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Guest Post: Kickstarting Innovation for ELLs and SPED Students

When I left my job as a software developer, my original intent was to become a third grade classroom teacher. But during my teacher-credentialing program, I became more interested in special education and felt that working with a wider variety of learners and abilities would make me a stronger and more versatile educator.I ended up as a middle school special educator in East Palo Alto, where I got to work alongside the […] Read more

Guest Post: Teaching in the Digital Age

 The upcoming NewSchools Summit features some stellar panels.  One you don’t want to miss is “Teaching in the Digital Age,” which will feature teachers from innovative school models, like School of One and Rocketship, mixed with teachers from traditional schools who are actively using technology in their classrooms. I’ll be moderating this discussion, and one of the questions I want to focus on is how the shift towards more technology has changed […] Read more

Summit 2012

“While the achievement gap between white and black students has narrowed significantly over the past few decades, the gap between rich and poor students has grown substantially during the same period… [Between 1970 and 2007,] the achievement gap by income had grown by 40 percent … while the gap between white and black students, regardless of income, had shrunk substantially.” — The New York Times “In 2010, 37 percent of … additional earnings went to just […] Read more

NewSchools Summit 2011: Sal Khan and Joel Klein

Technology has opened new ways for information—and lessons—to reach students. In a good-hearted and fast-moving conversation between Joel Klein, who recently left his post as Chancellor of the New York City schools to join News Corporation, and Sal Khan, author of more than 2,000 free, virally popular instructional videos, debate what the future of education will look like. Read more

Kaya Henderson and Reed Hastings at Summit 2011

In what many attendees considered the highlight of NewSchools Summit 2011, Carlos Watson moderates the closing keynote discussion between D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and Netflix Founder Reed Hastings. This widely respected district leader and nationally renowned innovator offer passionate and contrasting views on what it will take to accomplish wider change in public education. An unexpected—and now famous—handshake between the two makes this a session that shouldn’t be missed. Read more

NewSchools Summit 2011 in video

NewSchools Summit 2011 led the conversation about what’s new and what’s next in education. More than 800 participants joined sessions including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, legendary venture capitalist John Doerr, and DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson, as well as Khan Academy’s Sal Khan, Netflix founder Reed Hastings, and former New York City Public Schools Chancellor Joel Klein. We’ll be releasing full-length video of Summit keynotes sessions in the weeks to come. […] Read more

Design Thinking at Summit 2011: Mindsets for Everyday Innovation

Stanford d.school‘s Rich Crandall and Adam Royalty led an energetic session introducing techniques of Design Thinking and led Summit participants in immediately apply them in an interactive session at this year’s Summit. There were varying levels of comfort with, and understanding of, design thinking, but with a strict, clear process and deliberate steps everyone produced something tangible. The process of design thinking involves 5 steps in a loop, Rich and Adam explained […] Read more

Guest Post: Fresh faces and ideas from the EdTech Entrepreneurs Lab

 Summit attendees got a special treat this year: the opportunity to witness, participate in, and contribute to the next wave of entrepreneurial organizations poised to make a difference in the lives of America’s students at the EdTech Entrepreneurs Lab Pitch Session. Following the Summit’s theme of discovering what’s new and what’s next in education, the rapid-fire format gave entrepreneurs real-world experience pitching their ideas and raising capital—both essential to growing a successful […] Read more

Nick Ehrmann’s Rethinking Human Capital in Technology–Based Education

In his response to last week’s NewSchools Summit, Nick Ehrmann of Blue Engine gives a warning to those who would believe that ed tech will accelerate student learning in the absence of other fundamental shifts in the way that K-12 schools and classrooms are structured. It’s a terrific piece, although we hasten to add that NewSchools is enthusiastically interested in entrepreneurial work outside the education technology world—and particularly in organizations that integrate […] Read more