founder Larry Rosenstock said, “Make the city the text, let students do most of the talking, ask students to use their heads and hands, use tech as production more than consumption.”

Rosenstock defined school quality as: 

• Students doing work that has value to THEM. 
• Students having voice and choice in their learning and are creating new knowledge.
• The school’s purpose is not to serve the public but to CREATE a public. They make walls as permeable as possible with the world outside of school—not citadels apart from the community.

The High Tech High network remains vital and extends its impact through the HTH Graduate School of Education which provides transformative degree programs and professional learning (and great school tours).

Del Lago Academy

Del Lago Academy sits in north-central San Diego County. The academy was opened in 2013 by Escondido UHSD to extend access to careers in healthcare and biotech. The four pillars of the 800-student high school include: heal the world, fuel the world, feed the world, restore and protect the environment. Students engage in an interdisciplinary project focused on one of the pillars each semester. 

Cohorts of Del Lago learners take four classes together on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and have a big X Block on Tuesdays and Thursdays that facilitates internships (which are usually six weeks during the junior year). 

The single-path curriculum includes three years of integrated math. Freshmen take Human Body Systems, Biomedical Science, and Exercise Nutrition. Sophomores and juniors take Biochemistry 1&2. 

Teachers model a collaborative culture. They share personalized learning strategies, emphasize reading and writing and health/biotech applications across the curriculum, and use competency-based grading protocols (including opportunities to make up/improve work).

Conclusion

Real-world learning looks different everywhere. Allowing students to focus on complex problems, creating a sense of community within their own cities and creating personalized learning systems that are steeped in centering students, provides students a variety of opportunities to engage in work that matters. 

High schools that include smaller learning communities and pathways of community-connected, project-based learning and internships supported by a strong advisory system continue to be one of the formulas of a successful real-world learning framework. 

There’s a lot more real-world learning happening in San Diego that we didn’t get to see on this trip. For more check out: 

• San Diego Met at Mesa College, an early college high school with internships two days each week. 
• Cajon Valley USD and Bostonia Global. See our recap of their World of Work Summit 2023.
• Design39 K-8, see trip report from Sabba Quidwai and Devon Vodicka. 

The post Real World Learning in San Diego High Schools appeared first on Getting Smart.

Da Vinci Schools and Transcend recently hosted a gathering on career-connected learning. These six elements were highlighted throughout the gathering. 

Career Connected Learning Starts with Exploration and Reflection

Cajon Valley USD learners engage in 54 immersive World of Work units of study K-8. After engaging in projects and meeting professionals, learners reflect on their strengths, interests and values and how they line up with the possible future (see feature).  

ASA’s EvolveMe and FutureScape provide tools for interest inventories and career exploration for middle school students that are directly connected to passions and interests. With pathways ranging from Health Science to Hospitality and Tourism to Information Technology, students catch a glimpse of career options, pay range, and adjacent career opportunities. 

Career Connected Learning Benefits from Community Agreements 

Career learning flourishes when educational institutions forge strong partnerships with local businesses, nonprofits, and civic organizations. Community partners collaborate with school organizations to create shared agreements on ways to support present learning and future workforce needs. The common commitments allow all stakeholders to take a vested interest in education. Strong CCL programs capitalize on the joint commitment to bring real-world experiences to young people through internships, custom courses, and work-based learning solutions.

For the past ten years, the Kauffman Foundation spearheaded the development of Real World Learning in metro Kansas City which fosters regional collaboration to support experiential learning experiences and employer engagement. Three dozen school systems from both Kansas and Missouri benefit from community agreements that prioritize client projects, internships, entrepreneurial experiences, college credit and industry credentials. More than 20,000 high school students in the metro area earned one of these ‘market value assets’ last year. 

Recently, Aldine ISD  in Houston, Texas partnered with Memorial Hermann Health System to redesign a local high school with funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies to expose and prepare students for opportunities in the medical field. The collaboration not only equips young people with future-forward skills but also places them directly in a pipeline to work in a high-demand industry, addressing the medical desert in which the school district is situated.

Career Connected Learning is Integrated into Pathways 

Career-connected learning is most effective when seamlessly woven into the fabric of education through innovative learning models and pathways where career awareness and experiential learning are prioritized alongside academics. Big Picture Learning and High Tech High incorporate internships and project-based approaches to emphasize personalized learning, where students tackle real-world problems in close collaboration with industry mentors.

Pathway schools are another option to embed career learning through a thematic approach. Campuses like Energy Institute High in Houston introduce students to four years of engineering and energy through projects and client-connected experiences. 

Del Lago Academy in Escondido, California prepares students for opportunities in healthcare and biotech and partners with local medical organizations to extend learning beyond the classroom. 

Learning networks such as NAF, Linked Learning, ConnectED, and Ford NGL integrate rigorous academics with technical skills and workplace experiences aligned with high-demand fields based on student interests and global needs. The offerings in these organizations expose students to a variety of options before committing to a pathway of their choosing. 

Da Vinci Schools in Los Angeles include three career pathway schools that offer specialized courses and unique opportunities for students to work alongside professionals and problem-solve through the context of relevant, industry-aligned projects and internships. 

