As summer nights start to shorten, and our team has been busy with educators preparing for the new school year, I thought I’d share some short reflections on what we’ve learned in the past year.
Simple, elegant, effective. Tech tools in school systems just have to work, be easy to use/understand, and get the job done. Sadly, this is not usually the bar for most tech tools.
One-stop shop. School systems don’t have the budget, or more importantly, the bandwidth to use multiple systems for the same/similar jobs. It just makes sense that students should have one tool to support: discovering purpose, exploring careers and postsecondary options, making a good plan, and managing the process. This year, we’re investing in counselor workflows and experience.
Curriculum > Technology. Don’t get me wrong, we love our Willow platform and it’s improved massively this past year (hello, career exploration, Alma AI coach, and much stronger postsecondary navigation!).
But most school systems aren’t very effective at using technology platforms to create change. However, school systems have gotten quite good at using high-quality instructional materials (curricula) to drive improvements! Last year, we piloted and built a 9-12 comprehensive curriculum that works hand-in-hand with our platform.
Doubling down on our Theory of Change. We have now seen in practice: when students can explore high-quality options (using completion rates and personalized ROI), they make better decisions about their next steps. This is true for both college-bound and professional-program/workforce-bound students. When more students choose higher-ROI next steps, the economic and social mobility of communities accelerates.
We’re hard at work supporting our partners to have a strong launch to the year, AND I would love to catch up. Drop me a line. What do you think I missed?
Upcoming Events - Join us!
1. Tomorrow!
A private workshop for Seminar Community members. Register here. Mike is leading great work at Uncommon Schools and is one of the most thoughtful educators out there at the intersection of Purpose, AI, and Postsecondary Success.
2. Purposeful Paths conversations are back!
Donnell is a leader I really admire, and I’m looking forward to digging into quality work-based learning with him!
3. Please vote for our SXSW EDU panel
With Skillup, Shultz Family Foundation, and American Student Assistance! I’m hungry for some good BBQ and great conversations this spring!
Welcome Jaime!
We’re over the moon to welcome Jaime Hudgins to our team as our Chief Academic Officer! Jaime is a career high-school educator with loads of experience as a building leader, CAO, and national academics/curriculum leader. For Willow, she is leading PD, coaching, as well as our curriculum implementation and development. Drop her a line and say hello!
Onward,
James