Redefining Ready: Preparing the Workforce of the Future

Listen in as Houston Kraft, co-founder of CharacterStrong and author of the upcoming book Deep Kindness joins the program to talk about strategies for being deliberate and intentional with social emotional learning in 2020 and beyond. We discuss the need for intentional SEL - particularly in 2020 considering all that's going on in the world and the social challenges presented by remote / hybrid learning and the challenges of truly connecting with students these days. Houston believes that social emotional learning concepts should be taught in concert with lessons on character, and that kindness can be taught and practiced to make a more pleasant world for all. Tune in for more strategies to implement with your students as well as information about CharacterStrong and Houston's upcoming book Deep Kindness.

Listen in as Diane Campbell, Director of College and Career Readiness at Liberty Common High School in Ft. Collins, Colorado joins the program to talk about her journey in the school counseling world and the innovative ways she engages her students in exploration and future planning. Key to Diane's success in motivating her students comes from the enthusiastic culture of curiosity she has built at Liberty Common. Students are kept on their toes, excited to engage with a wide variety of guests brought into school to discuss majors, careers, colleges, and alternative postsecondary options (including tattoo artistry and video game design!). Diane believes it's important to strike a balance between encouraging students to determine a focused pathway while also remaining open to additional discovery and investigation - especially considering the shifts currently occurring in the labor market and postsecondary education landscapes. While Liberty Common will be starting in-person this fall, we discuss the importance of being prepared to adjust and pivot at a moment's notice as well as the unique challenges students are presently encountering. Tune in for more!

Kat Pastor of Flagstaff USD in Arizona joins the program to talk about the unique challenges facing her district (in general and during the COVID era), how the district managed the crisis this past spring, and what the district is prioritizing for this coming year. Flagstaff USD has a significant Indigenous American population (specifically from the Hopi and Navajo nations), and Kat discusses how school shut downs presented disproportionate challenges for these students both academically and in terms of access to important resources that the school system provides. We discuss how high school counseling has changed in the past decade plus, promoting equity in college and career readiness, and the importance of using the right data to guide your counseling. Kat's commitment to her students is both admirable and inspirational. Tune in to listen to the whole interview!

Listen in as Mindy Willard and Robin Murphy from Madison Metropolitan School District join the program to share the innovative ways they're engaging their students and customizing graduation pathways to set students up for postsecondary success. Madison takes a holistic and community approach to exposing students to different career options. Work-based learning is a major emphasis in Madison, and the district partners with community and industry leaders to provide opportunities for students to connect their learning to real-world careers. Additionally, Madison's academic pathways allow students to specialize their studies around particular areas of focus that they are engaged and passionate about. Robin and Mindy also discuss how the district emphasizes portfolio creation and presentation, where students compile their learning into presentations that are then delivered to school and community leaders. Exciting stuff is certainly happening at Madison Metropolitan … listen in for more!

Listen in as Susan Hill, Director of College and Career Readiness at the School District of University City (Missouri) joins the program to discuss the “to and through” culture that University City has built around college and career readiness. At every level, University City consciously designs their curriculum and counseling framework through the lens of postsecondary preparation. Susan believes it is the job of all educators to “own the responsibility” when it comes to exposing students to postsecondary pathways and helping students align their interests to a pathway of best fit. A racially and socioeconomically diverse district, University City's commitment to their students does not end with graduation, and Susan and her team meticulously track student success six years out from high school - continually offering support and using the data to fine tune the district's approach. At University City, they own the responsibility at every level, try and remove barriers that may stand between their students and ultimate life success, and then let students' natural grit and resilience come to the fore and carry them through.

Listen in as Bernardo Garrido, Director of College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) at Jubilee Academies discusses how Jubilee has been able to instill a “college going culture” in its students that has led to a tremendous postsecondary track record of success for Jubilee graduates. A “college going culture” and district-wide focus on postsecondary success doesn't just happen on its own, and Jubilee has worked deliberately to create this mindset among its students and various levels of support staff. A K - 12 charter district, Jubilee is very intentional about exposing students to career clusters and professional opportunities at various age levels so that by the time students enter high school, forming a Personal Graduation Plan is relatively straightforward because students have already done a significant amount of thinking and planning regarding the graduation pathway they want to pursue. Bernardo and Rob talk about how Jubilee's partnership with SchooLinks helps counselors individualize their guidance for students, and how critically important it is for counselors and educators to lead with enthusiasm and provide positive mentorship for students.

