1he lncreased focus on college and career readlness, comblned wlLh Lhe complexlLy of Lhe challenges assoclaLed wlLh Lhe Loplc, have led Lo a rapldly expandlng college and career readlness communlLy, rlch wlLh resources yeL repleLe wlLh confuslon."
- naLlonal Plgh School CenLer l
1he real lssue ls wheLher a declslon of Lhls naLure should be lefL solely or prlmarlly Lo Lhe sLudenLs ln Lhe flrsL place and wheLher Lhe adulLs really know enough abouL sLudenL poLenLlal and capablllLles Lo make such cholces."
- uavld Conley ll
A decade ago, few people menLloned College and Career 8eadlness, Loday, lL pops up everywhere. lL ls, dare l say, an educaLlonal buzzword. 8uzzwords Lend Lo llve ln a dangerous space LhaL lnvlLes one of Lwo exLreme reacLlons from educaLors - uncrlLlcal alleglance or unwarranLed cynlclsm. unforLunaLely, boLh reacLlons dlmlnlsh Lhe meanlng and slgnlflcance of Lhe ldea. College and career readlness has a very speclflc meanlng ln Lhe new 1ech neLwork (n1n). WhaL n1n means when we say college and career readlness ls LhaL every graduaLe of a new 1ech school leaves #8#4+, +('1'9(+, and :4+:#4+3 Lo pursue posL-secondary educaLlon or Lralnlng. Powever, wheLher or noL Lhe goal of college and career readlness for all sLudenLs ls ;+#2'217<( flows from Lhe way we seL abouL Lhe work of achlevlng LhaL goal, noL lLs deflnlLlon. As parL of Lhe new 1ech neLwork you wlll have many opporLunlLles Lo learn abouL all of Lhe deLalls around college and career readlness and how Lhe new 1ech model allgns wlLh LhaL end. Powever, Lhe goal of Lhls arLlcle ls noL Lo deLall Lhe research behlnd Lhe ldea or auLhorlLaLlvely deflne lL. My alm ls Lo arLlculaLe some foundaLlonal ldeas LhaL lnform how we (Lhe new 1ech neLwork) go abouL Lhe work. My focus ls on whaL lL wlll Lake Lo achleve college and career readlness for each of our sLudenLs. 8efore we can geL Lo LhaL, we need Lo acknowledge Lwo Lhlngs abouL Lhe goal of college and career readlness for all. llrsL, '$ '6 #2 #<3#.',<6 1,#(. 1he Amerlcan hlgh school was noL orlglnally deslgned Lo educaLe all sLudenLs Lo Lhls level. ?eL, Lhe maln reason for lLs audaclLy ls LhaL lL has never been accompllshed before. AL Lhls momenL, lL ls an asplraLlonal goal more Lhan an operaLlonal one. 8efore Loo much pesslmlsm creeps ln, remember LhaL we pursue blg goals because Lhey are worLhy of our besL energy and aLLenLlon, noL because we already know how Lo achleve Lhem. Second, '$ '6 #."'+/#9(+. Whlle accompllshlng lL wlll requlre an ongolng efforL Lo re-lmaglne Leachlng and learnlng, lL ls lmporLanL Lo remember LhaL hlgh school graduaLlon, college enLrance, and college perslsLence raLes for new 1ech schools ouLpace naLlonal averages by a slgnlflcanL margln. lll We (Lhe enLlre neLwork, lncludlng you) already know an lmmense amounL abouL how Lo engage sLudenLs and creaLe schools where deep learnlng occurs. College and career readlness for every sLudenL ln Lhe new 1ech neLwork ls wlLhln our collecLlve reach.
1 Many Lhanks go Lo my colleagues 8lck Lear, !ulla Lesley, urew Schrader, and Lrlca Snyder for Lhelr slgnlflcanL conLrlbuLlons Lo Lhls essay. 2 new 1ech neLwork !une 17, 2013
1haL does noL mean lL wlll be easy. Achlevlng college and career readlness for all sLudenLs wlll requlre more from us Lhan updaLlng Lhe mlsslon sLaLemenL on a webslLe. lL wlll requlre more Lhan slmply lmplemenLlng a program someone else has devlsed. WheLher or noL we achleve Lhe goal of college and career readlness for all ls drlven as much by our (Lhe adulLs) capaclLy Lo learn as lL ls by Lhe capaclLles of our sLudenLs. 1herefore, we wlll have Lo geL serlous abouL learnlng, organlzlng all of our work around lL. 1o Lhls end Lhere are Lhree Lhlngs you musL do. AdopL a CrowLh MlndseL Lngage ln AdapLlve Leadershlp 8ecome a Learnlng CrganlzaLlon
=4,8$" >'236+$ Pow many of you have ever LhoughL someLhlng llke Lhe followlng abouL a sLudenL? !ose ls smarL enough, he [usL needs Lo learn how Lo sLudy. lf !ane would [usL do her homework. lf AnLolne would [usL pay aLLenLlon and Lake noLes ln class.
