If your faculty meetings feel a bit stale, repetitive, or formulaic, read on! The faculty team for the new public Design 39 Campus in Poway Unified is starting to grow, and I got to sit in yesterday on one of their weekly meetings as they build towards the August opening. I wanted to share what I [...]
For those who do not follow me on Twitter or who may not have access to Independent School Magazine, I was tremendously honored to have my article included in the latest edition of this leading education publication. I started writing this article in my mind about an hour after my remarkable visit with Shoshana Zuboff of [...]
In the last week or so since my article in Independent School Magazine came out I have had calls with three leaders of reputable, successful independent schools. All three have developed a solid vision of learning that recognizes the changing demands our students will face in their futures. All three lead strong faculties who build [...]
John Gulla, Executive Director of E.E. Ford Foundation, and Olaf Jorgenson, Head of Almaden Country School, California published an article in Independent School Magazine that summarizes and reviews our evolving capacity to gauge the value added by schools. While their direct focus is on independent schools, I find fewer differences than similarities in what public [...]
Last fall, David Kelley was kind enough to participate in a fireside chat on the popular weekly #DTK12CHAT that links educators who are interested in how design thinking can be embedded more deeply and purposefully in K-12 education. If you don’t know, David was co-founder of global design thinking firm IDEO and a principal founder [...]
More than a year ago I wrote a short post after listening deeply to Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" on an airplane. Heard it again this morning and every time I do I feel it has a set of wonderful messages for educators and our mission. It uplifts my spirit; it seems a more perfect school [...]
On the plane rides to and from my workshop presentations at NAIS and NBOA in Florida I had a chance to read in detail the latest issue of Independent School Magazine. Yes, my own article on mutation and zero-based strategic thinking is in the issue, but I want to share some call-outs from several of [...]
Is your school special? Do you have a shared community passion that drives your teachers and students? Are there things you do better than other schools down the road or across town…or anywhere else in the country? Do have dreams, wishes, or aspirations for the future that can be realized with strong collective effort and [...]
Good problem solving requires that we consider many options before settling on a path forward. In schools, whether we are engaged in a five year strategic plan or working with departmental colleagues, good problem solving starts with an “expansive” or “generative” phase. We often call this brainstorming, where participants are asked to generate many ideas [...]
I was honored to participate in a lunch yesterday with a team from the Harvard Doctor of Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) program that is in San Diego visiting and working with San Diego Unified School District. The lunch was attended by a small, select group of San Diego-area education thought leaders. Ed.L.D. is a relatively young [...]