Scholarship

Engaging students in impact-driven projects is one of the most effective ways to cultivate valuable skills while developing what Charles Fadel refers to as the key Drivers of learning: Motivation, Identity, Agency, and Purpose. These Drivers are increasingly recognized as essential in Education for the Age of AI, where adaptability and a sense of purpose […]

America’s education system was a groundbreaking effort to help a growing nation thrive in the 19th century. Now, 200 years later, the world has changed; the horizon looks drastically different. Collectively, we need to redesign our education system to enable all of our children — and, by extension, our nation —  to thrive today and […]

The New York Times ran a guest column last month by an English teacher calling for high school students to “do less so they can do better.” Student responses from three schools (two suburban public schools and one private school) on October 10 echoed the stressed-out, over-scheduled message. This well-intentioned plea to dial back expectations […]

Over the last five years, significant efforts emerged around the importance of durable or transferable skills. These durable skills (also called transferable skills or competencies) balance out the skills triangle (with core skills – reading, writing, math, and technical skills – skills particular to an industry or field comprise the other two sides of the […]

At Getting Smart, we believe that education is a powerful tool for honoring the diversity and rich history that has shaped the world we live in today. Hispanic Heritage Month (celebrated annually from September 15 to October 15) offers an important opportunity to celebrate the achievements, cultures, and contributions of Hispanic and Latinx communities in […]

In December 2023, the Educating All Learners Alliance (EALA) hosted a Community of Action with the intent to fund at least one project that could provide a solution to an identified challenge in the field of education related to students with disabilities and learning differences. At the end of 36 hours, each group pitched ideas […]

By Josh Schachter and Melinda Englert When 80 middle school students from Billy L. Lauffer Middle School, a Title I school in southeast Tucson, hopped off the bus at the University of Arizona, it was not for an ordinary field trip. Despite living just 10 miles away, for many students, this was their first time […]

By: Dr. Tyler Thigpen A buddy of mine, Paul, works for a major airline headquartered in Atlanta. The airline deploys him to examine new technologies. He assesses whether integrating them will improve plane flights and, if so, what the ripple effects are. Money, time, and lives are at stake. What a responsibility! As an education […]

By: Paul Herdman The U.S. Career Pathways Story: Federal Inspiration, Local Innovation In the last decade, the United States has seen a massive shift in the national consciousness around college and careers. Many of us in the education reform community were focused on a “Bachelor’s or Bust” mentality. That is, that the attainment of a […]

Two years after Universal ESA funding was introduced in Arizona, Phoenix has one of the most interesting and diverse portfolios of microschools in the country. They include district, charter, private schools, and homeschool cooperatives and are located in public schools, on college campuses, in storefronts, and in homes. They are all highly personalized and offer […]