Recently I was asked to be on a panel with innovative leaders that are leading the work in different parts of the country. Mariama Shaheed in Indianapolis and Pedro Martinez in San Antonio. As we shared our challenges and successes of the work, I was inspired by their commitment in finding new ways of meeting the needs of the students.
Some of the challenges we all faced was getting the word out to our families. All schools have a history and families bring in their own perspective, but when you can work with the community, teachers and families big changes can be made. To make this shift happen, they looked out outside the box to engage the families. For the change to begin, you have to engage families in various ways, which includes, knocking on doors, attending farmer’s market and even holding Zumba classes in the park. Other challenges include convincing the district to look beyond the status quo and support unique models that are being requested by the families. It takes time, but after some compromise, understanding and support from the top, a new way of doing school happens.
The successes are beyond the academics, we have to include and probably should primarily include, parent and student satisfaction. How does one measure, parents happy to walk into the building? All of us were proud that we have created environments, where educators are empowered, schools are part of the community and we are producing results for our student. s It was a reminder that need to conform and provide for the families we serve and through innovation and innovation zones, we’re better able to meet the goal.
5 Ways to be inspired through innovation.
- Autonomy: By developing a comprehensive plan, that is created at the school level, we can focus on the our goals. With autonomy comes accountability but when districts focus on more customer service and less on compliance, positive changes wil..
- Educator Empowerment:
- Community Empowerment
- New Models
- Small and Nimble
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Be. Creative. Be. Intentional. Be. Innovative. Be. Beacon. . .