• Da Vinci Communications students have four career pathways to choose from: Computer Science (robotics, web design, app development), Marketing, Multimedia Journalism, and Media Production. 
• Da Vinci Design offers three career pathways: Architecture, Graphic Design and Entrepreneurship
• Da Vinci Science students have three career pathways to choose from: Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering. .

Starting in New York City in 2011, P-TECH schools combined an IT-focused early college pathway with work experiences at IBM. There are now more than 300 P-TECH and in addition to computer science pathways include business, healthcare, and education. (See feature on St Vrain Valley P-TECH and P-TEACH).

The Power of Client Projects 

Career-connected learning offers opportunities for students to engage in client projects contributing to an immersive educational experience where they can showcase skills to meet the needs of their stakeholders. Offering students the chance to work on real-world projects that address the changing needs of partners encourages teamwork, strengthens problem-solving abilities, and allows agility and empathy muscles to be exercised. 

Strong examples of young people meeting the demands of a client’s expectations is paramount to courses in the CAPS Network where students tackle authentic projects in professional settings and receive feedback in real-time. Most of the 100+ affiliate sites offer professions-based learning experiences to high school juniors and seniors. A survey of some of the 40,000 CAPS grads showed that CAPS programs had a significant influence on professional growth.

The History Co:Lab partners schools with museums to ideate and create projects addressing the needs of museum patrons in core academic classes. 

Students looking to sharpen their technical and global skills, appreciate healthy competition, and are open to the challenge of solving real-world issues can do so independently or on a team with projects from KnoPro from NAF (see feature).

The US Chamber of Commerce Foundation is recruiting intermediaries nationally to host Employer Provided Innovation Challenges (EPIC). The client projects will be hosted on Riipen and badged by Credly. 

The Knowledge Society functions as a global incubator for young people (see podcast). The 10-month afterschool program exposes students to emerging technologies while training real-world skills. After a few months, these are some projects students have worked on:

AI is a New Partner in Career Connected Learning

The rise of AI brings new urgency to the need for more career-connected learning and AI-powered applications can extend access to and improve the quality of career-connected learning experiences.  

Project Leo, developed by DaVinci Schools, is a gen AI app that uses self-identified passions, interests, and career possibilities to personalize student projects. Teachers embed specific expectations for projects while AI ensures outcomes are met by honoring students’ unique and varied pursuits. The agility and responsiveness of Project Leo allow for student-centered learning and real-world application. 

Students can also explore various career paths using SchoolJoy which relies on AI to analyze student interests, skill sets, and local market data to suggest best-fit career paths. AI enables students to learn about career options beyond their neighborhood and can pivot based on student passions and curiosities. 

Playlab is an AI sandbox that allows educators to build projects and chatbots that can bring career-connected learning to life. 

Career Connected Learning Develops Agency, Identity and Purpose

Quality career learning equips learners with lifelong global and technical skills to navigate an evolving world. Immersing young people in environments that support risk, curiosity, and self-discovery encourages skill-building and interpersonal growth. Career learning supports students’ understanding of themselves, their strengths, and the ability to chart their course.

In his new book Education for the Age of AI, Charles Fadel refers to agency, identity, and purpose as the key drivers of education. He notes how career-connected learning catalyzes the drivers (see podcast).  

Experiential learning also provides young people with guidance on personal development, and decision-making and further empowers them to forge paths with confidence and purpose as mentioned in Jean Eddy’s new book Crisis-Proofing Today’s Learners. Whether young people engage in client-focused opportunities, internships, or endure academically challenging coursework, career-connected learning is an environment to cultivate a sense of self-awareness, determination, and direction, essential for their success in both education and life.

TruMotivate is a story-based assessment that reveals the motivation that helps learners take ownership of their value, engagements, and actions and take control of their career path and future.

By empowering students to proactively shape their destinies, career-connected learning opens doors for every student to explore, learn, and thrive in the evolving world of work and beyond. Let’s embrace and expand this framework to ensure this opportunity for all.

For more see 

• Transcend’s Work-Based Learning Collection 
• Real World Learning: Client Projects Are Trending

The post Career-Connected Learning: Preparing Students for a Dynamic Future appeared first on Getting Smart.

The Cascades staff shares a beautiful set of values: cultivate belonging, empower individuality, learn by doing, ignite curiosity, embrace challenge, and share joyfulness. 

Traveling School is a week-long Oregon adventure in the fall. This year’s trips included the following destinations: 

• 6th grade: Oregon Coast Exploration in Newport
• 7th grade: Shakespeare in Ashland
• 8th grade: Backpacking in Three Sisters Wilderness
• 9th grade: Water in the West in Southern Oregon
• 10th grade: Coastal Communities in Astoria
• 11th grade: Layers of Place in Mt. Hood
• 12th grade: Land Stewardship in Joseph and the Wallowas

In the spring, Traveling School includes national and international destinations and is designed to focus on the school’s core values and advance social emotional learning.

Upper School Expeditions are trimester experiences supported through purposeful community partnerships. Every other week, the entire upper school departs campus for a three-hour deep-dive afternoon program. In collaboration, students work to inspire goodness, developing meaning and shaping impact.

In addition to enjoying outdoor education on the beautiful Cascade campus, during winter, everyone enjoys weekly ski/snowboard days at Mt. Bachelor. 

The Middle and Upper schools feature personalized and competency-based learning. Cascade was an early member of the Mastery Transcript Consortium. 

