Matt and Courtney interview Kathy White of Souhegan High School, Ann Hadwen of Exeter Regional Cooperative School District, and Ellen Hume-Howard of the New Hampshire Learning Initiative about their research of work habits and how to assess and score them. The report is ongoing, so keep on the lookout for a follow-up soon! Find them at @nhlearningin and nhlearninginitiative.org.

Matt and Courtney talk with Ken O'Connor at the Aurora Institute Symposium 2019. Ken is an independent consultant who specializes in issues related to the communication of student achievement, especially grading and reporting. Through books and articles, presentations and working with small groups, Ken helps individuals, schools, and school districts to improve communication about student achievement.  

In 1995, Ken developed eight guidelines for grading, and he has continued to refine those guidelines. In 2007, the same ideas were organized into fifteen fixes for broken grades. He has also designed eleven guidelines for standards-based reporting. He is now generally acknowledges to be one of a small group of leading experts on how to grade and report effectively.

(Text from oconnorgrading.com.)

Matt and Courtney talk with Jason Swanson, Director of Strategic Foresight for KnowledgeWorks at the Aurora Institute Symposium 2019. He talks about the future, what a futurist does, and how it all works around forecasting the future of education. We learned so much about a topic we were a little skeptical about!

From his bio on knowledgeworks.org: Jason explores the future of learning, helping stakeholders translate future insights into forward-thinking visions for transforming education. Jason has explored how trends and developments such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, augmented and virtual reality might impact learning. He has authored dozens of articles and forecasts, ranging from the future of work and readiness, the future of credentials, the expansion and diversification of educator roles and the creation of learning ecosystems. An experienced speaker and facilitator, Jason has worked with a diverse array of education stakeholders to make sense of the future, including students, teachers, administrators, education innovators, policymakers and more.

Matt and Courtney continue their critical thinking trimester series with an interview of author and education consultant George Couros. George is the author of two books: The Innovator's Mindset and Innovate Inside the Box (with Katie Novak). We discuss the elements of his Core of Innovative Teaching and Learning, what he's learned along his journey (and some things he used to do, but no longer does), and how to innovate inside the current system - inside the box, as it were. Follow George on Twitter at @gcouros and sign up for his newsletter at https://georgecouros.ca/blog/ 

Matt and Courtney interview Dr. James Lane at the Aurora Institute Symposium 2019. He discusses what "Virginia is for Learners" is, how it was rolled out, and what the pillars of the initiative are. He also talks about how policies can be levered to keep personalized learning happening - the steps along the way that can't be skipped.

Dr. James F. Lane was appointed Virginia’s 25th superintendent of public instruction by Governor Ralph S. Northam, effective June 1, 2018.

As state superintendent, Dr. Lane serves as the executive officer of the Virginia Department of Education, which is the administrative agency for the commonwealth’s public schools. He also serves as secretary of the state Board of Education.

Prior to his appointment as the commonwealth’s chief school officer, Dr. Lane served as a division superintendent in Chesterfield County, Goochland County and Middlesex County. He was recognized as the 2017 Virginia Superintendent of the Year for his leadership in Goochland County.

Dr. Lane was one of 100 superintendents in the nation selected to attend the 2014 ConnectEd Superintendents Summit at the White House in recognition of his leadership in the use of instructional technology by his schools.

In 2015, the national Data Quality Campaign awarded its annual Flashlight award to Goochland County in recognition of the division’s achievements under Lane’s leadership in using data to empower educators and communicate with parents and the public.

Dr. Lane holds a doctorate in education from the University of Virginia, a master’s degree in school administration from North Carolina State University, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in teaching from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Lane and his wife, Sarah, are the parents of two elementary school students in Chesterfield County.

Matt and Courtney interview Kirsten Baesler, the state school superintendent of North Dakota. We interviewed her last year at the iNACOL Symposium, and this catches up what has happened in North Dakota over the past year or so. Once again, the focus on equity is apparent. Enjoy!

From https://www.nd.gov/dpi/state-superintendent: Kirsten Baesler is the state school superintendent of North Dakota. In her position, she oversees the education of more than 121,000 public and private school students. She was elected as state school superintendent in November 2012, and re-elected to her second term in 2016 with 75 percent of the vote.

