Introducing Aspire Change EDU

I often get asked both through social media and in person how to become a consultant. For various reasons, educators are enamored by the keynoting circuit, facilitating presentations at both national and international events, and coaching in school systems. Initially, I had to pause and reflect before responding as I wanted to be very clear on how my journey was more complex than it might seem. Now I have a standard answer. I did not wake up one day and say that this is what I aspired to do for the rest of my career. It can also be stated emphatically that I was not looking to leave New Milford High School or was forced out. Instead, the path was carved for me through the efficacy-based work that my staff and I did when I was a principal.  

In short, we vehemently focused on improving teaching, learning, and leadership through a shared vision, clarity of purpose, innovative practices, and clear evidence of impact. Our shared successes caught the eye of national media outlets as well as other systems that were curious about methodologies. What resulted were districts, schools, and organizations visiting my school from all over the world. I loved to share our successes, the challenges we overcame, student perspectives, and any other tidbits that might be valuable to those wanting to implement similar changes. During one such visit, an organization offered me a full-time position with their company. At first, I respectfully declined as I was happy where I was at in my career. However, the conversation never stopped, and I eventually decided to take a leap of faith to pursue a newfound passion in education.

It has been nine years since the consulting path was laid out for me. Over the years, I have worked with two amazing companies dedicated to helping learners succeed and traveling the globe assisting educators in various ways. While the work has been highly gratifying, there has always been an innate desire to carve out my own unique path in the education consulting space. My first step was to create an LLC during the pandemic. 

It has laid dormant until the right time, which is now. With great pride and excitement, Aspire Change EDU has moved from vision to reality.

I have ambitious goals for my company. The first was to develop a name that embodies what consulting should be about, and that is to help systems aspire to change that leads to improving and enhancing what we already know works. Educators don’t want more things to do. They crave to maximize available time, strengthen their craft, help learners succeed, and find joy in the work. The logo above, co-created by my children Isabella and Nicholas, embodies this mission and vision.

During the initial phase of the company, I will be fulfilling many of the responsibilities, including:

• Keynotes (view topics HERE)
• Back-to-school convocations
• Leadership retreats
• Breakout presentations
• Innovative Leadership Cohort 
• Interactive workshops
• Strategic planning
• Coaching (job-embedded, ongoing)
• Asynchronous courses (more info HERE)

Leadership and pedagogy will be my primary focus, which encompasses every facet of professional learning. Currently, my work with schools assists them with Tier 1 instruction, personalization, school culture, leadership (digital, pedagogical, sustainable change), using data, branding, and the purposeful use of technology. Over time I will flesh out concrete practice areas.

The last sentence above leads to what will be a differentiator for Aspire Change EDU. I aim to create a collaborative consultancy comprising best-in-class practitioners and seasoned consultants who share similar beliefs. While my plan is to have a bench of people to serve schools, I also want to partner with other independent consultancies (and vice versa) for the benefit of districts and schools. By working together, we can provide systems with what they want, not what we feel we can do. Imagine being matched with the best possible professional learning consultant(s) aligned to virtually every focus area, technique, initiative, tool, or strategy in education. That’s the goal and one that, in my opinion, best serves schools.

Just like for our learners, professional learning needs to be personalized and differentiated. It’s nearly impossible to accomplish this without collaboration. That is something I hope to solve in the near future with the help of others. In the end, schools will win and evidence-based change will be the result. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming months.

Until then, feel free to reach out and have a conversation about your professional learning needs. Learn more on my website.

Why Choice in Learning Matters

Do you like being told or directed to do something a certain way even though you know it doesn’t align with your innate strengths, interests, or learning preference? Pretty frustrating, right? It becomes even more of an obstacle to growth if you know how to demonstrate understanding but aren’t afforded different pathways to articulate a response. Choice matters when it comes to learning if that is the ultimate goal. The key is first to be open to giving up some control and understanding that, in many cases, there isn’t always one right way to demonstrate competency.

While educators can leverage many high-agency strategies, choice might be the most essential element of personalization because it allows students to take ownership of their own learning in so many different ways. When students have a say in what they learn, how they learn, and when they learn, they are more likely to be engaged and motivated. They are also more likely to see the relevance of their learning to their own lives and interests. Most importantly, when they are able to demonstrate understanding on their own terms, it builds invaluable confidence in their abilities.

