States are using flexibility in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to embrace and advance student-centered concepts. Throughout recent months, KnowledgeWorks team has been pouring over state plans to find common themes and bright spots in personalized learning. Our interactive map shares our findings thus far.
Later this week, KnowledgeWorks Vice President of Policy and Advocacy Lillian Pace will share further insight during a webinar with the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). To learn more, we asked Lillian for some more information about the webinar and what attendees will learn.
Q: What can attendees expect to learn during the webinar?
A: My goal with this webinar is to help attendees better understand the trends we are seeing across state ESSA plans to advance personalized learning. This includes a deep dive around accountability, school improvement, educators and leaders, and supporting all students. In addition to that information, I hope attendees will identify state examples that peak their interest and deserve more exploration. I also hope attendees will leave energized by the real possibility of a national shift toward personalized learning. States are deeply interested in this work and they will need the support of the public, policymakers, business, community leaders, and advocacy organizations to ensure their success in the hard work ahead.
Q: Why is this an important conversation right now?
A: ESSA gave states an incredible opportunity to redesign education systems that better align to their own vision for student success. All 50 states have been hard at work over the past 18 months engaging with stakeholders to design these new systems, asking critical questions such as “What is the profile of a successful graduate in our state and how do we measure that?”, “How do we design a system that feels less compliance-based and more empowering?” and “What new programs or strategies can we put in place to support each student’s success?” These are big questions that many states have addressed in compelling ways. In fact, personalized learning has been a very popular focus are for states. As states embark on this transition, it’s important for all education stakeholders to better understand how states are rising to the challenge.
Q: Why should people register for the webinar?
A: This webinar is a great way to avoid months of research and analysis reading through 50 state ESSA plans to discover bright spots for personalized learning. The KnowledgeWorks policy and communications teams have done the heavy lift for you – creating a great digital resource that captures all of this data. By registering for the webinar, you get the condensed version and still have time to build your own strategy for advancing personalized learning. How about that for efficiency! Hope to see you on the webinar!