Outdoor Discovery Center

Western Michigan supports four seasons of outdoor learning with lakes, great and small, waterways, sand dunes, forests and fields. Based in Holland, Outdoor Discovery Center helps families and school communities access outdoor learning. 

Launched 24 years ago, the ODC Network operates two greenway projects, a watershed clean-up initiative, three nature-based preschools, two nature centers, multiple wildlife preserves, eco-tours, and a land conservation and restoration business. The Network owns over 800 acres and manages an additional 2,000 acres of property. It provides programming to over 100,000 children and works with 30 area schools. 

ODC partnership projects include: 

• Forest School at Holland Christian Schools offers K-4 students time outdoors each day in the wooded Holland Christian campus or local natural areas.   
• STREAM School at Hamilton Middle School is an outside-of-the-classroom semester experience in 8th grade. The waterway experiences connect students to Agriscience and Natural Resources pathways while learning English and science standards.
• Nature-based learning at Holland Heights Elementary (K-5) includes weekly offsite learning experiences and extended time in the community and nature.
• Teen Voices of Fennville is a new design project to better determine what in- and out-of-school learning experiences the community is looking for.
• Another new project is an alternative credit recovery pathway which includes place-based learning, career pathways, and a work-based learning stipend.
• Hope College Global Water Research Institute partnered with the ODC to monitor both lake and stream sites within the Macatawa Watershed.  

EL Education 

Born out of a collaboration between the Harvard GSE and Outward Bound, Expeditionary Learning, now EL Education, is a network of schools committed to mastery of knowledge and skills, character building, and high-quality work. Learning at EL schools results in quality work about genuine problems for a real audience. 

Casco Bay High School in Portland, Maine keeps the school’s goals “clear, ambitious and essential.”  Learning Expeditions are long-term in-depth studies of a single topic that explore compelling social and environmental questions, incorporate vital standards, involve fieldwork, and culminate in an authentic project, product, or performance. 

Casco Bay Quest, a three-night, four-day expedition in outdoor adventure and personal writing,   launches the freshman and senior years. Casco juniors engage in a long-term interdisciplinary project that results in a demonstration of learning. Last spring, in partnership with Acadia National Park, the Class of 2024 researched the rise of green crabs in the Gulf of Maine and its relation to climate change, using scientific data and communication. (See four part series.)

Launch Expeditionary Learning Charter School in Brooklyn is a middle school dedicated to putting students at the center of their learning. At each grade level, students take part in a six-eight week cross-curricular Case Study. 

Launch will expand to serve K-12 learners and will relocate to South Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field in an underutilized national recreation area. Fully realized, this campus, which will house half a dozen exceptional partner organizations, will be able to serve up to 50,000 students per year participating in learning and career pathway programs focused on careers in the green economy.

Zoo Schools 

School of Environmental Studies, on the campus of the Minnesota Zoo, is a magnet school for juniors and seniors that immerses its students in the study of environmental topics and issues.

Science and Math Institute at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma is a great STEM school with built-in internships and outdoor science. (See feature)

Place-Based Schools 

Teton Science Schools in Wyoming is the leader in place-based education 

including a K-12 school, outdoor education programs, a graduate school, and a national network. (It inspired The Power of Place.)

Environmental Charter School (K-12) at Frick Park in Pittsburgh uses its theme to build systems thinkers, explore complexity and develop problem-solving skills in a multidisciplinary, “out-the-door” learning approach that builds active, engaged, and empathetic citizens. Through an innovative, eco-literacy-based curriculum, ECS grows active, engaged, empathetic citizens who are critical thinkers and purposeful agents of change. 

Outdoor Classrooms

Mukilteo Elementary, north of Seattle, makes great use of the Leader in Me program to empower student leadership. They finish each year with a family portfolio picnic where they review quality student work. Students also help to develop a nature preserve with trails and a two-acre outdoor classroom. (See feature.)

Wildwood Elementary School where the campus inspires creative learning and community. An outdoor classroom centered in the school garden engages students to think deeply about the natural systems. Tec D.E.C. (Design, Explore, Create) serves as both a maker studio as well as a STEM-based lab space for hands-on exploration.

For more on outdoor education:

• The Power of Place: Authentic Learning Through Place-Based Education
• Town Hall Recap: Every Place is a Place
• Going Green: National Network Incorporates Sustainability into Teaching and Operating Schools
• Dr. Roberta McFarland on The Magic of Outdoor Education (podcast) 
• Place-Based Learning: Solid Ground in Troubled Waters
• Edible School Yard: A Place to Influence Interdisciplinary Skills
• Place & Peace Based Learning: James’ story

The post Outdoor and Experiential Learning Across the Country appeared first on Getting Smart.

Visiting One Stone in Boise taught me that school could be about leading and difference making. I learned that young people could be invited into work and roles that matter (to them and their community) and that consequential experiences turbocharge leadership and problem solving (perhaps the two most important skill sets). 

Teresa Poppen launched One Stone 15 years ago as a free afterschool program for Boise high school students. She explained the origin of the studio model: 

Our innovative initiatives grew out of the desire to help students use their voice to change the world. At the starting line for One Stone is Project Good, an experiential service program that mobilizes the power of passionate students to bring real-world solutions to complex issues. Next came Two Birds, our student-led and directed creative services studio. Then we doubled down on entrepreneurship through the launch of Solution Lab, a business incubator for high school students. In each of these platforms we teach and use design thinking—ensuring we are relevant, innovative, and focused on our end user for real results.

