We are thrilled to announce that New Tech Network has been accepted into three SXSWedu sessions! Thank you to all who voted in Panel Picker, shared our sessions on social media and supported us. We are looking forward to representing and showcasing the powerful work in our network to conference attendees. If you will be at SXSWedu, consider attending one of our three sessions (time and location is to be determined):
Why Innovate Alone? Harness the Power of Networks:
- Lydia Dobyns, President & CEO, New Tech Network
- Tom Vander Ark, CEO & Partner, Getting Smart
- Carlos Moreno, Co-Executive Director, Big Picture Learning
School networks are one of the most important innovations in modern era K-12 education. By providing design principles, curriculum, tech tools and ways to facilitate connected learning and improvement, networks play an important role in scaling high-quality learning. This design workshop will start with stories from network leaders and strategies for creating networks within your system, then you’ll work together to design and share a plan for how networks can empower you and your colleagues.
Opportunity vs. Achievement: Framing the Gap:
- Jim May, Chief Schools Officer, New Tech Network
- Christian Quintero, Principal, Los Angeles Unified School District
Ever feel stuck in a conversation about test scores? Despite the fact that practitioners, policymakers, and scholars have been writing about the opportunity gap for the last decade, the primary way that schools across the country currently understand and act on educational equity is through the construct of the achievement gap. This open conversation will argue that the opportunity gap is a more robust frame for understanding and responding to educational inequity than the achievement gap.
The Struggle is Real-Rural, High Poverty Districts:
- Kristin Cuilla, Senior Director, Partnerships & Communication, New Tech Network
- Franklin Foster, Superintendent, Colleton County School District
- Melissa Crosby, Principal, Colleton County High School
This session will share research findings about the efficacy of the New Tech design by focusing on the story of district innovation and perseverance in one of the four study districts working to solve rural, high poverty problems. The heart of the New Tech approach is wall-to-wall project based learning, an empowered school culture, and 1:1 technology-rich classrooms. Nearly 75,000 students nationally and over 2,000 students in South Carolina are learning in New Tech classrooms.