Leadership Academy 2018: Leading with Vision

The true visionaries in education are those who innovate their way out of the proverbial box to create a learning environment where all students can thrive. Critical to the success of students is addressing their social-emotional needs and placing more of an emphasis on rigorous and relevant instruction they need to succeed in the changing workplace—and less on standards and state tests. This strand will share a boardroom-to-classroom approach to student improvement.

Schools today are more diverse than ever. Explanations for disparities in the academic achievement of low-income, minority, and mainstream students have a long, complex, and contested history. Bold and different approaches need to be considered to create equitable schools. By adopting greater awareness and comprehensive understanding—and having the courage to address to race, trauma, implicit bias, and cultural relevance—we can begin to make a difference. This strand will tackle issues related to inequities that stand between the existing culture and future learning culture.

Wisdom informs innovation; the latter simply cannot exist without the former. In the push for schools of the future, we need to take an honest look at the strategies and practices of our past. Which need to accompany us on the path forward, and which need to go the way of the floppy disk? The world’s best educators operate in the space where wisdom and innovation coalesce, rather than compete for time. This strand will highlight the leader’s role in putting schools, teachers, and students on the path to purposeful technology use for a rigorous and relevant learning experience for all students.  

Reading and writing are the common threads among all content areas, yet not all teachers believe they are teachers of literacy. It’s time to shift that mindset. In this strand, you will hear from leaders who have driven rapid and dramatic improvements through school-wide balanced literacy programs which, when combined with a data-driven, coherent framework, have transformed teaching and learning.