Students are “active participants in the governance and direction of the organization” and make up two-thirds of the board of directors. (The featured image is of a One Stone board meeting where Teresa is sitting in back listening to student leaders.)

In the fall of 2016, with support from Albertson Foundation, One Stone opened Lab51, a high school based on the unique student-led culture, rooted in empathy and powered by design thinking.

Lab51 students co-author lab and studio experiences inspired by a beautiful outcome framework. They demonstrate and track progress on a Growth Transcript. Students explore their passions and develop a sense of purpose through Living in Beta, a personal wayfinding program.

One Stone studio learning experiences invite student leadership and value creation. 

Poppen explains, “We are forging an army of good, for good.”

This Boise program and school is a place alive with possibility. It inspired my book Difference Making at the Heart of Learning. It convinced me that inviting learners into work that matters could more than a capstone experience, it could be central to the mission of education.

In November, Teresa Poppen retired as the Executive Director and Ultimate Difference Maker at One Stone. She’s made a big difference in Boise and created a model that inspires educators nationally. I’ve learned something on every visit. 

For more on One Stone see: 

• Not Your Typical Back-to-School Days at Learner-Centered Sites (8/23)
• One Stone Students Serve Up the Glass Half Full (6/21)
• On Building a Network of Schools Using the One Stone Growth Transcript (4/21) 
• The Power of the Pivot (3/20)
• Why Difference Making is the New Superpower (4/20)
• Living in Beta: One Stone’s Pilot Results Are In (8/21) 
• Living in Beta: New Advisory Program Helps Teens Learn With Purpose (10/20)

The post One Stone: Forging An Army of Good  appeared first on Getting Smart.

Amy provides a safe nurturing space for kids. “I treat them like my own,” she said about her students. She leverages local outdoor spaces and works with families on flexible attendance plans.  

Rachel’s Peoria home is also Integrative Learning Academy, a private nonprofit Christian school  serving 20 neurodiverse learners (half with identified special needs) including four of her own. Four days a week, the whole first floor is devoted to the school. Smaller rooms (what were bedrooms and an office) are where occupational and speech therapists work with students.    

Amy and Rachel started home-based schools in 2019 with Prenda, a venture-backed startup that enrolled microschool students in an online charter school. (See podcast with Prenda founder Kelly Smith.) 

Both schools now operate independently drawing from a variety of instructional resources to develop personalized pathways for each student. The $7,000 Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Account pays for most of the tuition. Extended time and special services are extra. Some students are from the neighborhood but others travel 30 minutes because families appreciate the programming and environment. Both schools offer what appear to be well-structured personalized pathways. Both schools rely on word-of-mouth referrals and have a waiting list. 

Don Soifer, CEO of the National Microschooling Center, recently led tours of these and other Phoenix area ESA-funded microschools. Most were home-based schools while others were located in retail and commercial spaces.  

Soifer’s team connects interested families to microschool providers including Acton Academy, KaiPod, Prenda, and Wildflower  (also see ASU Prep resources). They also help home school operators like Amy and Rachel with training, tools and resources. 

Expanding Options for Learning at Home  

About 3.5 million K-12 students learn at home in the US (about 6% of total students). A growing number of home-based schools serve learners from multiple families in a variety of arrangements. 

There are about 3 million homeschooled students in the US. Some of them participate in cooperative structures with other homeschool families at least part-time in an informal microschool many of them home-based. 

More than 500,000 students attend virtual schools (mostly charter, some school district, and a few private) and many engage in cooperative structures with other families in homes as well as community sites. One national provider reported that a third of students benefited from cooperative arrangements during the pandemic.   

The education of more than 100,000 students is paid for via state vouchers and education savings account programs (70,000 in Arizona). Most of these students use the funding to attend private schools and a growing number are home-based schools.

In 2023, 20 states expanded school choice. Thirteen states have an education savings account program. Five states — Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Utah and West Virginia — followed Arizona’s lead in granting eligibility to 100% of students but Arizona’s remains the least restrictive with no requirements for accreditation, approval, licensing or registration of private schools.

More than half of ESA funding in Arizona is subsidizing private school tuition for students previously enrolled in private schools. The ESA program director estimated that 40% of students in ESAs this year came from public schools. Most switched to existing private schools. A few joined (or were part of forming) home-based schools like those featured above. 

Put simply, a growing number of students are learning in homes — more than the 3.2 million students that attend brick-and-mortar charter schools. Beyond individual families choosing homeschooling, there are a variety of home-based learning arrangements that range from informal to formal:  

• Cooperative arrangements of several homeschool families with shared custodial responsibilities; 
• Cooperative arrangements of virtual public school families (charter and district-operated); 
• Private schools (LLCs or nonprofits) that charge tuition and, in some cases, partially or fully offset by vouchers or education savings accounts.  

All of these could be considered home-based microschools but learners might be registered by the state as homeschoolers, public school students or private school students. 

More Microschools 

New microschools — whether home-based, community spaces, or school-within-a-school — create opportunities to test new learning models, expand supportive options, and extend access to new pathways.  

Getting Smart Collective just announced the first round of grants for new microschools. These grantees represent different academic models, governance models, and funding models. Changing times call for new learning priorities, new learning experiences, and new schools.

