For many districts, the pandemic came as a wake-up call urging leaders to get up to speed in the edtech sense. According to David Hoffert, superintendent of Warsaw Community Schools, his community was ready.

“WCS has been a leader in instructional technology and was an early adapter to 1:1 technology,” he says. “When the pandemic hit, we were prepared with devices and basic instructional practices.”

What did come as a shock was the depth needed to adapt to the pandemic.

“The lessons learned pushed us out of our comfort zone and helped us create a model for post-pandemic instructional practices,” he explains. “Our movement—and continual push—is to create a synchronous learning environment when using technology. Students crave personal interaction and not a pre-recorded lesson.  Collaborative tools for new forms of communication with students, parents and the community have become a must!”

This frame of mind is also shared by Josh Carter, principal of Science Hill High School of Johnson City Schools in Tennessee, who took measures to ensure his school was utilizing technology before COVID-19.

“Prior to the pandemic, we had already made several important moves toward integration of educational technology,” he says. “We had been one-to-one for a couple of years. Our students have Chromebooks and our teachers were using Canvas and several other ed tools.”

However, he notes that the pandemic elevated the school’s use of these tools. It allowed all of his teachers to become fully immersed in Canvas, and now edtech is here to stay.

“That immersion has continued, and all of our classes have a robust presence on Canvas,” he says. “As far as other tech tools, our staff is much more likely to try new things post-pandemic. Most of our classrooms use technology to enhance their lessons on a daily basis.”

As K12 school districts continue to embrace innovative edtech tools, District Administration sought to understand which solutions have proven most successful for some of the most impactful leaders in education. And to no surprise, Canvas, VR simulations and Google products seem to dominate the education sphere.

Lenon Harvey, director of information services at Putnam County School District, which is led by Florida’s 2023 Superintendent of the Year Richard Surrency, says tools like GoGuardian, Clever, Canvas, GoogleWorkspace, Renaissance Learning Products, Savvas and McGraw Hill are among the tools that have had “a significant impact” on his district’s students and staff. What sets these platforms apart, he notes, is their efficiency, personalized learning experiences, collaboration and access to digital resources.

“We had a deliberate process for incorporating new edtech tools into our teaching and learning practices that ensures they are effective and safe for our students,” Harvey says. “Our IT department has recently developed a Technology and Infrastructure for Digital Education (TIDE) plan, which includes Innovation Navigators responsible for vetting the efficacy of new programs before they are implemented in our district. This ensures that all tools we adopt are thoroughly evaluated and meet our high standards for effectiveness, data privacy and security.”

He adds that they also utilize coaches within their “Teaching and Learning Department,” who evaluate the efficacy of curriculum programs before they’re adopted to ensure all aspects of teaching and learning are impactful.

Similarly, Carter says tools like Nearpod, IXL and Hapara are widely used by his teachers, which he says have profoundly impacted how teachers deliver content, student engagement and closing learning gaps.

To be a school that leverages edtech to enhance learning engagement, he says they must be innovative yet cautious to ensure their interventions are effective.

“Six years ago, our district started a Teacher Leader program for educational technology,” Carter says. “Each cohort participates in a year-long program that trains them to be technology leaders in their building. When a teacher at Science Hill wants to learn about a new tool, the teacher leaders are here to help. They provide professional development sessions as well as one-on-one assistance. These teacher leaders, along with our district supervisor of educational technology, vet potential ed tools regularly.”

More from DA: This principal and a superintendent made historic gains this year. What’s next?

Don Killingbeck, superintendent at Hemlock Public Schools in Michigan, has long known the importance of technology in the classroom, which proved instrumental in their transition to remote and blending learning during the pandemic.

Since then, his district has added several platforms to its “edtech toolbelt,” such as Google Classroom, Paper, NWEA, Skyward, Kami, GoGuardian, Edgenuity, IXL and SAM Labs.

“Overall, these tools can be impactful for students and staff by providing greater access to resources, promoting personalized learning and improving communication and collaboration between teachers and students,” Killingbeck says.

