Presented by Scott Elliott, Ed.D., Superintendent, Watauga County Schools (NC); and Shannon Trejo, Chief Academic Officer, Dallas Independent School District (TX)
Moderated by Mark Schneiderman, Senior Director, Future of Teaching & Learning, D2L
Presented by Dr. Bonnie Cochran, Director of Academic Planning and Analytics, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; and Noelle Morris, Senior Director of Community Engagement, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Being a teacher during a pandemic may seem challenging enough without taking on potentially divisive political and social issues, but for three teachers who were recently named the Teacher of the Year in their states, working on equity issues with their students is a crucial part of the job and well worth the effort.
The disruptions and changes during the past year have made a return to the industrial education model of the 19th and 20th centuries problematic for school districts committed to preparing diverse students for 21st century careers. Instead, a more innovative and agile approach is needed to help today’s wide range of students recover from the pandemic and achieve more equitable outcomes.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, blended learning is a style of education in which students learn via electronic and online media and traditional face-to-face teaching. As stated by Ann McMullan, Project Director for CoSN’s EmpowerED Superintendents Initiative, the world that we have been living in for over the last year or so looks very much like a combination of both.
“How are the children?” That’s how Dr. Baron R. Davis, Superintendent of Richland School District Two (SC), starts every meeting. He isn’t just asking, though, if they are physically well. Like the traditional Maasai greeting, he’s asking if the people in his district are making the children their priority every day and making sure they are doing everything to take care of the children on every level.
Using data to determine the needs of economically disadvantaged students and make good decisions about them has helped one school district provide more equitable outcomes, meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and increase opportunities for high school graduates to succeed in college and their careers.
When many schools and districts address equity problems, they tend to look at the big picture and overall outcomes. But according to the presenters in an edWebinar, hosted by AASA, The School Superintendents Association and AASA’s Leadership Network, the more effective approach is to identify specific problems for specific groups of students and make key changes that address those individual needs. By combining the small group focus with short cycles of improvement, schools can truly create a system where every child is receiving the best possible education.