Cne of our maln sLraLegles ln schools for helplng sLruggllng sLudenLs ls Lo Lry and geL Lhem Lo behave llke klds who are already successful ln school. lf we could [usL geL Lhem Lo slL quleLly, pay aLLenLlon, Lake noLes, ralse Lhelr hand when Lhey have a quesLlon, do Lhelr homework, sLudy for LesLs, eLc., we are sure Lhey could do [usL as well as Lhelr already successful classmaLes. So we seL abouL Lrylng Lo Leach all of Lhe skllls assoclaLed wlLh organlzlng a blnder, Laklng noLes, sLudylng for LesLs and so on. Powever, recenL and compelllng psychologlcal research calls Lhls sLraLegy lnLo quesLlon. SLudy skllls and learnlng skllls are lnerL unLll powered by an acLlve lngredlenL.lf you LargeL LhaL bellef you can see more beneflL Lhan you have any reason Lo hope for." lv
WhaL ls LhaL bellef? LnLer Carol uweck and mlndseL. Per research demonsLraLes LhaL Lhe blggesL deLermlnanL of our capaclLy for learnlng and growLh may be our own mlndseL. uweck asserLs LhaL Lhere are Lwo baslc mlndseLs - Lhe flxed mlndseL and Lhe growLh mlndseL.
1he flxed mlndseL ls one LhaL vlrLually all of us have encounLered aL some polnL. 1he baslc bellef LhaL anlmaLes Lhe flxed mlndseL ls LhaL our ablllLles are flxed - elLher you are or you are noL. LlLher you are good aL muslc or you aren'L. LlLher you are good aL maLh or you aren'L. LlLher you are smarL or you aren'L. And lf !ose belleves he ls noL smarL, Lhere ls really no polnL ln sLudylng anyway. A flxed mlndseL ls Lhe provlnce of lnnaLe LalenL and llmlLed poLenLlal. 1hus, Lhe flxed mlndseL llmlLs learnlng and growLh because lL prompLs us Lo avold any sorL of challenge LhaL mlghL reveal our own percelved lack of ablllLy.
AlLernaLlvely, Lhe growLh mlndseL ls Lhe baslc bellef LhaL your baslc quallLles are Lhlngs you can culLlvaLe Lhrough your efforLs." v Muslc or maLh or lnLelllgence are noL Lhlngs aL whlch you are slmply good or bad - Lhey are all Lhlngs where one's capaclLy can develop subsLanLlally Lhrough lnLenLlonal efforL, sLudy, and pracLlce. 1he growLh mlndseL makes you crave challenge and see fallure as an opporLunlLy for new learnlng and growLh. Powever, wheLher or noL one lnvesLs Lhe efforL ls dlcLaLed by bellef, noL sklll.
ln shorL, uweck's research has a parLlcularly lnsplrlng lesson for us as educaLors who are worklng Lo Lake Lhe challenge of college and career readlness serlously - "<;#2 .#:#.'$A '6 ;,4+ ;#((+#9(+ $"#2 8+ +/+4 3#4+3 34+#;. 1he research on growLh mlndseL also comes wlLh a cauLlonary Lale - ,<4 :,$+2$'#(B '23'/'3<#((A #23 .,((+.$'/+(AB '6 #(#4;'21(A +#6A $, <23+4;'2+. lL Lakes no coordlnaLed efforL. lL Lakes no consplracy. All lL requlres ls a lack of bellef LhaL we can learn, grow, and lmprove. 1haL one bellef - Lhe flxed mlndseL - has such a profound lnfluence on all of our subsequenL behavlor LhaL our acLual poLenLlal becomes lrrelevanL and unfulfllled. 1eachlng !ose Lo sLudy wlll never maLLer unLll he belleves LhaL hls poLenLlal ls noL someLhlng LhaL llmlLs hlm, lL ls someLhlng LhaL he can acLually change.
