New Pathways: Boston Logistics Venue: The Foundry 101 Rogers St, Cambridge, MA 02142 Lodging: Residence Inn by Marriott Boston, Cambridge229.00 USD per nightCheck In: Sunday, October 05, 2025 after 4:00pmCheck Out: Tuesday, October 07, 2025 by 12:00pm Last Day to Book : Friday, September 12, 2025 Transportation: We don...

How can every learner access a pathway to productive citizenship?

Join us in Boston Oct 6–7 for the New Pathways Convening, a two-day experience connecting educators, CTE directors, and innovators.
Limited spots—register today!

🔗 www.gettingsmart.com/new-pathways-convening-b...

Michael Stone & Kristen Burrus on Bridging Learning to Careers Revolutionizing STEM education through fab labs and essential skills, Chattanooga educators share how innovation bridges learners to real-world opportunities.

What if project-based learning could launch careers? 🎙️ Discover how Fab Labs are doing just that in our latest podcast:
www.gettingsmart.com/podcast/michael-stone-kr...

Town Hall: The State of AI Explore the latest on AI literacy, GPT-5 advancements, and how states are leading in education innovation and workforce preparation.

🤖 States are stepping into the AI conversation.
During our most recent Town Hall, leaders discussed how AI is shaping schools today and the big questions we need to ask for the future. #AIInEducation
🎧 Read + listen: www.gettingsmart.com/podcast/town-hall-the-st...

Transforming Teaching: Mindsets That Move Us From Control to Agency Discover how shifting educator mindsets from control to agency can empower learners to thrive in a fast-changing, AI-driven world.

Transforming Teaching: Mindsets That Move Us From Control to Agency www.gettingsmart.com/2025/07/29/t... via @gettingsmart.bsky.social

Why Institutions Must Fix Their Data Before AI Defines Them 150 Character Summary: Institutions must ensure accurate data to prevent AI from misrepresenting credentials, affecting prospective students' decisions.

How might we use AI to deepen, not distort, what we know about learners?

Without clean, connected, and learner-centered data, AI may lock in outdated definitions. Policy can lead the shift.
Read more: www.gettingsmart.com/2025/06/23/w...
#EdPolicy #AI

In Dallas, a Big Thought is Brewing About How Cities Can Help Their Children Grow Explore how Big Thought in Dallas fosters learner-centered ecosystems, empowering youth like KJ through creative outlets.

Kids don’t grow with school alone—just like flowers need more than dirt. In Dallas, Big Thought is showing how cities can act like ecosystems: nurturing youth with access, expression, and support. Let’s rethink where and how kids thrive. www.gettingsmart.com/2025/06/17/i...

Generations of Making “the World the Way it Ought to Be” | A Conversation with Generations of Jeffco Open School Explore the transformative educational model at Jeffco Open School, emphasizing student agency and learner-centered design. Discover how experiential learning empowers students to own their education ...

What if school wasn’t just preparation for life, but life itself?
Jeffco Open School has been living that truth for decades, inviting learners of all ages to shape the world as it ought to be.
Listen in and learn from a generational legacy of purpose.
www.gettingsmart.com/2025/06/09/g...

Catching Up! | An AI Research and Leadership Framework, Humanities 2.0, and Incentivizes that Fuel Communities of Learning Explore AI in education, applied humanities, and innovative learning spaces in this insightful podcast episode with Nate McClennen and Mason Pashia.

What do AI, leadership, and something called “Educational Jazz” have in common? They all collided in one joyful, thought-provoking convo. Catch up with us as we explore learning that’s as human as it is high-tech. Listen now: www.gettingsmart.com/podcast/catc...

“Education isn’t in conversation with our new reality.”
In Confronting Education, Will Richardson urges us to stop tinkering at the edges and start confronting truths. This is a call to reconnect.
www.gettingsmart.com/2025/06/04/confronting-e...

BB Ntsakey and Kelly Niccolls invite us to rethink assessment, not as a system of measurement, but as a process of discovery. This episode challenges assumptions and opens the door to something more human.
www.gettingsmart.com/podcast/bb-ntsakey-and-k...

Victoria Andrews is pure joy, and now she’s featured in VoyageHouston! As Partner, Professional Learning, she leads with laughter, purpose, and big energy. Her story is full of heart. Read it and smile:
voyagehouston.com/interview/life-work-with...

Microschools Are Not Just a Trend, They’re A Turning Point Gist, Vander Ark and Vodicka: Public school districts should offer microschools to serve students, empower educators, and address community needs.

Gist, Vander Ark, and Vodicka argue microschools aren’t a trend. These learner-centered models reflect a shift toward relevance, flexibility, and equity in education. Are we paying attention?
www.the74million.org/article/microschools-are...

We Asked A Student in 2040 What Living with An LER is Like—Here’s What She Said Explore how Learner Employment Records (LERs) shape education and careers in 2040, detailing a student's journey through digital credentialing.

What if credentials showed the abundance of who a learner is becoming?

In this imagined 2040 reflection, a student shares what it was like growing up with an LER. Not a record of limitations—but of life, learning, and possibility.

www.gettingsmart.com/2025/06/02/w...

Using Artificial Intelligence to Enhance Instructional Coaching and Teacher Reflection Explore how AI-powered coaching enhances instructional coaching, teacher reflection, and professional growth in schools.

AI for coaching? Yup.

It listens better than your last mentor, tracks your talk time, and gives feedback without a single passive-aggressive email.

Here’s how it’s enhancing teacher reflection:
www.gettingsmart.com/2025/05/29/u...