During these unprecedented times, St. Vrain Valley School District has held their expectations around academic achievements and student outcomes steady. The district has engaged 98.7% of its students through a full spectrum of online learning channels with the help of the community, hardworking staff, and supportive families. In this episode, Superintendent Dr. Don Haddad discusses the secrete sauce behind their high engagement rates and their preparations for what the next school year will bring.

Steve Sarsany, lead High School Counselor from Beecher 200U in Illinois joins the program to talk about the importance of a data driven counseling process and connecting with community organizations to expose students to different postsecondary pathways. Beecher's program thrives on inter departmental collaboration to understand each student on an individual level. Through a collaborative team approach, Beecher is able to customize their counseling to meet each student where he or she is at and help each student follow their passions to find the best fit path after high school.

Listen in as Brian Mathieson and Morgan Parker join the program to talk about the culture of enthusiasm they have built around College and Career Readiness at Vancouver Public Schools. Vancouver takes a collaborative approach to the process with counselors and career specialists partnering to tailor their counseling to meet individual learners where they are. Following the motto of Enroll, Enlist, Employ, there is a postsecondary path out there for every student that should fall into one of those buckets. As the labor market is changing around us, success can no longer be defined simply by the percentage of students who are attending four year universities after high school. Communicating the abundant postsecondary possibilities to the entire school community is a constant process. So much more to this conversation! Listen in for more!

Corey Anderson, College and Career Counselor at Central Valley High School in Washington State joins our show to discuss the evolving definition of future readiness, how COVID 19 has necessitated innovation, and the importance of following a data driven process to move a counseling department forward. Corey talks about how he's adapted (and continues to adapt) his workflow to engage students and continue to provide them with top-notch resources during distance learning. In terms of future readiness, Corey talks about the importance of understanding the local employment landscape, the types of opportunities and training programs available as postsecondary options, and developing institutional connections with local industry partners to give students a complete picture of the various pathways available to them. Click the link and listen for more!

Scott Kerwien, Director of College and Career Readiness at Spokane Public Schools joins Rob Young of SchooLinks to talk about his district's adjustment to distance learning and the importance of aligning a student's pathway with a comprehensive understanding of that student's interests. Scott talks about the importance of understanding and appreciating the evolving labor market when making suggestions for students, and the need for adults to break through the traditional view that a 4 year college pathway is the "one size fits all" avenue toward success.

Justin Aglio, Director of Innovation and K-4 Academic Achievement, joins us to talk about how the core values of Montour School District create a culture of teacher autonomy and student-centered learning. To better understand learner needs, the district engages in challenge discovery and student shadowing. As a result of this engagement, MSD has structured its schools to encourage exploratory learning and even allows for 40 minutes of unstructured time for teachers to instruct on any topic of their choosing. MSD's culture also pushes self-discovery and agency through calculated risk-taking and the adoption of growth mindsets.

In this episode, Brianna Kleinschmidt, Principal of Benicia High School, discusses the power of changing from how to wow. This approach has defined her work at BHS as she has managed to integrate technology and other impactful resources without letting funding get in the way. She describes the power of servant leadership, community partnerships and school system collaboration to help her students become more college and career ready. We also discuss the importance of helping students with self-discovery before doing college and career matching. Listen in to hear our conversation about college brand bias and how it can be a barrier to students finding colleges that make the most sense for them.

This episode features Dr. Daniel Smith, Principal of Floyd E. Kellam High School in Virginia Beach. Growth mindset pervades Dr. Smith's work as he seeks to learn from both other school systems and his own students. With respect to his students, the school engages them in constant conversation for the strategic purpose of creating a shared vision and to better provide learning experiences that are relevant to their experiences. In terms of college and career readiness, Dr. Smith believes that developing the right mindsets in his students is more important just the act of providing resources. He is also seeking to empower his teachers through the autonomy with integrity approach.

