Earlier this month we visited seven Bay Area schools from our elementary andsecondary schools worth visiting lists. When it comes to innovation, the Bay Area is a great place to see a wide range of schools doing great things. From public options for montessori to design thinking models that challenge traditional school, we were inspired to see the options that are available for students in the Bay Area.
6. Katherine Smith Elementary: Located in a low income neighborhood behind a strip center in the Evergreen School District in East San Jose, Katherine Smith is a great example of what happens when you have a dedication to community, a drive for excellence and an innovation mindset. They are now one of the few elementary schools that are part of the New Tech Network–a national network of Project- Based Learning schools–and projects are at the heart of how students learn as well as how the school connects to the community.
Read the full blog on Education Week
Tom Vander Ark is author of Getting Smart: How Digital Learning is Changing the World, Smart Cities That Work for Everyone: 7 Keys to Education & Employment and Smart Parents: Parenting for Powerful Learning. He is CEO of Getting Smart, a learning design firm and a partner in Learn Capital, an education venture capital firm. Previously he served as the first Executive Director of Education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Tom served as a public school superintendent in Washington State and has extensive private sector experience including serving as a senior executive for a national public retail chain.
A prolific writer and speaker, Tom has published thousands of articles, has written and contributed to twelve published books and co-authored roughly 40 white papers. He writes regularly on his Education Week blog, Vander Ark on Innovation, and makes daily contributions to GettingSmart.com.