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Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Allowing the Community to Speak Up to effect change


Every team, at some point, draws a line in the sand. Some even draw that line in concrete. It represents a point at which they've had enough of the current or past and are moving forward. That's tough. For so many, the comfort zone is just that, comfortable. Do the same thing, year in and year out, because that's what they know. To change requires a physical and intellectual investment of time and resources. It also requires knowledge. Teams have to know what they want to accomplish and how those around them feel about where the organization is and where they want to go.

In the fall of 2016, at the Red Lion Area School District we used the Speak Up survey by Project Tomorrow to empower the students, parents, & community to have a voice and impact the direction of the District.  The survey results clearly indicated a need and desire to move to a District-wide blended learning environment.



You see, 81% of our community said they wanted something other than a "traditional classroom", yet 79% of our teachers provided this type of environment. Is there a disconnect? And what about our students...?

...it was clear to our team that something needed to change?

What if we did nothing to change the way that we meet the needs of our students?

Without the use of the Speak Up survey, we wouldn't have seen our needs so clearly. We've now embarked on a journey of Digital Conversion in the Red Lion Area School District that will ensure that students will have access to the tools and classroom environments.

At times this has been a challenging process. We have made a few messes, and refocused our efforts. We are truly excited about the the next several months of growth...

Come learn more about our journey and the future by joining me from 9:00 - 9:45 am on June 28 at ISTE 2017 during the Leadership Playground.