NEASC2024

In today's VUCA world, fostering a community of educational leaders with a shared mission to meet the needs of all students is crucial. This aligns with Inventure Academy's core purpose that states, we 'empower learners to realize their full potential, ignite positive change and create a positive impact. The term "learners" implies not only students but also teachers and educational leaders. To achieve this ambitious goal, Inventure Academy's Leadership Development Programme (Ignite Change) supports cultivating a community of leaders who believe in using entrepreneurial data-based approaches, engaging in productive and difficult conversations to solve critical problems that have been collectively identified by faculty and leaders, in order to enable student agency & engagement, personalized & differentiated learning for both students and faculty. We would like to share our program design, share some examples from this program and its impact on the school's learning architecture, culture and environment.

There is unlimited learning potential when students and teachers work collaboratively to create an environment that is open and affirming for everyone. Join this session to experience tools and strategies for elevating student voice in any school. From a case study at the International School of Helsinki, we will share what students consider the most pressing jobs to be done to improve our school cultures. Using these student generated ideas and design thinking protocols you will envision the steps that students can take to build healthy learning environments. Through these activities we will consider the benefits for students when they: engage in design thinking around community issues; listen to each other to appreciate diverse perspectives and build relationships; and take action in the community to express their ideas and initiate change. Participants will be inspired to consider opportunities to spark and sustain inclusive student involvement in their unique school environments.

This panel presentation will discuss strategies we are using at Sacopee Valley High School, a small, rural, high school in western Maine, to help our students develop civility, empathy, and the ability to discuss difficult topics despite differences. A framework we adopted prior to the 2023-2024 school year called the Seven Principles of Constructive Dialogue will be shared and discussed. Specific materials and policies governing topics such as teaching controversial topics and responding to bias-related incidents will be shared. Emphasis will be placed not just on policy language but the manner in which policies are publicized and consistently followed. Session attendees will be asked to discuss selected issues in table groups and share their school/district contexts and responses to problems and situations related to these topics.

Madison Public Schools, CT will share their journey in transforming districtwide systems to leverage Profile of a Graduate (POG) through district curriculum design standards, performance assessments and teacher and leader evaluation. Their eleven-year journey has resulted in almost 900 adopted units (across disciplines) that ensure a systemic approach and shared values to develop the Profile of a Graduate in all learners. We will examine the districtwide tools and systems that support foundational element 2.2a and many of the sub-elements of the NEASC section on Student Learning. We will illustrate the system through our journeys in reimagined high school pathways and authentic examples of transformative K-12 curricula. Student voice is an important part of the redesign process. Take a close look at the design of a course and a unit where students develop in both content and profile of a graduate capacities which are ultimately demonstrated in end-of-unit complex performance tasks.

This session will involve participants in small group discussion, active listening, critical and creative thinking, and sharing your own experiences and expertise. We will discuss diversity and marginalisation, in international contexts and in your own context, and introduce you to The Digital School: its vision, mission and core values; its diverse operational contexts, working with marginalised students in 14 countries; and the model that unifies these diverse individuals and communities. Marginalised students lack access to consistent structured education, and digital education is helping to provide that access. But even when they have access, there is often no system to collect evidence of learning, further hindering students’ continuing journeys into higher education, vocational training, and employment. We will outline the aspirational partnership between The Digital School and Mastery Transcript Consortium, created to design a competency framework, a digital portfolio system, and a portable digital credential, specifically to benefit marginalized students.