The post Home Schools Grow With New Funding Streams appeared first on Getting Smart.

Grandview superintendent Dr. Kenny Rodrequez (Missouri Superintendent of the Year) explains how the four career academies — health and engineering (both PLTW pathways), business and the arts — are adding client projects and dual enrollment courses. Grandview hosted the first PLTW engineering program in the area and their leadership encouraged regional growth to now over 95,000 students. Grandview Assistant Superintendent Prissy LeMay said Grandview elementary schools are adding more real world learning.

On recent visits to metro Kansas City high schools, we spotted evidence of more real world learning including more client-connected projects in core and elective courses, more internships and entrepreneurial experiences during and after school, and more dual credit courses and industry-recognized credentials.   

Summit Technology Academy (STA) is a next-gen career center in Lee’s Summit that opened in 2017 with the University of Central Missouri. It offers half-day experiences in five pathways: engineering, computer science, health, human services and natural resources (which is offered at a new location this year). Each pathway offers a career capstone project assessed for agency, authenticity, and articulation (i.e., how well students tell their story). Lucy, a senior, is completing an engineering capstone project to reduce contaminations from electronic waste. Lilli is taking on a challenging digital media project for a client and learning to use constructive feedback. JC appreciates time in the flight simulator (which he helped build over the summer). Blake will graduate in the spring with extensive work experience, 60 hours of college credit and will be on track to finish a finance degree in two years at KU. Instead of sports trophies, the results of PLTW biomedical research projects are proudly displayed at STA. 

North of Kansas City, Kearney High teachers are adding client projects to core and elective courses. Botony teacher Kaitlyn LaFrenz lined up garden projects with civic organizations and a church. Culinary teacher Kassidy Robertson helped students organize a catering event. Students in Angie Carmack’s Graphic Arts class served community clients with campaign collateral. Dustin McKinney turned choir into a client project with community deliverables while teaching quality, service, and entrepreneurship.  

Kearney Principal Dr. Andrew Gustafson showed off the professional broadcast studio where students produce news and sports programming. Several dozen Kearney students are engaged in an education internship where they teach an elementary class for an hour each afternoon. 

Shawnee Mission high schools (in southwest Kansas City and home of Kansas Superintendent of the Year Michelle Hubbard) are adding client projects in core and non-CTE courses. Tenth grade English at Shawnee Mission East High includes a project for a school district client; students problem-solve real issues in school operations and deliver a written report with solutions.   

Like Summit Tech, the Shawnee Mission Center for Academic Achievement opened in 2017. The next-gen career center hosts a world-class culinary program (above) and restaurant, the Broadmoor Bistro, which serves more than 150 guests per day (and is booked out through Valentine’s Day). It is supplied (in part) by a horticulture program that includes a greenhouse and garden (below). 

Above the restaurant are labs where seniors are doing capstone biomedical research with a molecular biologist, Dr Kenneth Lee (below). Research topics include microbes that degrade plastic, mycelial networks, micro-building blocks, and treatments for diabetes.  

Shawnee Mission elementary schools have added career exploration experiences. There is a middle school career fair and a high school internship fair. Secondary students use YouScience to identify strengths and interests and match them to possible futures.   

Bringing Real World Learning to Scale in Kansas City

The first cohort of 15 school systems received planning grants four years ago. It now includes 35 systems and 80 high schools in three Missouri counties and three Kansas counties. 

The goal is that all students will graduate with at least one valuable experience (called Market Value Assets) including internships, client projects, college credit (9 hours) and industry-recognized credentials. 

Many of the participating school systems have improved the number of students graduating with valuable experiences from a baseline of one-fifth to almost half. A few systems had more than 70% of graduates earn MVA, with many earning two or three. 

The Kansas state board has recommended that students should graduate with at least two valuable experiences (with a slightly broader definition). 

Principals from 49 of the regional high schools are participating in a fellowship program learning from each other how to add more real world learning. (The school visit observations in this blog resulted from accompanying principals as they visited other real world learning schools.)

Adding more real world learning experiences is boosting student engagement and job-ready skills, it’s developing learner agency and social capital, it’s connecting youth to possible futures and inviting them to experience success in what’s next. As more graduates leave school with valuable experiences, it’s likely to boost entrepreneurship and economic mobility and make Kansas City even more equitable and vibrant.

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We are a year into the new age of human-computer interaction and things are moving fast. Generative AI gets better every month at producing text, code, images, and even video. 

In an Impromptu dialog with GPT-4, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman suggested we should now think of ourselves as a new species, homo techne, “tool-makers and tool users, augmented and amplified beings capable of more than we ever thought possible.” 

Two breakthroughs define this new age of human-computer interaction, explained Satya Nadella in his annual letter, natural language as the interface (after generations of keyboards, mice, and touch screens) and powerful reasoning engines. “This generation of AI helps us interact with data in powerful new ways—from completing or summarizing text to detecting anomalies and recognizing images—to help us identify patterns and surface insights faster than ever.”

Hoffman’s AI startup Inflection offers Pi, a “personal intelligence” willing to serve as “coach, confidante, creative partner, sounding board and assistant.” The 2013 sci-fi movie Her is playing out with dozens of AI companions in app stores. 