“For the most part, we believe that technology tools should serve the purposes of either improving instruction or simplifying processes to make either or both the student and staff experience better,” he adds. “We believe that the best ideas come from staff in the field and try to harvest their ideas and implement them in a variety of ways.”

Fidelity, intuitiveness and ease of access for students, teachers and parents are some of the primary necessities of a successful edtech tool, WCS Superintendent Hoffert says. His district’s post-pandemic response is to focus on what works and what doesn’t.

“Too much of everything is nothing and unrealistic to support appropriately,” he says.

Tools like Google Classroom, Google Suite, SeeSaw, Canvas, Apptegy and ParentSquare have become some of the district’s most valuable solutions.

“Google has become a ‘go to’ in many facets of life and there is a comfort with parents along with ease of integration,” he notes. In addition, they’ve been intentional when it comes to relying on data and feedback to make such decisions.

“As a district of roughly 7000 students and 500 certified teachers, it is important that our technology department can support the devices and programs,” he says. “Through the feedback and continual evaluation, our teams are able to provide implementation and ongoing support of the recognized technological devices and district-approved programs.”

Alongside the explosion of education technology exists a need to support students as they prepare for a career after graduation. Jonathan

Prince, superintendent of St. Lucie Public Schools in Florida, said the goal is to mix the two ideas using virtual reality.

SLPS leverages a variety of simulations ranging from driver’s ed to welding. By using VR, students can gain real-world experience without the fear of seriously injuring themselves or others.

“These are very inexpensive tools to teach kids, particularly in career and technical education, how to use a welder and how to weld materials,” Prince says. “We have a lot of internships in our district with local industries, but the bottom line is a lot of times before those internships start, the kids are ready to go because of the technology they’re afforded in the classroom with some of these simulations.”

Edtech in 2023-24

As this school year soon comes to a close, district leaders have already begun preparations for 2023-24. If schools learned anything from the pandemic, it’s that we shouldn’t return to normal. And according to these leaders, they don’t intend to.

“It’s true that the edtech industry will continue to evolve and change in the coming years, and there will likely be winners and losers,” says Killingbeck. “The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of technology in education, and many schools and districts have had to quickly implement new solutions to support remote and hybrid learning. As we move forward, it will be important for districts and solution providers to continue to focus on providing effective and impactful solutions that meet the needs of students and teachers. This may require innovation, collaboration and a willingness to adapt to changing circumstances. Ultimately, the success of edtech solutions will depend on their ability to support student learning and achievement.”

The post Which edtech product is already changing learning for the better? 5 districts weigh in appeared first on District Administration.

It’s meant to be a friendly ice breaker, but regularly having conversations like these encourages young learners to become curious about exploring different avenues they might pursue in life—and this is exceptionally important for their growth and development.

Early planning for both postsecondary and career pathways can not only save time and money in the long run, but can also give students ample opportunity to discover their interests and strengths, and explore career options that complement both. Ultimately, the further along students move in their post-secondary education or career, the more difficult it is to switch gears on a career path. This leads many students to launch themselves toward an occupation with little to no real-world experience within the industry—often discovering late in the game it’s not an ideal match.

Schools that can find ways to bridge the gap between education and industry—by offering hands-on, career-connected learning opportunities for students—will help students better understand the reality of the jobs awaiting them.

Experiential learning: A key part of postsecondary goals

Career-connected learning not only provides opportunities for students to gain valuable experience within a variety of industries but also gives students the opportunity to develop the interpersonal, communication and technical skills they need to be successful in any career. Studies show that students who participate in career-centered learning exhibit greater knowledge of jobs, higher self-esteem, better grades and are more engaged in their academic and career planning. Additionally, these opportunities help teachers and administrators stay up-to-date in understanding what skills employers are looking for in our rapidly changing job market and, accordingly, incorporate those lessons into the classroom.

In our district, we begin with a very broad introduction to prospective careers in elementary school. In middle school, we use college and career readiness software to match interests and talents with possible careers, as well as introduce the concept of executive functioning skills like time management and self-advocacy.