This episode features Dr. Lynn Moody, Superintendent of the Rowan-Salisbury School System in Salisbury, North Carolina. Dr. Moody's present work centers on 3 critical actions -Building relationshipsLearning students' passions and interestsTailoring instruction around those passions and interestsDr. Moody has the courage to bluntly discuss the harsh realities of our education system through the lens of low-income students who have to overcome the pressures of poverty on the path to developing college-going confidence. We discuss philosophical differences with prioritizing standardized testing metrics over student self-discovery, as well as honoring the unique values and goals of individual communities. As part of the conversation, we also talk about how parental expectations for their students' education is sometimes clouded by their own experiences in school. Combining an old school approach of valuing teaching over testing with the new school reality that tech helps her students move forward, Dr. Moody is focused on transforming outcomes while honoring the individualism of each RSS student.

This episode features Irma Venegas, Director of KIPP Through College (KTC) in San Diego and Allison Ohle, Executive Director of KIPP San Diego. Irma and Allison are focused on providing students at KIPP San Diego's Adelante Preparatory Academy the guidance they need to persist through high school and onto college. That work focuses on building college-going mindsets and confidence in Adelante grads through college major and career interest discovery and the development of individualized education plans. At the same time, KIPP San Diego is working to empower parents in the college readiness journey through workshops and by simply treating parents as invaluable partners. Listen in as they also describe the SWAG program that provides soft skills development and mentorship opportunities to their KIPPsters.

This episode features Dr. Tim Bobrowski, the Superintendent of Owsley County School District in Booneville, Kentucky. As Dr. Bobrowski discusses, the push for innovation within OCSD has been largely spurred by a simple but powerful question?—?“why can't we do this?” This question is especially powerful within the economically depressed, rural area in which OCSD resides. As a League of Innovative Schools member and Kentucky-designated District of Innovation School, much of Dr. Bobrowski's work has focused on implementing a 24/7 digital learning plan that empowers his students to learn at all times while building the college mindsets and confidence needed to get to and through college. Listen in as he also describes the impact that has been realized in OCSD by switching from textbooks to open educational resources (OER).

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Michael Nagler, the Superintendent of Mineola Public Schools in Mineola, New York. Dr. Nagler's district had to first look at persistence data around MPS students who were enrolling in Nassau Community College. What the district discovered was that students were not demonstrating success along standard college and career readiness measures. The finding served as an impetus to innovate with the college and career resources being provided to MPS students. As a result, the district has increased its focus on STEM instruction and high-impact tech integration. Dr. Nagler also discusses how his district's Connect 2 College program and other community partnerships are positioning his students to become more college and career ready.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Patricia Deklotz about the value of change management theory and the strategic use of education technology. Dr. Deklotz values technology that is able to provide her teachers with consistent, high-quality formative feedback about students. She also discusses why she values student growth data more than outcome data. As the Superintendent of Kettle Moraine School District in Wisconsin, she oversees the district's Learning Without Boundaries that actively accounts for student voice in determining how to best personalize instruction to meet the learning needs of all students.

This episode features Dr. Ashley Leyba, Founding Head of School at BASIS Independent Fremont. She discusses the power of giving teachers a lot of autonomy and developing student engagement through social-emotional learning. Dr. Leyba is focused on developing a growth mindset within her students and invests families by strategically explaining why her school is implementing its initiatives. Listen in to hear about how the school is valuing skill-based learning with international benchmarking over traditional content-based mastery.

This episode features Dr. Cotton, the Superintendent for Henry County Public Schools in Collinsville, Virginia. Dr. Cotton shares insight into how his district is both tech-driven and student-driven at the same time. We discuss how technology can be a game changer in providing more equity in the college admissions process. His caveat is that technology has to be used at a high level in a way that allows for immediate and consistent feedback to students. He also strengthens student voice in the process by applying their feedback in decision-making around course offerings and relationship-building between teachers and students.

Scott Habeeb, Principal of Salem High School in Salem, Virginia, joins us to discuss how a design-forward focus is helping students to discover themselves through the school's Interest Pathways program. Scott highly values student ownership and the development of soft skills while individualizing learning to meet each student's academic needs. Listen in to hear his take on innovating first and asking for permission later when it is in the best interests of students.