A year ago, the script was “Focus on human skills because AI will never be creative or empathetic.” This fall AI apps promote idea generation, collaboration and creative content. 

AI apps are empathetic confidants, coaches, and pathway advisors. AI capabilities are moving fast causing a reconsideration of what young people can do and should know. 

At an AI demo at EdTech Week in NYC last month, there was a mixture of Hoffman’s optimism and a dose of concern. Some pragmatic optimists are busy automating 20th-century pedagogy–making it easier to produce worksheets and robo-tutoring hand calculations in math.  

Creative optimists are inviting learners into value creation. Warton professor Ethan Mollick invites students to view AI as a co-founder and creativity engine in entrepreneurship. Learners in DaVinci Schools in Los Angeles use Project Leo to construct community-connected projects. 

Educators use Playlab to construct project tools and chatbots. Reinvention Lab used Playlab to create FutureShock, a summer impact sprint.  

A new report from TeachAI summarizes the potential benefits of AI in education (below) leading with content development and (4th on the list) creative project-based work. To the personalized learning category, add smart career exploration and path guidance (see SchoolJoy for example).   

The most widespread concern is (what is currently considered) cheating and plagiarism–or the unauthorized and undisclosed use of gen AI in completing assignments. Use guidelines are important but there is also the opportunity to move to what Professor Sarah Elaine Eaton calls “the post-plagiarism age of hybrid writing” with higher expectations for quality while valuing attribution. 

The automation of bad pedagogy, as TeachAI notes, could lead to less agency and loss of critical thinking. The opposite is the goal– inviting learners into more challenging work yielding public products not previously possible. 

Getting Started With AI 

School visits this fall suggest that most schools are waiting for guidance. And, that direction is beginning to emerge. AI for Education offers useful guidance on laying a foundation, developing staff, and engaging students. 

Similarly, the new guidance from TeachAI suggests a three-step process of 1) creating/updating a use policy, 2) facilitating staff development, and 3) identifying areas for improvement and transformation. 

A few school districts are well down this path. St Vrain Valley Schools in Longmont Colorado has invited staff to explore AI with a bingo card of 25 learning experiences. Drop-in coaching sessions are hosted at the Innovation Center and weekly pop-up events at schools invite exploration (example below). AI Champions at each school support ongoing development and real-time exploration.  

St Vrain students won the 2022 World Artificial Intelligence Competition for Youth and they are hosting the competition this year. St Vrain has 220 robotics teams across the district and hosted the 2023 Underwater Robotics Championship. Innovation Center students on the AI Cyber Bus Team are converting two school buses into mobile labs following the lead of the Future Ready Innovation Lab.  

The Peninsula School District in Gig Harbor, Washington developed Artificial Intelligence Principles and Beliefs rooted in Universal Design for Learning. It concluded, “AI is a potent tool that can dramatically improve education by offering personalized, inclusive, and compelling learning experiences when used responsibly and ethically.” Teachers in an AI Action Research project developed Resources and FAQS. 

To get started, check out AI 101 for Teachers from Code.org. Also, see ISTE’s AI resources including Tips for School Leaders. For using AI to learn about teaching, request a demo of   

Stretch AI from ISTE, a chatbot that is trained on their libraries of vetted content. 

Communities Alive With Possibility

There are good reasons to be concerned about the proliferation of AI in work and learning. But if collective response is limited to risk mitigation, communities will miss the greatest impact opportunity in history. Gen Z (or as Reid Hoffman suggests, Generation AI) has the opportunity to do more than ever thought possible–to create, express, invent, heal, and teach. 

What I most appreciate about visiting St Vrain Valley Schools is the sense of possibility. They lean into opportunity, they turn it into an R&D agenda, they invite teachers and learners to explore new possibilities, and then they scale innovation for equity.   

With Colorado Education Initiative, St Vrain hosts the National Innovation and Leadership Institute where they share the formula for building a strong foundation and adding an innovation agenda. Assistant Superintendent for Innovation Joe McBreen challenged the last cohort, “Your district’s greatness in 2030 will be directly proportionate to how innovatively you dare to lead.” (And, he said it in three languages using an AI translation app.)It’s time for a community conversation about what’s possible, about lifting collective expectations of the kind of work young people can do. Like KEEN engineering schools, it’s time to invite learners to spot opportunity, design solutions, and deliver impact. Like Real World Learning schools in Kansas City, it’s time to invite learners into community-connected and entrepreneurial projects. Ethan Mollick said, “Given the inevitability of change, we need to figure out how to mitigate the negative, but also how to channel the change for good as much as possible.”

AI in Education

For the past decade, we’ve been covering advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, sounding the alarm that it’s not if it’s when and it’s not when… it’s now. Over the last few years, the news cycle appears to be in full agreement with us. This publication highlights trends and developments in artificial intelligence that are shaping teaching and learning.

View Publication

The post One Year Into the AI Revolution….and Most Schools Are Still Seeking Direction appeared first on Getting Smart.

Recognizing the important foundational role of schedules, a new administrator asked for examples of schedules that allow for flexibility and innovation yet support teacher time. Following are five sets of examples of innovative high school schedules that expand student opportunities while providing more collaborative time for teachers. 

1. Double blocks. Schools in the New Tech Network organize the day into team-taught project-based double blocks with some math courses being taught separately at times. Teachers assess agency, collaboration, and oral and written communication with each project. Double blocks increase team planning time and provide rich cross-curricular projects for students.

