School Futures Lie in Strategy
August 8, 2018As we get ready to launch a new learning year, let’s laser-focus on a very simple reality: Schools, like every other organization that lives in a competitive marketplace, have just two “keys to sustainable success” according to strategy guru Michael Porter: good strategy and highly effective operational systems. Operational effectiveness means that your school is…
Great Resources for Proficiency-Based Learning via Mark Seigel
August 6, 2018I am increasingly getting questions and queries something like: “Where do I go for resources on performance-based and competency-based learning?” I am not the expert on these by any means, which is why I can point you to someone who has been preaching and leading in these areas for decades and is sharing frequently-updated resources…
Does Culture Always Eat Strategy for Breakfast??
July 18, 2018Does culture really eat strategy for breakfast? This Peter Drucker dictum has been at the top of the organizational Ten Commandments for several decades; I often use the quote, and the slide is in my slide deck. It seems to be right for so many reasons. At some point during our Strategic Change Accelerator with…
Great Podcast: Why, What, and How of School Change…Even at Best Schools
July 12, 2018I absolutely could not give the rationale nor tell the story of school transformation better than Tim Quinn and Liz Schmitt of Miss Porter’s School on this podcast with Peter Baron and Hans Mundahl of Enrollment Management Association. I was honored to be able to help guide MPS over the last year as they began to…
Havasupai School in Need Hides in Desert Paradise
June 28, 2018When we see people and places in need, do we stop, ask questions, and help? Or do we walk on by, assuming someone else will take care of the problem, hope it will go away, or silently give thanks that we are better off? What problems do you have at your school that can even…
Video of My Commencement Speech in May
June 19, 2018I shared what I think are some very key messages in this commencement speech last month; hopefully it might help in some discussions at your school over the summer and kicking off the new school year in the fall!
“We Will BE the Joneses”
June 8, 2018Happy start of summer! In the past 10 days, I have worked with superintendents from north-central New York, stretched in a 3,000-strong yoga jam with Michael Franti at Redrocks, hauled myself up and down the Colorado front range, intersected with 130 forward leaning educators to kick off the annual Traverse gathering in Boulder, and prototyped…
Interview with NYSAIS: Why and How of School Transformation
June 1, 2018Thanks, New York Association of Independent Schools, for conducting and posting this interview with me in May. I think it summarizes the current state of K-12 transformation: both the “why” and the “how”, particularly how we are Moving the Rock. These are the discussions that school leadership teams, in both public and private schools either…
My Commencement Address, 2018: Delphian School, Oregon
May 28, 2018This is the commencement address I gave on May 27 at Delphian School in Oregon. Delphian is a very unusual school, with a program that fully embraces performance-based learning. Students work at their own pace; teachers are mentors and tutors, and do not hold traditional classes. They have been getting a flood of visitors recently…
“I Vow Not To Be a Bystander”
May 8, 2018“I vow not to be a bystander and wait for a directive”. This from educator Renee Costarella, a personal manifesto that she will be part of education transformation, not because someone else gives her permission, but because she sees the right way forward. This is the kind of empowered leadership and action that will Move…
Last Sandbox of the Year: IowaBIG School and Creating Projects of Impact
May 7, 2018Our final Sandbox meet-up for the school year will be a doozie: if you work in a high school, or are interested in authentic learning in and with your community, or want to create opportunities for students to have real impact…then join us Tuesday may 8 at 7 PM ET, when our guest Rock Star…
Two Simple Steps to Creating Demand For Your School
May 5, 2018In a rapidly differentiated education market, many private and public schools find themselves with weakening streams of students coming to their doors. How can you reverse this? How can you build demand for your school? Community Public Charter School in Charlottesville, Virginia is a very small school that has struggled to support a somewhat unique…
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