Before taking office in January 2013, Superintendent Baesler had a 24-year career in the Bismarck public school system as a vice principal, library media specialist, classroom teacher and instructional assistant. She also worked for the North Dakota School Boards Association as the association’s assistant director. 

She is one of the nine directors of the Council of Chief State School Officers, a national organization that represents state education organizations across the nation. CCSSO provides leadership, technical assistance and advocacy on major educational issues.

Superintendent Baesler is one of 25 women leaders chosen from across the country for the Governing Institute’s 2019 Women in Government Leadership Program, which provides training for participants to serve as mentors and advisers for other prospective female leaders.

She is a member of the advisory board of the Civics Education Initiative, an organization that advocates for a proposal to require high school students to pass a civics exam before they may graduate. Superintendent Baesler successfully backed this idea during the North Dakota Legislature in 2015.

Matt and Courtney have a discussion with Tony Monfiletto, the Director of Future Focused Education. They have a talk about what future-focused means, the students they can serve, and the models that communities can learn from to help their learners that need it the most.

Faced with challenges such as slow economic growth, high unemployment and tough realities for many communities, Future Focused Education is dedicated to remodeling education to meet the unique needs of communities. From founding and growing the Leadership Schools Network, to building the Future Focused Internship Program to connect the dots between promising students and forward-thinking employers, Future Focused Education is propelling evidence of innovative teaching and learning that will drive education and schools in new and important directions.

Tony Monfiletto is the Director of Future Focused Education. Over the past 20 years, Tony has been actively involved in creating a policy climate that welcomes innovative solutions to our most challenging public school challenges. He has served on many legislative and executive committees and he is passionate about re-thinking the metrics of success for the next generation of schools that can prepare young people for a dynamic future. Tony has been a public school teacher, charter school co-founder, and principal. He earned a BA from New Mexico State University and a Masters in Public Administration with a concentration in Finance from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and he is an Aspen-Pahara Institute and Sizer Fellow.

Matt and Courtney interview Dr. Brooke Stafford-Brizard, a keynote speaker at the Aurora Institute Symposium 2019. She talks about mental health and the future of whole child education.

From inacol.org: Dr. Brooke Stafford-Brizard is the Director of Whole Child Development at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, where she leads work to support a comprehensive, Whole Child approach to learning and development. Before joining CZI, Dr. Stafford-Brizard worked as an independent consultant supporting the integration of cognitive and social-emotional development into school districts and charter management organizations through a connection between research, policy, and practice. As a Senior Advisor with Turnaround for Children, Dr. Stafford-Brizard authored The Building Blocks for Learning, a nationally recognized developmental framework supporting comprehensive student development. She began her career as a teacher with Teach for America at an intermediate school in the Bronx and later co-founded the Young Women’s College Prep Charter School in Rochester, NY. Stafford-Brizard is a Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow and a member of the Aspen Institute’s Global Leadership Network.

Matt and Courtney have another double feature! First, Barbara Bray and Rose Colby discuss personalized learning, and some of the new things they have learned over the years. Then, Barbara talks to us about her upcoming book! All at the Aurora Institute 2019 in Palm Springs. Enjoy!

Matt and Courtney interview Juliana Finegan,  a Managing Partner at The Learning Accelerator. An expert in blended and personalized learning, she leads TLA's practitioner learning work to push forward innovation education by building and supporting a pipeline of blended educators and leaders, seeking to increase capacity at all levels and share best practices and resources at scale.

Over the past 15 years, Juliana has followed her passion for education both in the classroom, having worked for a decade as a Title 1 educator and Teach For America alumna and, more recently, by supporting teachers at the graduate level. As Director of Personalized Learning at Relay GSE, Juliana researched and developed tangible, practice-based content to support teachers and leaders in the blended space. She has observed best practices from across the country, identified effective strategies, and built a strong network of impact-oriented education professionals throughout the nation.

They discuss onboarding for teachers, and how districts partnering with each other is as important as anything we do in education.