2. Varied blocks. Summit Learning campuses use three big project blocks with two smaller blocks for advisory and support (see Summit Atlas for example). The Summit Learning platform allows for a high degree of self-directed learning. They also have 2-week expeditions between quarters (8 weeks/year). 

Building 21 is a network of competency-based high schools. Their central unit of design is a studio–a 6-12 week learning experience designed around a set of competencies. Each studio starts with a problem frame and ends with a culminating performance-based assessment. (See Aurora blog).   

Microschools often use a studio model of scheduling with goal-setting at the start and reflection at the end for accountability. Examples include One Stone and NuVu. 

Instructional learning blocks allow for more flexibility with the schedule and increase personalized student schedules.

3. Individualized schedules. The three campuses of Purdue Polytechnic High School in Indiana develop individualized schedules. Students work with their advisory coach to create a schedule that can vary from week to week depending on their individual educational needs. The course of study combines individual personalized learning with client projects. The new PPHS microschool offers even more flexibility. Founder Scott Bess said smaller units facilitate schedule flexibility.  

In the last three years of the Jeffco Open School, each student demonstrated readiness to function as an adult by completing six passages. Students work with their advisors to sequence, plan, and conduct passages.  

4. Half-time structures. The 100 affiliates of the CAPS Network offer professions-based learning in half-time opportunities for juniors and seniors that retain course transferability but frequently offer more block flexibility for community-connected projects. Iowa BIG in Cedar Rapids is another example of a half-day program for juniors and seniors.  

5. Small alternative schools with big blocks. Many small alternative schools use big blocks to facilitate project-based learning. Liberty Academy, north of Kansas City, organizes learning in six-week bursts of interest-based learning often connected to one of 100 community partners. Students set goals in about four success skills during each burst. Teachers in this competency-based school help students to document their growth weekly.

Students in Big Picture Learning schools typically spend two days a week in internships.  

Other Resources: 

• Apps: abl is a scheduling app that may be useful 
• Books: Personalized Learning in a PLC at Work: Student Agency Through the Four Critical Questions 
• Podcast: Tom Rooney and Scott Rowe: Buildings are Closed, Learning Goes On! (featuring Huntley’s hybrid flex schedule)
• CAP Report
• Blogs
  • Rethinking the Master Schedule in Competency-Based Schools (Building21)
  • Building 21’s Studio Model: Designing Learning Experiences for Engagement and Impact
  • Timetable Absurdity (Featuring examples from England and Australia)
  • Altus Schools: Personalized Learning, Flexible Schedules, Beautiful Spaces, Repeatable Quality

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Client projects can be extremely valuable experiences because they engage in real complex organizational problems and develop design thinking, problem-solving, and project management skills. Like internships, they provide immersive career exploration opportunities. Often conducted in teams, client projects build collaboration and leadership skills. 

Client projects meet or exceed the PBLworks Gold Standard for project design with a couple amped up elements: 

• A Challenging Problem or Question is identified by or with a community partner (business or civic) and
• Public Product is not just a presentation, it’s a commitment to delivering value to the client. 

Following are two frameworks for client projects in higher education and five groups of examples of high school systems supporting client projects. 

Two HigherEd Frameworks for Client Projects 

Riipen connects students to employers through real work projects. The venture-backed Canadian edtech startup is bridging the gap between higher education and employment. Students at more than 430 educational institutions work with 28,000 employers on real projects that add value to organizations while developing in-demand skills. Riipen awards badges which are defined by employers and instructors. 

The 55 engineering schools that make up the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) share a commitment to developing an entrepreneurial mindset. The KEEN framework adds opportunity recognition and impact delivery to traditional engineering design.  

The Rowan College of Engineering had a solid foundation of experiential learning but the KEEN framework added a focus on stakeholders and value creation. After joining KEEN, Rowan students were stimulated to think about designs all the way through. “They are equipped to address why they’re doing the design, understand who it will benefit, and think about the context and impact on various stakeholders.”   

Client Projects for High School Learners 

DaVinci Schools developed Project Leo, a ChatGPT powered project authoring tool that brings student strengths and interests, industry expertise, and teacher identified needs into the design of personalized projects. Students in the three STEM focused Los Angeles DaVinci high schools use Leo to build 1300 inspiring projects this spring while gaining feedback from teachers, professionals, and peers throughout the process. Through a partnership with Cal Poly, professors and college students give feedback on high school projects and build a professional network in the process.

CAPS Network 

When Donna McDaniel opened the Blue Valley Center for Advanced Professional Studies in 2008, it set a new standard for career education. The CAPS team explains, “Students fast forward into their future and are fully immersed in a professional culture, solving real-world problems, using industry-standard tools and are mentored by actual employers, all while receiving high school and college credit.”

Juniors and seniors from five high schools usually attend CAPS in half day blocks where they engage in client projects and entrepreneurial experiences in six strands (eg., bioscience, business, healthcare, engineering). 

On my last visit to CAPS in southwest Kansas City, I met three young men building an airplane in the lobby and three young men launching app-based businesses (below). 

Corey Mohn took over CAPS leadership in 2014. An entrepreneur turned educator, Mohn saw the opportunity to develop a network of affiliated programs and by 2018 there were dozens of member programs nationwide. The CAPS Network was included in HundrED “most impactful innovations that are changing the face of education in a post-COVID world” and recently added its 100th affilate. (See feature.) 