More from DA: Teachers leaving K12 for the FBI and bartending? It’s not the whole staff shortage story

We encourage students to begin to think about what they value in life—money, time, family—and how those might play into different career choices. By high school, we bring these lessons to life by providing a wide variety of hands-on, career-connected learning opportunities through:

1. Crucial connections with the local community

Operating in a rural area, we are sometimes limited by available resources and the variety of electives we are able to offer, so we are constantly challenging ourselves to think outside the box to create meaningful learning opportunities. However, everything stems from a common foundation: relationships within our community.

We are fortunate to exist within an extremely involved and supportive network—our local businesses are both proactive and responsive and eager to support our students as they pursue college and career readiness. Developing meaningful relationships with our community and business leaders to broaden the ways in which we support all of our students has been crucial to the success of our career connection initiatives.

2. Curriculum and learning opportunities create pathways

Several years ago we incorporated a course into our curriculum called the “Professional Learning Experience,” where high school students are offered the opportunity to team up with a mentor who works in a professional area they want to explore. This course is a chance for any student to thoroughly prepare for what’s next and make their academic and career decisions with confidence—whether that is a four-year college, technical or trade school, or directly entering the workforce. We currently have students in our program who are gaining on-the-ground experience in manufacturing, agriculture, public relations, healthcare, and education, just to name a few.

Additionally, we work closely with our local community college and assorted post-secondary schools across the state, so if a student is interested in an industry we may not be connected with, we can provide them with opportunities to sit in on an appropriately matched class or talk with a professor in that industry. These partnerships are especially beneficial and impactful for school districts with a limited ability to offer a wide variety of electives. Professors are not only able to answer questions about what potential employers in a specific field might look for candidate-wise (whether or not the student is planning to continue their education), but on-campus visits also provide important touchpoints to familiarize students with their potential college experience.

By developing meaningful relationships within your community to create relevant, career-connected learning opportunities, school districts are able to leverage the knowledge and expertise of local business leaders for a mutually beneficial experience—motivating students to become excited about their future careers, and creating a better-prepared workforce poised for future success.

The post How connecting with communities can pave pathways for success after high school appeared first on District Administration.

One reason is that the percentage of teens working has plummeted, from almost 60% in the late 1970s to only 37% today. This is troubling considering that the current generation of high schoolers spends an average of $2,391 a year. One additional reason for this lack of knowledge surely stems from the failure of schools to make up for this lack of practical experience by teaching these important subjects. Only 25 states currently require high school economics education to graduate, and just a fraction of states require a standalone financial literacy class.

Because economics and personal finance courses aren’t as ubiquitous as history, math, and English classes in U.S. high schools, there are fewer experienced teachers for these subjects, and teacher confidence is lagging. Only 64% of teachers surveyed say they are very comfortable teaching economics or personal finance, yet just 11% of teachers with less than three years of teaching experience consider themselves very comfortable, and an additional 11% note that they are not comfortable at all, the Project Tomorrow survey found. This is troublesome given the high rate of retirement among experienced teachers and the teacher shortages experienced in nearly all states.

The need for economics education at the high school level is crucial. Few colleges require that undergraduates take a course in economics, so if students don’t improve their understanding of economics and personal finance at the high school level, they may never be exposed to it.

How to fight financial illiteracy

There are a few things district administrators can do to help bridge this financial illiteracy gap and create financially-savvy students:

1. Adopt digital tools that help develop great teachers. Free digital course packages are available that provide teachers with everything they need—including content, activities, and tests—to confidently teach economics and personal finance. Digital course packages also reduce the burden on new or inexperienced teachers who lack the time and resources to assemble a curriculum. According to the Project Tomorrow study, 59% of teachers said they lacked the time to find appropriate content for their class, 48% said they didn’t have the authority to license or purchase digital content, and 43% said they struggle to find the content that meets the different ability levels in the class. All these challenges are solved in part or completely by readily-available course packages.
2.  Make courses more relevant for students. Today’s digital-native student expects to be entertained all the time, so traditional lecture-style classes don’t work. Districts should adopt course material that includes digital storytelling, simulations, and gamification that make economics more interesting and meaningful to students. Economics teachers noted in the Project Tomorrow study that they are particularly interested in how to use digital tools to engage their students in the course content through interactive and participatory class activities that “connect the dots” between theory and real life. A teacher in Pennsylvania said: “It is my goal to incorporate pop culture as much as possible through video or images. It helps to connect the language of economics to what (the students) already know.” According to the survey, the digital tools and resources teachers find most valuable to support instruction include popular culture references (98%) and simulations (98%). The most used pop culture content includes videos, music, TV episodes, and social media including TikTok videos.
3. Look for alternative ways to meet short-term needs. Districts that struggle to hire qualified teachers for economics and personal finance can find creative ways to educate students until the gap is closed. For example, nonprofits such as Sensible School plan to offer inexpensive online economics courses this fall for high schools. These classes can be streamed into multiple classrooms that are staffed with proctors, enabling students in multiple schools throughout a single district or in various districts to take the course at the same time.
4. Tap into emerging state education programs. The need for qualified economics teachers is resulting in some innovative programs focused on training the next generation of economics instructors. Many state universities offer a master’s degree in economics for educators, and some are free for qualified teachers. For example, West Virginia University is offering a free master’s degree in economics education for high school social studies teachers in that state.

Making these resources available to teachers and removing roadblocks such as cost and time will result in more qualified teachers. There is no shortage of digital content and other resources available to districts today to use to support instruction, including teacher enrichment opportunities, free course packages, and online classroom instruction. Districts need to believe in the importance of economics instruction for today’s students and commit to making it happen.

More from DA: How edtech can solve a few of K12’s biggest non-technology problems

The post High school students are suffering from financial illiteracy. Here’s how to fix it. appeared first on District Administration.

The RAND Corporation, a nonprofit global policy think tank and research institute, recently published a report detailing how students in high-poverty districts don’t have access to advanced math courses compared to their counterparts. These inequities are established as early as middle school, according to the findings.

Using 2022 data from nationally representative surveys of principals and math teachers in grades K to 12, the researchers sought to explore students’ opportunities to prepare for and enroll in advanced math courses. Here’s what they found:

• Small high schools, those in rural areas and institutions that mostly serve students from traditionally marginalized communities provide fewer opportunities for students to take advanced math (e.g. precalculus and AP math).
• Uneven access to algebra I start before high school.
• Teachers in high-needs schools admit to skipping standards-aligned content more often and were more likely to replace what was scrapped with curriculum from prior grade levels compared to teachers in resource-abundant schools.
• A great number of teachers say they’re not able to devote as much time as they would like to math instruction in the 2021-22 school year; nearly 50% said they needed more support to deliver adequate math instruction.

“In the wake of the disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on students living in poverty and students of color, these results highlight a critical need for resources to support teachers and to license student access to advanced courses,” the report reads.

In light of these findings, the researchers offer four recommendations for school and district leaders to close the gap in this area:

1. Consider using federal and state funding to incorporate high-dosage tutoring programs for middle schoolers. This initiative should provide “high-quality support” to 8th graders taking algebra I and promote algebra I readiness for those not yet enrolled in the course.
2. Education leaders should support teachers by providing them with standards-aligned curriculum materials and training to help them understand which content is crucial for future learning.
3. Partner with postsecondary institutions to identify creative solutions to make advanced math opportunities accessible for all high school students, especially those in underserved communities.
4. Communicate honestly about the importance of course-taking—”the earlier, the better.”

More from DA: These 8 states have seen the largest post-pandemic drops in enrollment

The post Advice for smaller districts: Here are 4 ways to give students access to advanced math appeared first on District Administration.

Date & Time:  Thursday, April 20 at 2 pm ET

Redefining Ready is a national initiative launched by the AASA that has introduced new metrics to determine if students are adequately prepared for college, career, and life, while creating a more comprehensive assessment of student performance than standardized testing provides.  

Many states and districts are using these metrics to create a new “Portrait of a Graduate” that uses a more student-centered, holistic model of academic and career success.  

