Presentation given to the staff of SD22, Vernon on September 18, 2017.

1. This is theYear
Flexibility and Networks in a ChangingWorld
September 18, 2017
CHRIS KENNEDY
Superintendent of
Schools,West
Vancouver School
District
Presentation to the staff
of School District 22 -
Vernon
#sd22learns
#brightfutures

2. With thanks to Bill Selak: http://www.billselak.com/2012/thingsthatsuck
AWESOME OR NOT!?

3. The current state of students success in
Vernon Schools?

4. The opportunities for students in schools?

5. The opportunities for staff professional
growth?

6. Optimism Like No Other Time
• New Government
• Revised Curriculum
• Additional Staff
• Steady Finances
• Healthy Enrolment

7. The BC Difference

8. And in a Summer that saw THIS

9. We were busy HERE

10. Excellence or Equity?

11. Weakness of the relationshipbetweenachievement andfamilybackground (ESCS Index)
Studentachievementinreading,mathematicsandscience(PISA)
Weak equityandlowquality
Strong equityandhigh quality
Strong equityandlowquality
Weak equityandhigh quality

12. • Singapore
Weakness of the relationshipbetweenachievement andfamilybackground (ESCS Index)
OECD, 2016
Studentachievementinreading,mathematicsandscience(PISA)
Qualit
• HongKong
• China
2015

13. • Reduce the prescriptive nature of curriculum
• Allow for flexibility and choice for teachers and student
• Respect inherent logic in disciplines while supporting
interdisciplinary learning.
• Enable teachers to be creative and innovative in their
design of learning experiences
Guiding Principles

14. • Core competencies provide the foundation for the
curriculum
• All core competencies are now posted
• Created on a continuum (not by grade level)
Curriculum – Core Competencies
Curriculum, Assessment & Reporting

16. How do I acquire and
then make sense of all
of the information
available
to me so I can make
choices that will benefit
me in the future?

17. Individual Challenge #2How do I find hope?
Once found, how do I
build and sustain the
enthusiasm, energy and
just plain will
to be continuously
adaptive?

18. Individual Challenge #3Where do I fit in this
world? What is
available to me? How
do I achieve a balance
between my needs and
all of the forces and
influences around me?

19. Individual Challenge #4
How do I make all of
these decisions, and
take all of these
actions, in a way
that allows me to
maintain a sense of
who
I am? How do I take
pride in what I do?

24. Working in Two Worlds

25. Transforming involves patience and
time.

28. What has
changed?

29. RELIABLE INTERNET
CONNECTIVITY

30. DEVICES FOR STAFF

31. BRINGYOUR OWN
DEVICE PLANS

32. PHONES

33. SOCIAL MEDIA

34. WI-FI

35. UNBLOCKING

36. FLEXIBILITY

37. ACCESS

38. ACROSS
MANY OF OUR
SCHOOLS

42. What
could be

43. DO OLDTHINGS
BETTER

44. “Students today depend too
much upon ink.They don’t know
how to use a pen knife to
sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will
never replace the pencil.”
National Association ofTeachers, 1907

46. DO NEWTHINGS
YOU COULDN’T
DO AT ALL

47. “If I’d asked my
customers what they
wanted, they would
have told me ‘A faster
horse.’” Henry Ford

48. 5 obstacles
No need
No money
No hurry
No desire
No trust

49. People prefer things that are easy to think about

50. Know what teachers want

51. Can I change?

52. Everyone benefits

53. The
goal

54. It’s not technology

55. What many want for their children is the
benefits of digital learning
Relevant, connected,
unlimited

56. HOW DO YOU KNOW YOUR DIGITAL SHIFTS
ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR
SCHOOL FOR LEARNERS?
?

57. Create a new
norm for how
teachers and
students learn

58. Can’t scale and sustain
without technology

59. TOOLS matter, because tools impact the way you
interact.You don’t need to use every tool, but every tool
you use you must use well – Seth Godin

60. Access
Direction

61. Moving to one-to-one opportunities
What does
this mean?

63. What about
equity?

64. Technology can help overcome
barriers of access and
geography

65. Twitter Break
Select a video that
highlights the promise of
learning. Post it toTwitter
and tag it #sd22learns

67. MOBILETECHNOLOGY CAN
CHANGE LEARNING
GOOD WRITING STILL MATTERS
USING SOCIAL MEDIA NEEDSTO
BETAUGHT
NETWORKS ARE ESSENTIAL
THE REALWORLD IS ADDICTIVE

68. Google has become
our got-to place and
tool.

69. Wordpress has taken
over our websites.

70. Digital tools like
FreshGrade andTechbook
are growing in popularity

71. Coding and Robotics have
gone from nowhere to
everywhere

72. All of the digital shifts are
part of ONE story

73. WHAT ARE THE DIGITAL TOOLS YOU ARE USING
IN YOUR SCHOOL? WHICH ONES ARE YOU
MODELING? WHAT IS THE STORY YOU ARE
TELLING ABOUT THE MOVE TO DIGITAL?
?

74. ALL ABOUT CULTURE

75. “Culture Eats Strategy
for Breakfast”

76. Focus on a Few
Things

77. INNOVATION IN ACTION
Letter grade
free
assessment
Maker
movement
iPads in
elementary
music class
Reggio Emilia
inspired
programs
Bienalle arts
projects
across
schools
Passion
projects
Heart rate
monitors in
PE

78. What Does Support Look Like?CELEBRATE RISK TAKING

79. SHINE A LIGHT ON INNOVATION

80. Teachers
Schools
Districts
Governments
• Will make it easier
for students...
• Will make it easier
for teachers...
• Will make it easier
for schools...
• Will make it easier
for districts...
To be
FLEXIBLE

81. Yeah, but . . .
?How do you
scale the work

82. YOU DON’T
YOU CONNECT AND BUILD NETWORKS
Think diffusion not replication

83. Learning, not technology, is the driver

86. Personalization
We need to narrow the framework
Digital
literacy

89. Redesigned Curriculum
 Addresses the changing face of education
 Big ideas and enduring understandings
 Personalized learning
 Core competencies
• Thinking
• Communicating
• Social/Personal

91. What we
ARE NOT doing

95. SameThings for everyone

96. TRENDS

99. OverpromiseUnder deliver

100. PERSONALIZED
=
INDIVIDUALIZED
X

102. Luke: I can’t believe it
Yoda: That is why you fail

104. He says the problem with teachers is
What’s a kid going to learn
from someone who decided his best option in life
was to become a teacher?

105. He reminds the other dinner guests that it’s true
what they say about teachers:
Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.

106. . . .
I mean, you’re a teacher, Taylor.
Be honest. What do you make?

107. This is . . .

108. OUR WORLD

109. OUR LIVES

110. OUR CHILDREN

111. OUR CURRICULUM

112. OUR CHALLENGE

113. OUR WORK

114. OUR ART

115. OUR JOY

169. You want to know what I make? I make kids
wonder,

170. I make them question.

171. I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.

172. I make them write.
I make them read, read, read.

173. I make them spell definitely beautiful,
definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful
over and over and over again until they will
never misspell
either one of those words again.

174. . . .
and if someone ever tries to judge you
by what you by what you make, you give them this.

279. . . .
Here, let me break it down for you, so you
know what I say is true:

280. Teachers make a goddamn difference! Now
what about you?

281. Excerpts from poem:
What Teachers Make
by Taylor Mali
Leading in Learning

282. Where you can find me:
ckennedy@wvschools.ca
604-202-4379
@chrkennedy
cultureofyes.ca
westvancouverschools.ca