In this episode, Steve Murley, the Superintendent of Schools for the Iowa City Community School District in Iowa City. A central focus of this episode is on how to leverage community partnerships to impact his students' college and career readiness. Through partnership with local universities and businesses, students are able to gain more exposure. At the same time, he shares concern about the ability to help students transition from an abstract understanding of different careers to one that is more concrete and informed.

In this episode, we speak to Kathy Gomez, the Superintendent of Evergreen School District in San Jose, California. She discusses her district's push to use technology to increase rigor and optimize student learning experiences. Using a framework called “Defining Student Outcomes,” ESD is actively redefining the expectations for student learning to align with current shifts in the area of college and career readiness. She is also approaching her work through the lens of her migrant students as demonstrated by the district's pilot program to provide them with laptops they can use at home.

Dr. Dallas Dance, former Superintendent of Baltimore County Schools, talks with us about how to address barriers between teachers and students by focusing on what it means to have a culturally competent approach to teaching students who come from different backgrounds. Dr. Dance also carefully stresses that the role of the counselor is to bridge that cultural gap by truly showing that they care. Likewise, he discusses the importance of connecting what is happening at school and home to what students will have to face in the real world that awaits them after high school.Through his work in education, Dr. Dance has also had to oversee organizational change management initiatives that have provided him with insight into what organizational readiness truly means. He is leveraging those insights in his current work to help equip classrooms across the country with the tools needed to build digital citizenship. 

Dr. Bart Rocco, Superintendent of Elizabeth Forward School District, joins us to discuss how his small district has been able to rethink how it operates in the midst of statewide budget cuts within Pennsylvania. EFSD began pushing tech forward within the district by leasing technology and partnering with local businesses and philanthropies to develop its data infrastructure. As a result, EFSD has been able to serve as a model for other districts in the state looking to innovate in the area of tech integration and data management. Listen in as Dr. Rocco describes how it was able to share and collaborate with other organizations like Carnegie Mellon University and The University of Pittsburgh to transition his school system from a closed one to an open one.

Ned Kirsch, Superintendent of Schools of Franklin West Supervisory Union, joins us to discusses interdisciplinary educational models and teacher-driven professional development structures. Ned also discusses how FWSU is able to drive forward thinking within the district by learning from other school systems that are members of the League of Innovative Schools. Listen in as Ned also talks about how to show student proficiency through evidence, as well as the importance of finding and applying data that attests to which students are completing college and what factors are helping them do so.

Ann Linson joins us to discuss what it means to prepare prepare students for the real world within the context of a standardized testing driven culture. As Superintendent of the East Noble School Corporation in Indiana, she emphasizes the need to teach students the soft skills needed to develop learner agency as a part of college readiness. Ann emphasizes the value for students in learning from failure in the process. Listen in as she also describes the use of project-based learning and career exploration to encourage student self-discovery.

Dr. John Hutton, Superintendent of Gurnee School District 56 in Illinois, joins us to discuss how the tech focus within his district is positively impacting student outcomes. As an ISTE Distinguished District Award winner and member of the League of Innovative Schools, GSD 56 has used Title I funding to provide access to WiFi within student homes. By leveraging data analytics to target interventions for RTI students, the district is working to both reach all learners and build learner agency by providing constant feedback to students.

Mary Claire Kasunic, President of Oakland Catholic High School, joins us for a discussion about the mission-driven culture that is building women leaders of tomorrow. Mary is cognizant of her responsibility to help mold Oakland Catholic students into tech-competent, globally-minded adults. As a means to that end, she discusses the value of adopting an interdisciplinary approach to learning that emphasizes design thinking and experiential learning over specialization.

Shannon Kelly, Director of Upper School at Mount Madonna School in California, shares a fresh perspective that focuses on viewing students more holistically in their educational journeys. With a campus that is located in an intentional yoga community on 355 acres of land, students at Mount Madonna engage in an educational path that focuses on developing self-awareness and global-mindedness. Shannon bluntly discusses her belief that universities are not doing enough to take into consideration student character in the college admissions process.