#AIinEducation #InstructionalCoaching #TeacherPD

From Clusters to Culture: Sustaining Readiness Through MAP(s) Embedding career readiness into district culture ensures sustainable pathways for students, transforming readiness into systemic practice.

Career readiness shouldn’t be siloed. It should be cultural. This new post explores how districts are using MAPS—Micro-credentialing, Advising, Pathfinding, and Scheduling—to embed readiness into the fabric of learning. What’s working in your system?
www.gettingsmart.com/2025/05/27/f...

Voices of Small Schools Podcast: Sustainability Explore microschool sustainability with insights from leaders on financial planning, equity, and leadership succession.

Can small schools teach us how to sustain what matters? This episode explores how they balance innovation with long-term impact. Our ask: What’s your definition of sustainability in education today? Listen & reply.

www.gettingsmart.com/podcast/voic...

Leading With Learning: A Webinar Series Full of Guidance for District Leaders A webinar series by C!E and Getting Smart equips district leaders with strategies to navigate political challenges and foster inclusive community visioning.

Education leaders have a powerful role to play in shaping policy.

This blog encourages us to move from the sidelines to the center, sharing ways to influence systems that support learners and educators.
www.gettingsmart.com/2025/05/23/m...

#EducationLeadership #PolicyMatters #StudentSuccess

In North Carolina, a Sea of Oxygen Bubbles -- Spreading Across the State’s School Districts SparkNC is transforming education in North Carolina by creating learner-centered, tech-focused environments that empower students to explore and innovate.

North Carolina’s “oxygen bubbles” aren’t experiments. They’re proof that transformation can start anywhere. 13 districts. No top-down mandate. Just real change, rooted in community. Time to stop waiting for permission.
www.gettingsmart.com/2025/05/22/i...

Jamie Merisotis on Human Work in the Age of AI Explore AI's impact on work and education with Jamie Merisotis on the Getting Smart Podcast. Understand how credentialing drives economic prosperity.

What makes human work…human in an AI age?

Jamie Merisotis joins us to explore why skills like empathy, collaboration & judgment are more important than ever.

Listen to the conversation on rethinking readiness:
www.gettingsmart.com/podcast/jami...

#AI #FutureOfWork

Why Evidence Is Everything in An AI World Authentic documentation builds trust, agency, and learning in an AI-driven world, encouraging process-driven education.

In an AI-powered world, evidence beats empty credentials. Employers and algorithms want proof: projects, portfolios, and skills in action. We break down why learning visibility matters more than ever:
www.gettingsmart.com/2025/05/21/w...

How do we lead through complexity—with purpose, not panic?

Tom Vander Ark, Michael Fullan & Dr. Kaleb “Kofi” Rashad explore coherence, joy & human-centered leadership in this bold new podcast.

Listen now: lnkd.in/gdi55Wsc
#GettingSmart #SystemChange

Public Microschool Playbook At this pivotal moment in American education, public microschools provide a transformative approach to meet the evolving needs of learners and the rapidly changing demands of the workforce.

Ready to lead the next wave of public education? The Public Microschool Playbook provides practical steps for district leaders to create small, agile learning environments. Get your free copy today. bit.ly/public-micro...

Why are we still testing students on stuff they’ll never use?

One Stone is reimagining assessment to measure what actually matters—agency, collaboration & real-world skills.

Hear from Celeste Bolin + two bold student voices on the pod. #StudentAgency #GettingSmart

What is the Evolving Role of Future Educators? Explore the new educator responsibilities in classrooms that enhance learning through technology and personalized experiences.

“Educator” used to mean content expert.
Now it means designer, connector, navigator, advocate, innovator.

So why are we still preparing them like it's 1995?

It’s time to reimagine the pipeline.
gettingsmart.com/2025/05/05/what-is-the-evolving-role-of-future-educators

State Education R&D: A Catalyst for Innovation, Continuous Improvement, and System Transformation State education R&D investment in education fosters personalized, competency-based learning and innovation for enhanced learner outcomes.

State education systems weren’t built for innovation—but they could be. It’s time for states to lead with R&D, design for the future, and stop managing the past.

Here’s how we rethink the role of state agencies:
www.gettingsmart.com/2025/04/28/s...

Lifelong Learning as Abundant Learning Explore how expanding education systems to serve all ages can transform funding and foster abundant, lifelong learning.

If learning is for life, why do we fund education like it expires at 18?

Mason Pashia flips the script: maybe it's not a funding problem — it's a mindset problem.

Time to build learning ecosystems, not pipelines.
🔗 www.gettingsmart.com/2025/04/24/l...

Didn’t expect to get inspired at the Indy airport, but the murals, exhibits & museum collabs had us thinking: airports are perfect spaces for student-driven, client-connected projects. Innovation doesn’t wait in classrooms—it boards early. ✈️ #RealWorldLearning

Robotics is transforming how students learn and lead. Join us May 1 for a dynamic Town Hall on how schools are using robotics to foster real-world skills in innovation, coding, and collaboration.

Register here: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
#RoboticsEd #FutureOfLearning #GettingSmart

What if schools weren’t just places of learning—but places of *unlearning* outdated systems? In this powerful convo, Will Richardson challenges us to confront collapse and rethink what school should be. Listen now: www.gettingsmart.com/podcast/will...

Town Hall: Built for More Explore how Out-of-School Time (OST) programs prepare youth for a dynamic workforce through skill-building, creativity, and real-world experiences.

What if learning spaces weren’t just where students go, but where they grow? Our latest Town Hall recap dives into how communities are co-creating spaces that reflect purpose, belonging, and real-world relevance.
Listen here: www.gettingsmart.com/podcast/town...
#BuiltForMore #LearnerCentered