I shared the following in Disruptive Thinking in Our Classrooms:

Choice is the great differentiator that helps meet the needs of all learners.

There are many ways to incorporate choice as a means to personalize. For example, students can choose their own learning:

• Goals by involving them in setting individual goals, working with a group to set group goals, or choosing from a set of pre-determined goals.
• Materials such as a variety of textbooks, articles, websites, technology, or other resources to assist with or demonstrate learning.
• Activities such as hands-on activities, simulations, projects, or tasks in a choice board, playlist, or must-do/may-do list. During Tier 1 instruction, there are opportunities where students can choose to show their understanding using individual whiteboards or dry-erase surfaces (text, drawings) or technology (video, audio, drawing, text, images, etc.).
• Pace by setting their own deadlines for completing assignments, projects, or when working on a personalized task.

In my work with principal Nicki Slaugh and her Quest Academy Junior High School staff, student choice as a high-agency strategy has begun to flourish. Below you can see a few examples. I also encourage you to check out these posts from Wells Elementary (TX), Snow Horse Elementary (UT), Juab School District (UT), and the Corinth School District (MS).

Giving students a choice in their learning can be a challenge, but it is worth the effort. While some might see it as more work or just another thing to do, once you find a schedule that works for you, choice can be integrated routinely, even if it is once a week. When students have a say in their learning, they are more likely to succeed. Here are some of the benefits of giving students choices in their learning:

• Increased engagement and motivation
• Improved understanding of the relevance of learning
• Increased self-regulation and direction
• Enhanced problem-solving skills
• Increased creativity and innovation
• Improved critical thinking skills

If you are interested in incorporating choice into your classroom, here are a few tips:

• Start small. Try to do only a little at a time.
• Be clear about your expectations. Let students know what they need to learn and how they will be assessed.
• Provide students with a variety of choices. This will help ensure that everyone can find something they are interested in.
• Be flexible. Be willing to adjust your plans based on student feedback.
• Celebrate student choices. When students make good choices, be sure to let them know.
• Share templates and ideas. Don't reinvent the wheel. Leverage your best resource, which is other educators invested in the work.  

Giving students choices in their learning can be a powerful way to improve their engagement, motivation, and understanding. If you are looking for ways to personalize your classroom, I encourage you to give choice a try. For an array of strategies, check out this post.

How Pace Benefits All Learners

When you think about how you learn best, what comes to mind? Your response most likely flies in the face of how you were taught, and the same could be said of students today. If all kids are doing the same thing, the same way, at the same time, the experience is more impersonal than personal. It might work for some, but definitely not all. Learning is a process, not an event. It is more about the experience as opposed to a single lesson, curriculum, or assessment. So, what does or can, this look and feel like? In Disruptive Thinking in Our Classrooms, I defined personalization as ALL learners getting what they need, when and where they need it, to succeed. Time is a critical element in this process. 

Pacing is an essential element of personalized learning because it allows all students to thrive. By enabling students to learn at their own pace, personalization ensures that all students have the opportunity to reach their full potential. Pacing is critical when it comes to personalized pedagogy because it affects a number of factors that are essential for learning, including:

• Students learn at different paces. Not all students learn at the same rate. Some students may need more time to process information, while others may be able to learn more quickly. 
• Pacing can impact engagement. When students are able to learn at their own pace, they are more likely to be invested in the learning process. This is because they are not forced to keep up with a group that is moving too quickly for them or to wait for a group that is moving too slowly.
• Pacing can affect understanding. When students are able to learn at their own pace, they are more likely to comprehend the material. This is because they have the time to process the information and to ask questions if they do not understand something.
• Pacing can increase motivation. When students see they are making progress, they are more likely to be empowered to continue learning. This is because they feel like they are in control of their own learning and capable of succeeding, which is a crucial tenant of ownership.

In addition to these reasons, pacing is also vital for personalized learning because it allows students to focus on their strengths and interests. When students can learn at their own pace, they can spend more time on concepts they are interested in while concentrating more on areas of perceived difficulty. This can help them to develop essential competencies in those areas. Overall, pace is critical to personalized learning because it allows all students to succeed. 