1hls research ls noL only abouL our sLudenLs. 1he ldea of mlndseL ls every blL as relevanL for adulLs. lf you have a flxed mlndseL abouL whaL your sLudenLs mlghL be able Lo accompllsh - or your own ablllLy Lo change your pracLlce - lL has already lmpacLed Lhe way you engaged learnlng abouL new 1ech neLwork, pro[ecL-based learnlng, and college and career readlness (or anyLhlng else for LhaL maLLer).
-3#:$'/+ E+#3+46"':
ln hls work on leadershlp and change, 8on PelfeLz makes an lmporLanL dlsLlncLlon beLween Lwo Lypes of challenges - Lechnlcal versus adapLlve. vll 1echnlcal problems requlre learnlng new skllls and can be exLremely complex, buL Lhe knowledge requlred Lo solve Lhe problem already exlsLs. lor example, as a young woman my wlfe needed hearL surgery Lo correcL a serlous arrhyLhmla. Whlle Lhe procedure was very complex and requlred a hlgh degree of sklll, a proven procedure for Lhe surgery already exlsLed.
When lndlvlduals and organlzaLlons confronL an adapLlve challenge, Lhey face a dllemma where Lhe capaclLy Lo solve lL does noL presenLly exlsL. ConsequenLly, confronLlng adapLlve challenges requlres experlmenLaLlon and acLlve problem-solvlng, noL [usL Lralnlng around exlsLlng soluLlons. AdapLlve challenges requlre LhaL we generaLe Lhe knowledge Lo solve Lhe problem whlle worklng on lL.
1he goal of college and career readlness (CC8) for all sLudenLs represenLs [usL such a challenge. Whlle many organlzaLlons around Lhe counLry are worklng on lssues relaLed Lo college and career readlness, no one has flgured ouL how Lo rellably achleve such ouLcomes for all sLudenLs. 1here ls no esLabllshed, proven reclpe for achlevlng LhaL end. Pence, pursulng CC8 demands LhaL we lmplemenL pracLlces and Lools LhaL have demonsLraLed promlse whlle slmulLaneously worklng Lo generaLe new soluLlons LhaL wlll furLher narrow Lhe gap beLween our asplraLlons and our reallLy.
AdapLlve challenges also force us Lo reconslder our values and prlorlLles ln relaLlon Lo our work, lndlvldually and organlzaLlonally. As we experlmenL wlLh and explore new posslblllLles, we lnevlLably bump up agalnsL Lhe assumpLlons and values of Lhe currenL sysLem. lf we allow Lhose assumpLlons and values Lo go unquesLloned we qulckly fall back lnLo exlsLlng norms, paLLerns and rouLlnes around Lhe work of Leachlng and learnlng. 1hls ls whaL happens when a school dlsLrlcL lnvesLs large sums of money ln Lralnlng around a new lnsLrucLlonal lnlLlaLlve only Lo see llLLle or no change ln Leachlng pracLlce or sLudenL learnlng. 1hey LreaLed an adapLlve challenge as lf lL were a Lechnlcal problem. AdapLlve challenges can only be addressed Lhrough changes ln people's prlorlLles, bellefs, values, and loyalLles." vlll
MosL of Lhe lmporLanL challenges we face come wlLh boLh Lechnlcal and adapLlve elemenLs. Accordlngly, we musL be able Lo recognlze adapLlve challenges and subsequenLly do Lhe adapLlve work. 1haL work requlres a wllllngness Lo engage ln Lough conversaLlons LhaL cuL rlghL Lo Lhe hearL of our bellefs abouL Leachlng, learnlng, sLudenLs, and schools. lew among us volunLeer for opporLunlLles Lo lnLerrogaLe our values. lor Lhls reason, adapLlve leadershlp - Lhe pracLlce of moblllzlng people Lo Lackle adapLlve challenges and Lhrlve - ls a requlremenL for Lhe [ourney Lowards college and career readlness.
4 new 1ech neLwork !une 17, 2013
F+.,;'21 # E+#42'21 G41#2'H#$',2 I
AdapLlve challenges always requlre some Lrlal and error Lype of experlmenLaLlon because Lhey lack exlsLlng soluLlons and we presenLly lack Lhe capaclLy Lo solve Lhose challenges. lf Lhe goal of college and career readlness for all represenLs an adapLlve challenge, achlevlng lL wlll requlre creaLlng knowledge and soluLlons LhaL do noL presenLly exlsL. lf we are Lo achleve Lhe goal of college and career readlness for all, schools musL become places capable of generaLlng knowledge, noL merely dlssemlnaLlng lL. 1hey musL become learnlng organlzaLlons.
