The journey has been long, and I might have run out of steam before visiting the 64th and last school on this remarkable trip. But my hosts made sure that was not the case. A day at Greenhill School in Dallas was the perfect final chapter, a visit packed with that combination of exciting programs [...]
Some schools with long histories find it hard to change due to a legacy of success and the inevitably of inertia. Some schools with short histories find it easy to change but hard to build a legacy of success. Then there are the “tweeners”, small schools with a long history that make a sudden growth [...]
I just pulled into Abilene, Texas, having turned the nose of my Prius toward the setting sun for the next couple of days. I have great visits yesterday and today at Parish Episcopal and Greenhill in Dallas, and just wanted to say that I will not be able to get to the write-ups for a [...]
As a testament to the passion with which so many educators embrace the need to fundamentally change how we teach, the 60th (or thereabouts) visit of my trip was just as rich and engaging as the first, with new approaches and models that we all can share. I had not planned to visit The Hockaday [...]
I have not visited as many public schools on this trip as I would have liked, but each one has something to offer all of us, public or private. Today’s visit at Townview Center Magnet in Dallas was no exception. Innovation means different things to different organizations, but for all schools it should mean changing [...]
Thanks to Bo Adams from design thinking group Unboundary for continuing to follow and help me on my journey. Here is the video we shot today; you can see the full post, including Bo's thoughtful selection of comments regarding the search for elegance we want for our students from The Falconer on his blog, It's [...]
I spent most of my third day at Presbyterian Day School in the early childhood wing, with a reading group that could be a model for any grade level and the technology group. I also revisited the Learning Studio, the heart of what appears to be a revolutionary method of differentiated learning. Here are some [...]
St. Agnes Academy and St. Dominic School is the oldest continuously operating school in Memphis, according to 19-year President Barbara Daush. They have 915 students; boys are preK-8 and girls preK-12. When I arrived at the stunning new Veritas Research Center building, a group of girls were headed off for a morning of service at [...]
I tend to report along a timeline, at least when sorting out many pages of notes from a long days’ visit. Throw that out the window today. The story of this school wraps back on itself in several unique and powerful ways, all of which give me a greater sense of optimism for education in [...]
After more than 55 school visits in the last 11 weeks, I feel I am getting pretty good at reading how committed a faculty is to embracing change. At some schools, the vision of change is met with reluctance; at some with cautious optimism for the growth of bright lights. Then there are the schools [...]