If we were designing school from scratch today, how much of it would look the same? Would we organize students by age, divide the day into class periods and separate learning into individual subjects? Would we measure success the same way? Would students have more choice in what, how and when they learn?
Those questions aren’t easy for many to answer, but they are certainly worth asking.
In late September, a new cohort of 14 secondary school leaders came together in Lansing for the kickoff of MASSP’s Innovative Leaders Network (ILN). This was the beginning of a year-long “Explore & Discover” experience designed to give leaders time and space to step outside of their day-to-day work, learn alongside colleagues and think about what school could look like for the students they serve.
Starting With the Purpose of School
Before exploring new models or practices, we started with a more fundamental question: What is the purpose of school?
Participants reflected on what their schools currently measure, what those measures communicate about what they value and what they hope students and families would say about a successful school experience. From there, they began developing their own definitions of student success and comparing those ideas to the systems and structures currently in place.
Clips from the documentary Most Likely to Succeed helped guide our conversations. Throughout the day, participants explored four main themes:
- School Success & Purpose
- Student Agency & Identity
- Equity, Opportunity & Belonging
- Adaptability, Exploration & Future Readiness.
Each theme brought the conversation back to participants’ own schools. Where do students already have meaningful voice, choice and ownership? Which students may not be fully seen or supported by current systems? What happens when students experience setbacks or uncertainty? And how well are we preparing them for a future that may look very different from the paths we experienced ourselves?
Looking at School Through a Different Lens
There was plenty of discussion and reflection throughout the day. Participants identified practices in their schools that amplify or limit student ownership and considered both small shifts and larger structures that may be worth rethinking. They thought about students whose strengths may not always be recognized by traditional measures of success and the practices or structures that could be limiting their opportunities as well.
Those conversations are an important part of ILN. When you’re leading a school, it can be difficult to find time to get outside of the immediate needs of the day and really wrestle with these kinds of questions. Bringing leaders together creates space to do that while also hearing how colleagues from across the state are approaching similar challenges.
A Year to Explore and Discover
The kickoff was only the beginning of this journey. Over the coming months, Cohort 3 of the ILN will explore how schools are rethinking learning through more personalized structures, innovative instructional models and new tools and technologies designed to support student success.
Through a book study, webinars, site visits and continued conversations with one another, participants will see different ideas and approaches in action. Some may connect directly to challenges or opportunities in their own schools, while others may simply push their thinking in a new direction. The year ahead is intentionally about exploration. It gives leaders an opportunity to ask questions, see what others are trying and consider what pieces might make sense within their own school community.
For Cohort 3, the work now continues with a year to explore new ideas, learn from other schools and leaders, and keep asking what could be possible for students.
Meet ILN Cohort 3
We’re excited to welcome these 14 school leaders to Cohort 3 of the Innovative Leaders Network and to learn alongside them throughout the year.
- Lance Belill, Linden Middle School
- Lyndsey Costen, Coopersville Middle School
- Robert Harris, Petoskey High School
- Steve Hope, Coldwater High School
- David Jaworski, Frankenmuth High School
- Mike Kennedy, Grandville High School
- Leann Kerr, Peck Jr/Sr High School
- Tim Kumar, Marshall Greene Middle School
- Kristy Loughin-Vance, Kent Career Tech Center
- Kelly Moffett, Hillside Middle School
- Joe Rommel, St. Joseph High School
- Erin Rolfe, Maple Street Magnet School for the Arts
- Bryan Shirk, Coldwater High School
- Drew Wilde, Flat Rock High School
There may be opportunities to still join this year’s ILN cohort. If you are interested, please reach out to Ryan Cayce at ryan@massp.com.