Attend this webinar with Scott Carr, a school leader and consultant with over 30 years of experience in education, to learn more about these new measures of readiness, and some strategies for creating your district’s own Portrait of a Graduate.  

Topics will include:  

• What new measures of student success are defined by Redefining Ready 
• How to refocus your school district on addressing readiness gaps  
• How custom student support plans can be used to track student progress toward readiness goals 
• How to create your district’s “Portrait of a Graduate” that better defines future readiness

Speaker:

By submitting your contact information, you are agreeing to receive communication from Otus.

Sponsored by:

The post Creating a Portrait of a Graduate: New Measures of College, Career, and Life Readiness appeared first on District Administration.

Academic standards, accountability requirements and assessment programs—what the RAND Corporation calls the basic infrastructure of K–5 social studies instruction—are inadequate in many states, the nonprofit research organization asserts in a new report. “Concerning trends in both the United States and around the world, such as truth decay, declining trust in institutions, increased political polarization, and abuses of political power, have only underscored the need to reinvest in the civic mission of schools,” says the report’s authors, whose key findings include:

• Districts and schools provided teachers with less support for social studies compared to English language arts, math and other core subjects. In the 2021–2022 school year, elementary principals reported offering less PD focused on social studies than on English, math, and science.
• Only half of elementary school principals said their buildings or districts had adopted published curriculum materials to support K–5 social studies instruction. Teachers, therefore, tended to “cobble together” or create their own social studies lessons.
• Principals whose schools offered more extensive teacher evaluations, professional learning activities, and curriculum guidance were more likely to report that teachers collaborated on social studies instructional practices.

“Over the past few decades, school systems have invested less in students’ civic development and more in academic and career preparation as educational priorities,” said Melissa Kay Diliberti, lead author of the report and assistant policy researcher at RAND. “Our findings suggest that inadequate state and local infrastructure focused on social studies instruction may have affected what elementary teachers did in their classrooms in 2021–2022.”

More from DA: Here is one way Democrats are firing back at GOP education plans

Just 16% of elementary teachers reported using a required textbook for most of their social studies instructional while about 30% of principals said their schools had not adopted social studies curriculum materials. “Even where state-level infrastructure to guide teachers’ instruction is in place, its comprehensiveness and quality vary greatly,” the authors added.

Political climates in various states are another barrier to comprehensive social studies instruction in K-5. While this has always had an impact on classrooms, educators have been increasingly intimidated by more recent pushes to restrict teaching about race, racism, discrimination, LGBTQ issues and gender identity.

Solutions for social studies instruction

To bolster instruction, district leaders can ramp up PD and teacher evaluation and feedback around social studies. Principals should commit more time to observing social studies instruction. “Principals might feel that they lack the expertise or content knowledge to identify high-quality social studies practices,” the report points out. “If so, district leaders should provide training, professional development, resources, or staff to principals to help them do that work thoughtfully.”

District leaders can also push state policymakers to develop more rigorous social studies standards that are based on national frameworks such as the C3 standards. This would likely lead to the adoption of more comprehensive social studies curriculum materials. In turn, more transparent assessments of the quality of these materials would encourage adoption by more teachers. District leaders might also prepare for states to impose tighter accountability measures around social studies achievement.

At the high school level, RAND’s researchers found more robust supports—such as teacher evaluations and instructional coaching—but that the subject still takes a backseat to English, math and other subjects.

The post Why social studies instruction may not be coming to the rescue appeared first on District Administration.

This year has already proven extremely difficult for teachers, leaders and students alike. From school safety to learning loss, K12 is suffering from long-lasting inequities that either stemmed from the pandemic or were exacerbated by it. Needless to say, state lawmakers made sure to tell their communities exactly how they will be approaching education for the foreseeable future.

Every year, the Education Commission of the States, an interstate agency that tracks educational policy, identifies trends in education policy accomplishments and proposals highlighted during every state leader’s speech. Education-related issues and celebrations were referenced frequently during Governors’ 2023 State of the State Addresses. This year, they narrowed down seven priorities that were brought up most often by state governors. Unsurprisingly, K12 funding was the most-addressed issue, an area that’s gained the attention of leaders and educators as the pandemic relief funding deadline looms.