There are a number of ways to implement pacing in personalized learning. One way is to use a variety of learning activities that allow students to learn at different levels and at different paces. For example, some students learn best by reading, while others learn best by listening to lectures or doing hands-on activities. By providing a variety of learning activities, teachers can ensure that all students have the opportunity to learn at their own pace.

Another way to implement pacing in personalized learning is to use technology. Several software programs allow teachers to create personalized learning plans for their students. These programs can track students' progress and adjust the pace of learning accordingly.

Here are some tips for pacing in personalized learning:

• Start by assessing students' individual needs. This will help you to determine how much time each student needs to learn the material. Consider common formative assessments, routine benchmarks, or the regular use of adaptive learning tools to get and then act on quality data. With useable data at their fingertips, educators can group, regroup, differentiate, target instruction, and implement Response to Intervention (RTI) with fidelity based on need. 
• Implement a variety of learning activities. This will allow students to learn at different levels and at different paces. Sound pedagogical strategies such as station rotation, choice activities, playlists, and flipped lessons can be leveraged. 
• Be flexible. Be willing to adjust the pace of the learning as needed. Consider using timers during tier 1 instructional activities as well as more robust pedagogical tasks.
• Provide regular feedback. This will help students to track their progress and to stay motivated.

Pace is a critical element of personalization because it allows students to exhibit more ownership of their learning. This is important because not all students learn at the same rate. Some students may need more time to process information, while others may be able to learn more quickly. By allowing students to learn at their own pace, personalized learning ensures that all students have the opportunity to succeed.

Keep these tips in mind so you can ensure that the pace of personalized learning is appropriate for your students and that they are able to learn effectively.

The Magnitude of Follow-Through

"It's the follow-through that makes the great difference between success and failure, because it's so easy to stop." - Charles F. Kettering

Have you ever made a commitment to do something, only to find yourself needing to follow through? How about getting motivated at a conference or professional learning, only to keep everything the same once you are back in your classroom, school, or district? What about promising students assignments would be graded within a specific timeframe only to not deliver on that promise? If so, you're not alone. While I still struggle with visualizing new ideas and how they will play out when acted upon, I have made a great deal of progress. Truth be told, many people struggle with follow-through, but it's a vital competency to develop.

There are many reasons why following through is essential. First, it shows that you're reliable and trustworthy. People expect you to keep your word and take action when you make a commitment or bold proclamation. If you don't follow through, you'll damage your reputation and make it harder for people to trust you in the future. From an individual standpoint, it helps you achieve your goals. When you establish where you want to go, you're more likely to reach it if you're able to follow through on the steps necessary to achieve it. If you keep putting things off or giving up on your goals, it becomes much harder to reach your full potential. Following through builds self-confidence. When you're able to complete a task or achieve a goal, it gives you a sense of accomplishment and makes you feel good about yourself. This can boost your self-confidence and make you more likely to take on new challenges.

Rina Koshkina shared the following advice:

There are many things in life that are out of our control, but you have full control over your ability to follow through. You are the only one who can choose to be consistent and proactive, creating the sense of accomplishment and closure for yourself and those around you.

You can do a few things to improve your willingness to follow through:

1. Breaking down your goals into smaller, more manageable steps is important. This will make them seem less daunting and more achievable.
2. Set deadlines for yourself and stick to them. I can speak to how this dramatically helps me stay on track and avoid procrastination when writing, preparing presentations, and mapping out model lessons to facilitate when coaching.
3. Find a way to stay motivated. Consider setting alarms on your phone, putting reminders into an online calendar, finding a colleague to work with, developing rewards for yourself, or simply reminding yourself why you want to achieve your goal.

Following through is a skill that takes practice, but it's worth it. When you can follow through on your commitments, you'll be more successful in both your personal and professional life. You'll also build stronger relationships and gain a reputation for being reliable and trustworthy. So, if you want to improve your follow-through skills, start by breaking down your goals into smaller steps, setting deadlines, and finding a way to stay motivated. With a bit of practice, you'll be able to follow through on your commitments and achieve your goals.

In addition to the benefits mentioned above, following through can also help you to:

• Develop discipline
• Learn from your mistakes
• Build resilience
• Gain a sense of control over your professional life

If you want to be successful in life, it's crucial to be able to follow through on your goals, responsibilities, and any other commitments. By following the suggestions in this post, you can achieve your goals while improving relationships in the process.