Real World Learning in Kansas City 

Also inspired by the success of CAPS, the Kauffman Foundation sponsored Real World Learning initiative in metro Kansas City includes 85 high schools in 35 systems that are adding internships and two kinds of projects: 

• Client Projects: Learners analyze and solve authentic problems, working in collaboration with other learners and professionals from industry, nonprofit, civic or community-based organizations. Work involves authentic methods and tools used by professionals in the work environment. Experience includes mentoring and evaluation by working professionals. Output is viewed as value-add by external stakeholders and resume-worthy.

• Entrepreneurial Experiences: Students identify a compelling social or market problem and mobilize resources to research and solve it. Leveraging input and support from multiple stakeholders, students iteratively analyze, prototype, implement, reflect and adapt potential solutions. Outputs of an entrepreneurial experience include a market and stakeholder research summary, a ‘business plan that includes an assessment of costs and benefits associated with the development or operation of their solution, and feedback from relevant external stakeholders obtained through exhibition or ‘shark-tank’ type pitch opportunities

Some client projects are housed in a single course like Drive Projects at Ray-Pec High in English 4. In North Kansas City Schools, client projects are hosted in career pathway blocks. 

The Innovation Academy at Basehor-Linwood High was launched as a chance for juniors and seniors to launch self-directed projects and earn core (English, science, social studies) and CTE credits. Guiding principles of the ala carte program include student choice, embracing the unknown, it’s ok to fail, and community partnerships. Last year Innovation Academy opened to freshmen and 45 students had the opportunity to design a park with the city. They engaged the community, considered names, pondered alternative uses, built budgets and developed 3D models. Through deep civic engagement and frequent communication, they earned an English and social studies credit–and they’ll never pass a park again without thinking about the experience they had.  

High school students from the Global Impact Academy at Notre Dame de Sion in south Kansas City talk about their trip to Kenya and their impact projects in this podcast. North of Kansas City, students in Liberty EDGE microschool conduct projects aiming at making a world of difference (see feature). 

Client Projects at XQ Schools 

Founded by Purdue University with support from XQ, the three Indiana campuses of Purdue Polytechnic High School prepare learners for STEM-related postsecondary programs and high-tech careers through a series of client projects. 

Every eight weeks, PPHS students are presented a real-world challenge. Project challenges are designed by staff in partnership with industry partners. The projects reflect real-world challenges that Indiana companies face in the areas of healthcare, energy, transportation and philanthropy. Students team up with fellow classmates and work together through a five-step design thinking process to develop a solution. Partners provide guidance on project prototypes, serve as panelists for student presentations and provide feedback on project pitches.

Through project challenges, students learn teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, communication and leadership skills, and use a blend of practical STEM applications and traditional liberal arts. It makes for a well-rounded educational experience that teaches students everything they need to know to succeed in school, college and the workforce. 

Many of the courses at Iowa BIG feature client projects. The part time high school program in Cedar Rapids, also sponsored by XQ, creates a catalog of core credit opportunities structured as community-connected projects. (See podcast with Trace Pickering.) 

World Shaping Projects at Polytechnic 

Sabrina Zhang, a student at the Polytechnic School in Pasadena, recently competed in The Earth Prize. Her Agrivision system measures plant health during early, treatable stages to reduce crop losses and organic waste. (See podcast with Sabrina and teacher Jack Prather).

Other Poly students worked with Dr. Bala Selvakumar using molecular biology tools from miniPCR bio to perform experiments on local soil samples and contribute that data to a national database that addresses a global challenge. Students engage hands-on with antibiotic resistance, a challenge recognized by the World Health Organization as a top global public health threat. Dr. Selvakumar noted that any high school can engage with and contribute to this project (see project details). 

Employer Provided Innovation Challenges

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation will be launching the Employer Provided Innovation Challenges (EPIC) initiative this fall. EPIC aspires to scale high-quality work-based learning experiences through a national network of partners that provide authentic, employer-led problem-based learning experiences to high school and postsecondary learners.

EPIC experiences will be hosted by Riipen and badged with Credly. The EPIC initiative will expand access to high quality work-based learning while building a trusted credentialing system to communicate new capabilities. 

Afterschool Client Projects 

The Knowledge Society is a 10-month youth accelerator program operating in four cities and online. TKS learners work on real problems with global companies and are supported by mentionships, internships, hackathons and a resource rich platform. (See podcast with TKS learners).

Conclusions 

Client projects can be challenging to facilitate. They require an external partner involved in multiple steps. They are interdisciplinary by nature and don’t fit cleanly in the typically siloed high school schedule. They usually involve big complicated problems with no simple solutions and assessing learner growth and contribution is challenging. 

So why bother? There are at least three reasons to help all learners engage in client projects: 

• Client projects offer the most efficient way for learners to experience success in what’s next: diverse teams working on new problems using smart tools. Client projects will increasingly utilize generative AI in solution development allowing learners to experience success as augmented (Super T) professionals.
• Client projects can be super motivating for learners because the work is authentic and interest-aligned with a chance for real contribution.   
• Client projects can be an efficient way for employers to support work-based learning and a productive part of student career exploration and pathways. 

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