As detailed in their “Governor’s Top Education Priorities in 2023 State of the State Addresses” report, these seven trends have been identified as the most-discussed education-related topics by state leaders:

1. K12 funding: At least 35 governors discussed increased investments in K12 schooling and adjustments to funding approaches. Over the last two years, funding has been identified as the number one issue.
2. Workforce development and career and technical education: At least 34 governors spoke of their efforts to strengthen support in this area, including apprenticeships and workforce participation specific to their state’s needs.
3. Teacher staffing: At least 29 governors spoke of their focus on teacher retention, recruitment and compensation. In 2023, leaders have gotten more specific with their proposals regarding this issue than in recent years by announcing specific percentage increases for teacher salaries and bonuses.
4. Early learning: Right behind teacher staffing falls early learning opportunities. At least 28 governors addressed an emphasis on childcare access and preschool opportunities.
5. Academic supports: At least 22 governors highlighted efforts to support student learning in areas such as reading and literacy, curriculum and student achievement.
6. Physical and mental health: An issue that ties directly to other outcomes like student behavior and academic success, 21 governors spoke of their efforts to support students and staff who are suffering.
7. Postsecondary affordability: Amid crippling inflation and students questioning whether or not college is right for them, at least 19 governors seek to create more affordable pathways for students to obtain a postsecondary education by reimagining strategies tied to financial aid, tuition and student debt.

“While governors seek to improve all sectors of their state, they regularly emphasize the impact that learning can have on a state’s economic growth and wellbeing,” the report reads. “As Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. of the U.S. Virgin Islands put it, ‘With the promise of prosperity on the horizon, there is nothing more crucial to our individual success than education.’”

More from DA: Only 25% of superintendents are women, but they do earn more than men in that position

The post Here are 7 education changes lawmakers promise for 2023 appeared first on District Administration.

While inequities in education existed prior to the pandemic, they’re more visible and pronounced now. In recent years, students have endured interrupted schooling, teacher and administrator resignations, and high-speed internet connectivity issues. These disruptions have thwarted learning and exacerbated stress. Learners are behind and feeling the pressure.

Most kids are barely able to think about the present, let alone what’s ahead. An estimated 10 million young people between the ages of 16 and 24 are lost—without a job or not in school. Every minute we are not focused on helping Gen Z find their way to a rewarding and productive work life, we fuel the issue and endanger their lives—and the future of our nation.

Of all the challenges our society faces right now, helping young people make informed, confident decisions about their futures must be our first imperative—and we know it can be done.

Exploration and experienced-based learning

Today’s teens are ill-equipped and too stressed to make sound decisions about life after high school and there’s a reason why. Research shows that approximately two out of three high school students and recent high school graduates feel they would have benefited from more career exploration in middle or high school. Many kids today simply do not have the information they need to make smart decisions about what to do upon high school graduation.

According to research, most high school graduates (75%) do not feel prepared to make college or career decisions after graduation. Educators agree; ASA research shows only a quarter of all teachers believe that their school is doing a good job preparing students for job opportunities.

Students may be bewildered about what to do after high school, but educators, parents, legislators, employers, and society should not be. We’re getting smarter about when and how to reach young people with information about post-high school pathways. We know the importance of enabling them to explore different career paths and learn about their options beginning in middle school. And we understand how critical it is to give them access to hands-on work experiences while they are in high school so they can gain skills and test and try different jobs.

Starting career exploration in middle school

If we wait until senior year in high school to talk about a student’s future (when they can least focus on it), we’re years too late. Research shows that career and self-exploration should begin as early as middle school when kids are less stressed and more curious about their future.

Once kids have explored career possibilities, high school, not college, is the time for hands-on experience through work-based learning opportunities like internships. They open students’ eyes to what’s possible and teach them skills while introducing them to real-world employer expectations, like showing up on time, asking thoughtful questions, and being prepared for work.

