Devin Vodicka, Ed.D., Chief Impact Officer at AltSchool, and Ed Hidalgo, Chief of Innovation & Engagement Officer at Cajon Valley USD, are two innovators in education who will share their school redesign ideas. Hosted by Gabe Soumakian, Former Superintendent, League of Innovative Schools, Oxnard, CA.
Sponsored by Big Deal Media

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Preparing students to be college and career ready is on the mind of every educational leader in the nation. Educators know they must redesign the learning environment to prepare students for a rapidly changing world in the gig economy where employers are seeking a workforce to close the skills gap. No one can predict the future of work but technology advancements are demanding students to be future ready for jobs that have yet to be created. Devin Vodicka and Ed Hidalgo share how they are redesigning their schools to personalize the learning and developing a student-centric student leadership model.

As AltSchool’s Chief Impact and Academic Officer, Devin Vodicka, has guided the design and strategy of the company’s personalized learning platform, as it prepares the platform for expansion into a growing community of public and independent private, charter and public schools. “Personalized learning is about having an impactful approach that focuses on accelerating learning and real world problem solving, which AltSchool is enhancing with powerful technology,” says chief impact officer Devin Vodicka, who previously served as superintendent of California’s Vista Unified school district. “We are excited to be partnering with and learning from diverse types and sizes of schools – ranging from independent Jewish Day Schools to large public districts – all that are committed to strengthening the learner-centric experience for their students.

Ed Hidalgo is the Chief Innovation and Engagement Officer at Cajon Valley Union School District. The CIEO role leverages Ed’s corporate experience in response to “How does a child aspire to a career they don’t know exists?” How do we prepare all students for their place in the future world of work? The approach is the design and implementation of a world-class, research-based and integrated model of career development. Secondly, to develop a strengths-based, data-driven employee culture across the district of 1,800 employees and 17,000 students to drive hope and engagement.

This recorded edWebinar panel will be especially useful to superintendents, district and school leaders, and education-related companies who are ready to redesign schools to prepare students for a rapidly changing world.

About the Presenters
Over the past 20 years, Devin Vodicka’s vision for how to drive high-quality student outcomes enabled him to quickly ascend the roles of educator, school principal, district administrator, and superintendent. During his tenure serving Vista Unified’s more than 25,000 students, Devin has earned some of the education industry’s most prestigious awards. Last year, he was named AASA’s “California Superintendent of the Year.” In 2015, he was named ACSA’s “California Superintendent of the Year,” as well as Pepperdine University’s “California Superintendent of the Year.” In 2014, he received Classroom of the Future Foundation’s “Innovative Superintendent of the Year” award. Since joining Vista in 2012, he has been invited to the White House nine times; both in recognition for district-wide achievements and to partner on national efforts with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology, and the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools. As AltSchool’s Chief Impact and Academic Officer, Devin guides the design and strategy of the company’s personalized learning platform, as it prepares the platform for expansion into a growing community of public and independent schools. @dvodicka

Ed Hidalgo is the Chief of Innovation & Engagement Officer (CIEO) with Cajon Valley USD where he drives a strengths-based, data-driven employee culture across the district of 1,800 employees and 17,000 students to drive hope and engagement. Prior to his current role he was the director of the world of work initiative at the University of San Diego Institute for Entrepreneurship in Education where he worked with researchers to design the world of work initiative for the Cajon Valley Union School District. This work reflects the initiatives he led at Qualcomm where he worked in human resources, staffing and government affairs. As senior director of government affairs, he led the development of the Thinkabit_Lab®, a dedicated makerspace providing thousands of students and teachers exposure to technology and the world of work. Prior to this role he led the global contingent workforce and immigration practice which hired more than 20,000 workers globally. He co-founded Career Explorations, a career counseling and coaching practice for employees to drive engagement and career wellbeing. He served as the executive sponsor for Qualcomm’s Workforce Development Labs, an initiative to promote youth and veteran engagement in workforce development through hands-on experienships. He is a member of the Workforce Development Board for the San Diego Workforce Partnership. Learn more on Twitter: @EdHidalgoSD @CajonValleyUSD #CVWoW

About the Host
Dr. Gabe Soumakian is the retired superintendent, League of Innovative Schools, Oxnard, CA. He has been actively involved and presented at numerous leadership organizations, including ACSA, AASA, CSBA, CALSA, Partnership for the 21st Century, TICAL on topics of Personnel, 21st Century Learning, eLearning Summit, Personalized Learning Summit, and Linked Learning Convening. He has served on Future Ready Leaders Panel of Visionary Educators, and the NAF Leadership Fellow. Dr. Soumakian has over 35 years of education experience, including 18 years of high school teaching and coaching. Most recently, Dr. Soumakian serves as the CEO of the Sup Du Jour Consulting Group focusing on College and Career Ready and supporting districts operations cost reduction and optimization strategies. @sup_du_jour

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