WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Alliance for Excellent Education President Bob Wise announced that more than 2,000 school district leaders, representing 16 million students, have taken the Future Ready District Pledge to personalize learning for students using effective digital learning strategies. Additionally, Wise said seventeen states have committed to developing a statewide program to support school district leaders in using Future Ready Schools resources, including an interactive planning dashboard, for this digital transformation. Wise made the announcement at a White House event featuring the release of the National Education Technology Plan.
“‘Future Ready Schools isn’t just about technology,” said Wise. “It’s about a more personalized approach to teaching and learning that ensures that all students have the skills they need to succeed in college and a career. Future Ready Schools is about empowering teachers and leaders, helping students take charge of their own learning, and keeping parents engaged and informed.”
Launched in late 2014, Future Ready Schools is an Alliance for Excellent Education project that features more than fifty partners, including the U.S. Department of Education. Coming on the heels of thirteen summits attended by more than 430 school district teams, representing 4.9 million students, Wise said that the Alliance would host more national summits in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education in Austin, Boston, Madison, southern Florida, and Seattle in 2016.
“The national summits are helpful, but by themselves, they are not enough to move the needle,” Wise said. “As we traveled across the country in 2015, the need for relevant, ongoing professional learning opportunities for district leaders around digital learning was evident. We are particularly excited about the evolution of the Future Ready Schools interactive planning dashboard, a free online tool to help school districts assess their needs and make data-informed decisions on how to effectively use technology to engage students, empower teachers, and improve learning outcomes.”
Future Ready Schools worked with national experts and school district leaders to develop a robust set of ongoing professional learning opportunities that Wise announced today at the White House, including
- refined Future Ready Schools framework, gears, and resources;
- national summits cohosted with the U.S. Department of Education through 2016;
- Future Ready Schools interactive planning dashboard and training workshops;
- a one-stop shop (the Digital Learning Hub) for all Future Ready Schools activities and resources;
- extension programs and powerful partnerships;
- Future Ready Schools state leadership program; and
- Future Ready Schools conference connections.
Wise also unveiled the splash page of a brand-new website at www.futureready.org. The website also includes the “Hub,” a one-stop shop for school district leaders filled with webinars, interactive chats, expert talks, resources, and other professional development and mentoring opportunities.
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The Alliance for Excellent Education is a Washington, DC–based national policy and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all students, particularly those traditionally underserved, graduate from high school ready for success in college, work, and citizenship. www.all4ed.org.