The best way to start changing this paradigm is by listening hard to what Gen Z has to say. We can’t help them by telling them what to do; we can only expose them to a wide range of options and see where they gravitate, what excites them, where they have questions, and where they’re engaged. If we begin by noticing and learning what they love to do and then point them in the direction of related career exploration resources, they’ll be well on their way to identifying viable, rewarding careers that suit their temperaments and talents.

Embracing multiple pathways to success after high school

We know that experienced, caring mentors can become career champions who help students explore with confidence. But none of this will happen until we change the collective mindset about postsecondary pathways that do not include college degrees. While college is the default for millions of high school seniors, our biases block many students from exploring  viable, diverse educational, technical training, and career paths.

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Imagine a world where students wouldn’t feel obligated to go to college because of pressure from parents, caregivers, and prospective employers. Where equitable access to an abundance of internships, micro-credentials, certificate programs, and apprenticeships enables students to tap into their passions and discover what careers and vocations might align with their interests and talents.

What if we got rid of the stigma associated with community college so students had more time to figure out what they really want to do (at a fraction of the cost of a four-year college)? What if we eliminated the negativity surrounding trade school, where students can develop skills that lead to lucrative trades they embrace with pride and passion? What if we gave all kids equal access to virtual internships so they could test and try careers before making decisions of great consequence? What if we gave every middle and high school student free unlimited access to a world of career exploration tools—on their mobile devices?

We are working to shift norms and foster these options, with an emphasis on student-directed, digital learning outside of the classroom. While we have a laser focus on this mission, we need many other influential organizations and individuals to join us in a shared sense of urgency.

Growing the digital ecosystem

No student should ever be made to feel unprepared and anxious about their future because they never had the opportunity to explore and experiment with a whole host of potential career and postsecondary options prior to making the all-important decision about what to do with their life after high school. While some of this career exploration can happen in the classroom, the most effective way to ensure these resources are available to young people on demand is by connecting with them directly via their mobile devices, tablets, and laptops.

If we expect these digital experiences to change students’ lives, we must set the bar high. Self-directed digital resources must be designed to reflect students’ interests, preferences, and passions. Moreover, if these online experiences ultimately are going to be successful in connecting kids with content, they must be designed to meet teens’ high expectations around user experience and design. They should enable young people to explore and imagine, on their own terms and in safe spaces. They should engage and foster continuous interaction while surfacing the most relevant information.

A new approach to an age-old problem

While much of the data suggests youth are fearful and uneasy, there is also optimism and hope. A majority of students still express an eagerness to explore who they want to be and find their place in the world. One study we conducted shows 87% of middle schoolers were interested in ways to match their specific skills and passions with potential careers. Let’s act on that.

We don’t have all the answers, but we have some of them—and we can work together to develop more.

We can forge partnerships among like-minded organizations creative enough and brave enough to come up with new ways that give students the inspiration and resources needed to start out on the right path. We can advance a legislative agenda that enables career learning in the classroom, access to internships, mentoring programs, and skills training. We can use technology, including social media, for the greater good—as tools that can be used to explore career options, cause advocacy, and life skills.

Using this technology, particularly on smartphones, we can help young people explore their interests and take action through career exploration beyond the classroom. We must work hard to remove the stigma that clouds decisions to consider non-degree pathways following high school.

If we want a productive society, if we want an empowered workforce that’s not on the brink of resigning, if we want to watch young people stretch and grow into passionate workers in whatever field they choose, we must pull together now to help them explore and plan for—not dread or avoid—their futures. With these efforts and more, we know we can help every student bring their future into focus.

The post How to ensure a brighter future: Prepare and empower our youth now appeared first on District Administration.

In July 2022, more than 500 tech and education leaders issued a call to action advocating for the expansion of computer science education opportunities for students. Less than a year later, K12 education technology has come much further than we anticipated.

On Tuesday, The AI Education Project, a nonprofit that aims to create equitable learning experiences through AI literacy, announced the rallying of higher education institutions and school districts across the country to bring AI education to every student with one common goal: to support students in becoming thriving workers, consumers, creators and citizens in the age of AI.

