Stories and Media Coverage

Read: Phyllis Lockett Interviews NGLC's Andy Calkins for Forbes

Some K-12 Systems Thrived During Covid-19. What Made Them So Prepared? Phyllis Lockett, Forbes, July 28, 2022

Beyond those key factors, the report also “spotlights the need for more learner-focused strategies and programs such as mentorship. Strong student-teacher relationships were critical for student success during the pandemic and for accelerating learning—particularly for those students most impacted by interrupted learning,” said Stewart Hudson, executive director of the Lowenstein Foundation, the project’s funder.

This article was included in a weekly roundup on schools and education policy in The74 and Yahoo News!

Watch: Prepared Project Ed Leaders Discuss Their Creative, Adaptive District Operations

These Schools & Districts Responded Adaptively and Creatively to COVID. Why? A Virtual Coffee with Ed Leaders, Schools That Can Virtual Forum, May 18, 2022
–Andy Calkins, Co-Director, Next Generation Learning Challenges (moderator)
–Nicole Allard, Executive Director of Educational Excellence and Innovation, Vista Unified School District, CA
–Theresa Ewald, Assistant Superintendent, Kettle Moraine School District, WI
–Jenny Finn, Founding Visionary, Springhouse Community School, VA

Participants & Findings Featured by The 74

What Kept Students, Staff Going During the Pandemic: Three Case Studies from New National Report, Marianna McMurdock, The 74, March 15, 2022.

Despite constant learning disruption, some U.S. schools achieved record-breaking graduation rates and student engagement during the pandemic, according to a new national report.

This piece was picked up by LA School Report and Yahoo News!

NGLC Highlights Key Storyline: Total Coherence between Vision, Learning Model, and Operating Model

Ed Leaders: Your Path Out of COVID to a Radically Better Future Is Hiding in Plain Sight, Andy Calkins, NGLC, March 15, 2022.

Here’s what we heard, over and over again: What’s true of the vision and learning model for the kids needs to be true of the professional culture and operating norms of the adults. To help students become capable, caring, self-directed learners and creative problem-solvers, these educators believe, their schools should deliberately model those same attributes for them—in their design of learning, for sure, but also in the ways the adults work together, address problems, design systems and procedures, and engage with the community.

This piece was also published on Getting Smart!

Stories from the Field

• Research Spotlight, Notes from the Evidence Project, Center for Reinventing Public Education, August 18, 2022
• Post-Pandemic Blended Learning: Looking Back, Looking Ahead, presentation led by Adam Watson, Shelby County Public Schools at KET Summer PD Day, July 13, 2022
• New Research for Schools that Might Change the Paradigm, hosted by Larry Jacobs, Education Talk Radio Podcast, April 25, 2022
• Breaking Down Command and Control in Schools—A Conversation with Andy Calkins and Carlos Beato, hosted by Jal Mehta and Rod Allen, Free Range Humans Podcast, April 6, 2022
• Beyond the Pandemic: How Public Schools Can Move Past COVID Gloom and Begin to Chart a Better Course, recording of virtual panel hosted by Susannah Johnson and Kapono Ciotti, What School Could Be, Tuesday, March 29, 2022, featuring:
  –Andy Calkins, Co-Director, Next Generation Learning Challenges
  –Don Haddad, Superintendent, St. Vrain Valley School District
  –Pam Betten, Chief Academic Officer, Sunnyside Unified School District
  –Chad Frade, Assistant Principal, The Urban Assembly Maker Academy
• Applying lessons from pandemic prepared schools, Thomas Arnett, Christensen Institute Blog, March 22, 2022
• Vodcast Series Highlighted in Next Generation Learning Challenges Report! Adam Watson's Edtech Elixirs, March 15, 2022
• Hansen: Critical Race Theory Debate Is a Distraction from the Real Issue—Making Schools Places Where Children Can Truly Be Themselves, Ulcca Joshi Hansen, The 74, October 12, 2021
• What do school districts credit for successful pandemic pivots? Shawna De La Rosa, K-12Dive, September 20, 2021
• Follow #PreparedProject on Twitter for more!

Photo at top by Allison Shelley for EDUimages, CC BY-NC-4.0