In this episode, we get to speak with Tommy Reddicks, the Executive Director of the Paramount School of Excellence. The Paramount School of Excellence sits on 5.5 acres of farmland that is located in the inner city. Tommy believes in an interdisciplinary approach to career readiness that involves hands on learning on the farm. As a result, the Paramount School is developing its students into environmental stewards whom actively apply their learning at school.

Dr. Harding is the Superintendent of Mountain View Los Altos High School District in Mountain View, CA. Both Mountain View High School and Los Altos High School have received the Gold Award from the U.S. News & World Report. The district also boasts a 98% college going rate for the its graduates. A focal point of this episode is on building career readiness through local partnerships with companies like LinkedIn and Adobe. With a specific mission to build confidence within students from low-income backgrounds, Dr. Harding discusses his belief that educators have a moral imperative to support ALL students.

In this episode, we speak with Robert Mendoza, Headmaster of Fairmont Preparatory Academy in California. With a school population that contains 67% international students, Fairmont is working to prepare its unique student body to handle the rigors of college. Recognizing that student needs vary, Fairmont strategically places different cohorts of students within learning programs that are tailored to their different learning needs. The process is working as 92% of the school's students are getting into top 100 colleges.

In this episode, Steve Ford discusses how innovation was applied toward narrowing the opportunity gap for his students at Highland High School. He is now the Principal of Academies of the Antelope Valley Charter School. Remarkably, Steve has been able to apply the process of design thinking to get his students full ride scholarships to universities they would have been otherwise unable to afford. Listen to his story as he describes how he has been able to teach his students startup methodology and entrepreneurship while helping them craft their powerful narratives to get the attention of colleges.

The Path to Higher Ed is a SchooLinks hosted podcast community that explores trending topics and issues in the area of college and career readiness. Our featured guests are pushing education forward by constantly learning from, innovating and applying their college and career readiness practices.

In this episode, we discuss design thinking with Nicole Cerra, Co-Founder and Director of Learning at Design Tech High School in San Mateo, California. The focus of the conversation centers on the impact that can be generated through constant iteration and technology experimentation. These tenets of design thinking pervade the school culture and are manifested in coding instruction, environmental design projects, and a Makerspace. Looking through the lens of a Design Tech HS student, there is a clear vision of student success by way of the unique self-discovery and differentiated learning opportunities offered through technology integration. As Nicole stresses, students need to apply their digital experiences in real-world scenarios in order to ensure the highest-level synthesis of learning.

In this episode, Sharon Howell, Head of School at Indian Springs School in Indian Springs Village, Alabama, talks with us about the value of character development in college readiness. With a perspective that is informed by experience working for Harvard in higher education, Sharon believes that students experience a lack of college readiness when they become too focused on external and outcome-oriented motivations. While subscribing to the John Dewey model of education, Sharon seeks to maintain a culture that revolves around student democracy and ownership.

This episode with Jason Roderick, Director of Counseling Services at the Providence Country Day School in Rhode Island, focuses on the social and emotional aspects of college readiness. Often times we become so wrapped up in the academic factors of college readiness that we forget students are also experiencing an emotional journey on that path. Fortunately, there are counselors like Jason who go above and beyond to let his students know that they are already successful just by honoring and being who they actually are. By discussing the level of anxiety that students experience in the journey toward high school graduation, as well as what can be done to support them in self-exploration, Jason provides a powerful voice in the education conversation.

Dr. Paul Gothold, the new Superintendent for the San Diego County Office of Education, dives into his views on what can be done to provide more equity in our education system for all learners. The implementation of these views led to remarkable success in bridging the opportunity gap that existed during his previous role as Principal of Lynwood High School in California. He discusses the moral imperative that educators have to keep at-risk students in school instead of suspending or expelling them when they are struggling with disenfranchisement from the education system. With an eye toward restorative justice and meeting more than just the academic needs of his students, Dr. Gothold is ready to embrace the challenges of his new position with a student-centered, heart-driven approach.

In this episode, Dr. Todd Cutler discusses the level of commitment that his staff has toward students in the Winters Joint Unified School District. As a superintendent, Dr. Cutler is focused on leveraging his community's commitment to its students to executing a vision of career readiness that empowers students to thrive after graduation. With a focus on career exploration through exposure and experience, WJUSD understands the necessity of student self-discovery.

