Working At The Edge

Make School Different: Digital leadership & Transformation

Learner-centered leaders help others see the possibilities [#ShiftYourParadigm]

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This post is part of a series connected to the podcast Shift Your Paradigm: from school-centered to learner-centered. Lynn and I will be sharing our learning and thinking along the way and cross-posting to the Shift Your Paradigm site.

Episode 32 takes us to the Eagle Rock School & Professional Development Center in CO and a conversation with Michael Soguero, a founding member and Director of Professional Development at the Center. We talked about a residential boarding school for learners who come from all over the country to experience success in this learner-centered environment. The school provides grounding for the Professional Development Center (PDC) work of supporting engaging, progressive education practices throughout the United States. The Eagle Rock PDC works with educators committed to making high school an engaging experience for youth. Through their unique services and offerings the PDC strives to accelerate school improvement and support implementation of practices that foster each students’ unique potential.

Key Competency

Learner-centered leaders help others see the possibilities in the vision. They take this stance and never waver. They may ask a question such as, “If we look at this project, the schedule, our curriculum, etc… through the learner-centered lens, what are the possibilities?” The leader tells the story, shares the anecdotes/data, and brings others in while being authentic about the truths and the challenges. All of this is done in the service of uncovering future opportunities.

Takeaways

Michael shared infomration about the diversity of courses at Eagle Rock. Students can participate in diverse contextualized courses. The topics are real-world and have real purpose. The open-walled approach provides many opportunities for learners – in the Rocky Mountain National Park, collecting dragonfly monitoing data for scientists, education and the prison system, etc.

There is no required number of courses at Eagle Rock – teachers justify course creation based on core competencies. In order to graduate, learners are required to demonstrate themselves as engaged global citizens who are effective in communicaiton, make healthy life choices, and expand their knowledge base and are leaders for justice. There is no sequence of math courses. Every course helps develop students in at least one of the four areas. Students choose their own courses, and they all have their own unique pathway, providing the learners with agency over their learning.

The school also has a PDC on site. The PDC does not export solutions to other places working toward learner-centered education around the country. They don’t take the courses they create and share/market to other schools. Instead, they find other communities and partners who are working to re-engage high school students. They work with schools who serve underserved learners who have a similar alignment. Maybe these schools want to bring in restorative practices or implement components of PBL.  During a visit to a  partner school, the team from PDC unearths the other school’s assets, determines their ingredients, and then designs what is possible.

What do learners do when they graduate? Michael reminds us the learner may not have the same chunks of science or English that other learners from more traditional schools possess. Although these differences exist, they are not barriers for learners as they move on to other opportunities. In fact, 60% of students go on to a 4 year college. Others enter the workforce. Finally, many choose to complete a year or two of service in the public community.

What do transcripts look like at Eagle Rock? Michael realizes the transcript needs to help the students put their best foot forward as they embark on the college application process. Although the course work is not traditional, the transcript is similar to existing high schools. Students pass competencies, exams, and then receive the translated credit on a trimester-based transcript. This back-mapping of competencies is done in service to the learner – to reduce the potential friction between the high school experience and college acceptance.

The PDC will work with other systems to develop unique solutions for them based on their assets and context. The team will work with systems to manage change.  Leaders need agile, design-thinking, user-centered approaches to creating solutions. Iterative processes should be baked into leadership competencies.  

What else does a learner-centered leader need to be able to do? The leader needs to start with a vision, to take a stance, and to protect the approach. Pressures will arise, and the organization may be tempted to drift back to what is easiest. The leader tells the story, shares the anecdotes/data, and brings others in while being authentic about the truths and the challenges.

Learner-centered leaders need to think of all aspects of education through the learner-centered paradigm – schedule, lunch, curriculum, etc. This is a significant shift which leaders need to develop. In order for this to happen, leaders need to shift the mindset – or adopt the new mindset. Then, lead.

Connections to Practice

  • We are a small, suburban, public school district.  Approximately 90% of our learners go on to trade school, a 2-year college, or a 4-year college. Few students enter the military and/or work force.
  • Our transcripts are very traditional. We took a small step forward with internships this year.
  • We have a clear vision, and we all know the direction.

Questions Based on Our Practice

  • Our graduation requirements are very traditional. If we had a blended course or less traditional course, do we have the capacity/knowledge to backmap?
  • Are we protecting our vision?  Does the invitation to expectation promote the protection of our vision? What evidence do we have?
  • Have our leaders adopted or shifted their mindsets? Do we as leaders (along with our leadership team) embody this mindset and this work?

Next  Steps for Us

  • As we grow our school within a school in our Middle School, we will need to develop a high school option. Could this high school course mirror Project Wonder?
  • We are participating in a leadership retreat this summer.  During that session, we need to determine as a team if we are willing to commit to moving from invitation to expectation.
  • Reflect on mindset. Maybe a reflective activity with our team to determine where we are, and where we want to go!

Connect with Randy on Twitter, the TLTalkRadio podcast, and the Shift Your Paradigm podcast!

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