The recent surge in AI technology, like ChatGPT, has caused educators and district leaders to shift their focus to how such tools can be used in the classroom.

“aiEDU has been advocating for foundational AI education since 2019, but the sudden explosion of generative AI tools onto the scene has led to a huge wave of interest from educators and education leaders over the past few months,” said AI Education Project co-founder and CEO Alex Kotran in a statement. “Those who were around for the step change brought on by computers and the internet are experiencing a sense of déjà vu; it feels like we are once again on the cusp of a once-in-a-generation technological revolution, and it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that this is a really, really big deal—especially for students.”

According to a news release, several notable colleges, universities and K12 school districts have joined as catalyzing partners to advance AI education opportunities for students:

Colleges and universities

• The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
• Georgetown CSET
• The Bay Area Community College Consortium
• The University of Tennessee
• Ohio University
• Miami University
• The University of South Florida
• Milwaukee School of Engineering
• Skyline College

Notable K12 school districts

• Gwinnett County Public Schools, GA (180K students)
• Hamilton County Schools, TN (44K students)
• Anaheim Union High School District, CA (30K students)
• Akron Public Schools, OH (20K students)
• San Benito CISD, TX (10K students)

“We urgently need to help our schools and educators evolve learning strategies for the Age of Artificial Intelligence, and aiEDU has an ambitious plan to help them do just that,” said Tiffany Taylor, Chief People & Impact Officer at GSV Ventures, and aiEDU Board Member. “This might be the single most important challenge in the history of the U.S. education system, and no organization can solve the problem alone. The incredible coalition of partners that aiEDU has assembled validates its commitment to collaboration across the entire ecosystem.”

More from DA: These are 7 of the most disruptive forces in education

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Graduation rates appear stable for students who were in 11th and 12th grade when COVID struck. But the decreases in middle school enrollment and the extent of learning loss may foretell larger-than-predicted declines in graduation rates starting in 2025, wiping out the hopes of some observers for a modest increase in high school completion, the WICHE report found. Researchers also noted a “bulge” in the number of ninth graders that could be a sign of students being held back, indicating academic struggles that could also weigh on graduation rates.

Falling enrollment can, to some extent, be blamed on students shifting to homeschooling and private schools. But variability also reflects the greater impacts the pandemic has had on historically underserved and underresourced students, which could further sap the education pipeline. And, as most K12 leaders know, the nation’s youth population was declining prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

More from DA: These are 7 of the most disruptive forces in education in 2023 and beyond

The U.S. birth cohort shrank for 14 years consecutively, resulting in a 3% decrease in first- through fifth-grade enrollment by fall 2019 when 18.17 million students attended those grades, compared to fall 2015 which saw a peak of 18.75 million students. “The complex convergence of shifting age demographics, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and ongoing educational inequities make it increasingly difficult to determine the primary driving force behind changes in public school populations,” the report’s authors assert.

“Additionally, growing research suggests a significant number of enrolled students who may be falling behind or disengaging from schooling altogether, which would have an additional negative impact on high school graduate numbers.”

Education pipeline particulars

There was a disproportionate decrease in the number of white students in fall 2020 and fall 2021. White students, in fact, accounted for 75% of the overall nation’s public school enrollment decline during these two years even though they comprised less than half of public school enrollment in 2019. Enrollment of white ninth graders also dropped, indicating they may not have been held back in significant numbers.

On the other hand, public schools saw larger than expected increases in ninth-grade enrollment of Hispanic (+7%) and Black students (+6.7%). Total Hispanic enrollment was virtually unchanged from in fall 2020 to fall 2021 while Black student enrollment declined slightly each year. “A substantial portion of the public school enrollment declines may be students who shifted to other learning environments and not who have disengaged from school,” the report concludes. “It is unknown whether the level of homeschooling and possible shifts to private schools will be sustained.”

K-12 leaders are also encouraged to reassess and potentially refresh their plans for spending COVID relief funds as the enrollment picture becomes clearer.

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