In this episode, Dr. Dan Stepenosky, Superintendent of Las Virgenes USD, talks to us about how his district is constantly iterating its educational models to meet the evolving needs of students. More specifically, Dr. Stepenosky details how Las Virgenes USD has changed its graduation requirements to increase the rigorous preparation needed to ensure college readiness. Dr. Stepenosky's perspective is very appreciated since he is concerned with the outcomes of all students in California, not just those within his own school district. Beyond just college readiness, he has also concentrated a lot of his efforts toward ensuring the social and emotional well-being of his students.

In this episode, we talk to Dr. Philip Hickman, Superintendent at Columbus City Schools in Mississippi. Dr. Hickman talks about how he was able to strategically and intentionally leverage data to provide transformative interventions for at-risk students. By communicating our mutually shared belief that no student should be forgotten about, he is able to connect to the heart-driven mission behind choosing to work in education: all students deserve the opportunity to pursue lives that are meaningful to them.

In this episode, we talk to Jo Thoburn, President and CEO of the Fairfax Christian School. This episode revolves around her strategies for building a school culture where college readiness is engrained as an expectation in every student's mind. With thoughtfulness and a perspective informed from exposure in both the for-profit and nonprofit worlds, Jo recognizes that “right fit” often means different things to different students.

In this episode, we talk to Scott Reisinger, Head of School of the Trevor Day School in New York, NY. By stressing the importance of inquiry-based learning, students at Trevor Day are placed at the center of student empowerment and agency in the education process. With a keen eye on the college and career trajectories of his students, Scott discusses the consequences of teaching students as if they are all “linear learners.” Instead, he takes the backwards design approach by first engaging students in a gradual K-12 self-discovery process.

In this episode, we speak with Melinda Bihn, Head of School at French American International School and International High School. As Melinda explains, a bilingual education uniquely prepares students to take on the world by building cross-cultural cognition. This conversation explores how cross-cultural cognition positions her students to become more critical, globally-minded thinkers through their interactions with other cultures. As a result, Melinda considers her students to be “little anthropologists” as they become deeply comfortable with adapting to many different cultural contexts.

In this episode, we talk to Eric Rauschkolb, Principal of Niwot High School outside of Boulder, Colorado. Eric's work at Niwot led to him recently being named the 2017 Colorado Secondary School Principal of the Year by the Colorado Association of School Executives. Although around 90% of Niwot graduates pursue a postsecondary education, Eric expresses concern that students in general do not always know themselves well enough at a young age to determine right fit colleges and careers. This is an important observation that drives Eric to meet students where they are at so that they are the determiners of their life trajectories.

In this episode, Nicholas Kim, Executive Director of Summit Public Schools. As part of working within sociodemographically diverse communities, Nick recognizes that family engagement is critical toward getting his students to college. In order to further the impact within Summit, a growth mindset is critical toward setting students up to be prepared for rigorous college-level work. The mentorship program within Summit's college readiness program provides students with advocate mentors who support students to find educational paths and careers that are aligned with what students are individually passionate about.

In this episode, Gabriella Rowe, Head of School at The Village School in Houston, Texas. With an eye toward getting her students to take ownership over their college readiness process, Gabriella recognizes the importance of a student's self-discovery process. Listen in as she discusses the critical distinction between choosing linear career pathways versus right fit careers.

In this episode, we speak with Kathie Brown, Principal of Holy Family Catholic High School in Victoria, Minnesota. Holy Family Catholic strives to support students by helping them figure out what their long-term goals are. An example of this the school's Leadership Institute that exists to provide students with resources they need to engage in self-discovery, as well as the moral dimensions of servant leadership.

In this episode, we speak with Luthern Williams, Head of School at New Roads School. Luthern talks about some important considerations to keep in mind when trying to remain student-centered. By emphasizing the importance of self-reflection, New Roads encourages its students to have a sense of wonder and the freedom to make choices in their education. By beginning this journey of giving its students passion projects starting in Kindergarten, New Roads is positioning its students from a very early age to learn over time how to use their voices for good.