eLer Senge deflnes learnlng organlzaLlons as places LhaL .conLlnually expand Lhelr capaclLy Lo creaLe Lhe resulLs Lhey Lruly deslre." lx 1hls deflnlLlon lmplles and assumes Lhe lmporLance of a growLh mlndseL. Powever, Lhe research on growLh mlndseL focuses on Lhe learnlng and growLh of lndlvlduals. 8ecomlng a learnlng organlzaLlon ls abouL Lhe capaclLy of Lhe school Lo learn and perform collecLlvely.
lndlvldual learnlng ls undoubLedly lmporLanL. A school where every lndlvldual on Lhe sLaff cares deeply abouL learnlng and acLlvely pursues lL ls a conslderable asseL as we chase down Lhe goal of college and career readlness. Powever, lndlvldual learnlng and performance do noL necessarlly LranslaLe lnLo beLLer organlzaLlonal performance. lL ls enLlrely posslble and dlsappolnLlngly common Lo have a medlocre school full of good Leachers.
1o become a learnlng organlzaLlon, we musL fashlon Lhe work of schools ln such a way LhaL lL enables collecLlve learnlng ln pursulL of a common purpose. When done well, every lnLeracLlon, every pracLlce, and every sLrucLure ln Lhe school ls organlzed around learnlng (noL accounLablllLy). Schools LhaL are learnlng organlzaLlons have Lhe capaclLy Lo learn Lhelr way ouL of problems Lhey dld noL anLlclpaLe, conLlnuously achlevlng Lhe sLudenL ouLcomes Lhey care abouL ln Lhe mldsL of Lrylng and volaLlle clrcumsLances. A learnlng organlzaLlon ls a place where people are conLlnually dlscoverlng how Lhey creaLe Lhelr reallLy. And how Lhey can change lL." x
CperaLlng as a learnlng organlzaLlon asks LhaL we lndlvldually and collecLlvely adopL a growLh mlndseL and a wllllngness Lo engage ln adapLlve work. 1he learnlng organlzaLlon concepL slmulLaneously reveals Lhe llmlLs of our lndlvldual capaclLles and lllumlnaLes Lhe necesslLy of serlous collaboraLlon ln schools. lL goes sLralghL Lo Lhe core of how your school funcLlons and performs as a Leam. WheLher we llke lL or noL, our faLe ls bound up wlLh Lhe person ln Lhe classroom nexL Lo us. We need Lo acknowledge, noL avold, LhaL reallLy ln Lhe way we seL abouL organlzlng Lhe work of Leachlng and learnlng.
ulLlmaLely, Lhe ablllLy of your school and our neLwork Lo become learnlng organlzaLlons - places LhaL conLlnually lncrease Lhelr capaclLy Lo achleve Lhe ouLcomes we care abouL - wlll deLermlne wheLher or noL we achleve college and career readlness for all of our sLudenLs. 5+?&;#1'2'21 )+#."'21 #23 E+#42'21
l have Lrled Lo ouLllne some of Lhe ldeas and dlsposlLlons LhaL new 1ech neLwork belleves are necessary Lo be a successful neLwork school, sLrlvlng for college and career readlness wlLh lLs sLudenLs. AL Lhls Llme l wanL Lo draw your aLLenLlon Lo Lhe lasL word ln our name - J+$8,4*. 1haL word has lmporLanL lmpllcaLlons for whaL lL means Lo be a new 1ech school.
lf you have spenL any Llme on our webslLe, vlslLed one of our schools, or aLLended one of our evenLs, you have probably encounLered Lhe phrase 8e-lmaglnlng 1eachlng and Learnlng." Cur Lag llne ls wrlLLen ln Lhe presenL Lense. 1haL ls noL an accldenL.
