Dive Brief:

• Administrators and other educational thought-leaders shared their perspectives on where K-12 education is headed with District Administration, with topics including assessment, teaching, social-emotional learning and more.

• Theresa Morris, an assessment developer at the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity, sees a need for fewer high-stakes tests at the end of the year and believes community-based accountability systems will become more prevalent. And on teaching, Kate Walsh, president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, calls for more effort around attracting and retaining qualified teachers, like offering better pay, but believes efforts to lower qualifications for entry into the profession will persist.

• Meanwhile, SEL curriculum developer Tamara Fyke sees a need for better professional development in SEL implementation in order to create a more comprehensive structure around such programs. She also sees higher adoption of trauma-informed teaching methods and restorative justice practices on the horizon. Finally, Kirk Langer, chief technology officers for the Lincoln (NE) Public Schools, expects smarter digital textbooks and better use of immersive tech like augmented reality and wearables on the rise.

Dive Insight:

The past several years have seen massive change in the K-12 space, largely due to seismic shifts in the economy and the need to re-adjust to meet changing workforce demands. As the traditional blue-collar jobs of old fall by the wayside due to automation and artificial intelligence, employers are demanding new skills for people entering the workforce both straight out of high school and out of college. And it's not just technical skills they want, either: Many of these new career paths require employees who can think outside of the box, who aren't afraid to experiment and fail on their way to success, who can collaborate well as part of a team, and who can pivot accordingly as a job's needs change.

Many of the thoughts shared with District Administration reflect that reality — not just for students, but for teachers as well. As "School 2.0" becomes the new norm, educators and students alike will require more than the "sit-and-get," one-size-fits-all approaches to teaching and learning that formerly prepared students for factory work or similar jobs, and prepared teachers to train students for those roles.