2 n1n has a learnlng organlzaLlon framework Lo help you Lhlnk abouL how Lo operaLlonallze Lhe ldea ln your school. ?ou wlll encounLer and learn abouL Lhe deLalls of LhaL framework Lhrough varlous conversaLlons and evenLs ln Lhe new 1ech neLwork. Powever, Lhe goal of Lhls secLlon ls slmply Lo esLabllsh Lhe lmporLance of Lhe ldea ln relaLlon Lo Lhe goal of college and career readlness. 3 new 1ech neLwork !une 17, 2013
8elng a parL of Lhe new 1ech neLwork ls abouL more Lhan lmplemenLlng Lhe model. lease do noL mlsundersLand: Lhe model ls lncredlbly lmporLanL. lL represenLs Lhe besL Lhlnklng and pracLlces of our enLlre neLwork wlLh regard Lo how we can achleve college and career readlness for all of our sLudenLs. 8uL keep ln mlnd LhaL some aspecLs of our model LhaL you wlll learn abouL were aL one Llme slmply good ldeas LhaL came from good people Lrylng Lo solve a problem ln one of our schools - emerglng pracLlces, ln oLher words. Cur model conLlnuously evolves Lo reflecL Lhe besL learnlng and Lhlnklng happenlng across all of our schools. 1hls ls how we llve ouL our bellefs around havlng a growLh mlndseL, pracLlclng adapLlve leadershlp, and belng a learnlng organlzaLlon.
8e-lmaglnlng Leachlng and learnlng ls more Lhan [usL a nlce slogan - lL ls a moral lmperaLlve LhaL flows from belng a neLwork commlLLed Lo college and career readlness for all sLudenLs. 8ecomlng a parL of Lhe new 1ech neLwork represenLs your accepLance of an lnvlLaLlon Lo parLlclpaLe ln Lhe re-lmaglnlng of Leachlng and learnlng.
)"'2*'21 K;#((
AL n1n, Lhlnklng abouL blg goals and blg ldeas ls Lled lnLlmaLely Lo Lhlnklng small. AdmlLLedly, l love blg ldeas and Lhe conversaLlons Lhey generaLe. l also know LhaL Lhey can be off-puLLlng for some. AdapLlve leadershlp" and learnlng organlzaLlon" can sound llke Lerms LhaL mlghL show up on one of Lhose mlsslon posLers ouLslde Lhe maln offlce LhaL everyone lgnores. College and career readlness can sound llke an asserLlon LhaL everyone has Lo go Lo Parvard Lo have a meanlngful llfe.
l am sympaLheLlc Lo Lhose concerns, parLlcularly Lhe laLLer. My moLher, a anamanlan lmmlgranL, never compleLed Lhe Lhlrd grade. lor a subsLanLlal porLlon of my llfe she worked aL Mcuonald's, happlly greeLlng people and refllllng Lhelr coffee ln Lhe dlnlng room. l know she had a meanlngful llfe, my slsLer and l are Lhe evldence. l also know LhaL she Look LhaL [ob because lL was Lhe only work avallable Lo a person wlLh her educaLlon ln our communlLy.
AL lLs core, college and career readlness ls noL abouL blg ldeas and blg goals. lL ls abouL Lhlnklng small. lL ls abouL Lhe lndlvlduals whose llves are alLered by Lhe schools we creaLe. lL ls abouL recognlzlng LhaL Lhe cholces we make as adulLs and educaLors work Lo llmlL or expand Lhe opLlons avallable Lo Lhe sLudenLs we care abouL. lL ls a commlLmenL Lo maklng sure LhaL our schools are noL places LhaL arLlflclally or premaLurely Lake opLlons way from young people. AfLer all, chooslng from Lhe only opLlon avallable Lo you ls noL acLually maklng a cholce. lL ls slmply acqulesclng Lo reallLy.
uo all klds need Lo go Lo college? CerLalnly noL. 8uL LhaL cholce should noL be up Lo you or me. Cur [ob ls noL Lo make LhaL declslon for Lhem. Cur [ob ls Lo develop Lhelr capaclLles, empowerlng Lhem Lo make Lhe declslon for Lhemselves.
-!lm May
6 new 1ech neLwork !une 17, 2013
LndnoLes
l What is college and career readiness? (2013). From http://www.betterhighschools.org/CCR/overview.asp ii Conley, D. T. (2010). College and career readiness: Helping all students succeed beyond high school. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. iii Student outcomes report 2013: Re-imagining teaching and learning. (2013). Napa, CA: New Tech Network.
iv Krakovsky, M. (2007). The Effort Effect. Stanford Magazine, (March/April 2007). Retrieved from http://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=32124 v Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Ballantine Books. vi Krakovsky, M. (2007). The Effort Effect. Stanford Magazine, (March/April 2007). Retrieved from http://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=32124 vii Heifetz, R. A. (1994). Leadership without easy answers. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press. viii Heifetz, R. A., Grashow, A., & Linsky, M. (2009). The practice of adaptive leadership: Tools and tactics for changing your organization and the world. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Review Press. ix Senge, P. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art & practice of the learning organization. New York: Doubleday. x Senge, P. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art & practice of the learning organization. New York: Doubleday.