The Future of Education: Charlottesville

Welcome to the Future of Education: Charlottesville, a show where we consider what our education system should look like in 20 years.   I’m your host Lee Elberson and I ask you to join me on a journey to the future as experts from the Charlottesville Community explore our education system through a variety of different lenses.  These topics are specific to Charlottesville but likely have wide-reaching implications.

Intro Music: Yoffee, J. (2020). Will To Live [Single]

Topics Covered:

Historical review of education

1. Compared to 20 years ago, what strides have been made in our education system?
2. What are some of the unique challenges that large universities have faced in the last 20 years?
3. Given that 1.3% of tuition($7.4B/604B) is awarded as scholarships, what am I missing that I think it should be 20%?
4. How has that affected equity in our university system?
5. How does college ranking determine college decision?
6. US News & World Reports College Rankings?
7. Do we associate success with financial success?  Is fulfillment a better term?
   The CEO of ACT (Janet Godwin) stated that standardized test outcomes are just a symptom of systemic inequality. Is there truth to that statement?
8. Are students with resources always going to perform better?

Future thinking

1. What do we want our education system to look like in 20 years?
2. What should college recruitment look like in 20 years?
3. What attributes does the class of 2041 have that the class of 2021 does not?
4. In considering changes to our education system, do we take a bottom-up (birth-5 first) or top-down (college first) approach?

What can we do NOW to shape our education system?

1. How would focus on project-based learning help career trajectory?
2. Jobs ask for resumes, Colleges ask for test scores, and school systems depend on transcripts.   Are we too dependent on test scores?
3. What is the balance between project-based learning and rigid testing?
4. What can we do to better collaborate among educational institutions?
   

Welcome to the Future of Education: Charlottesville, a show where we consider what our education system should look like in 20 years.   I’m your host Lee Elberson and I ask you to join me on a journey to the future as experts from the Charlottesville Community explore our education system through a variety of different lenses.  These topics are specific to Charlottesville but likely have wide-reaching implications.

Intro Music: Yoffee, J. (2020). Will To Live [Single]

Topics Covered:

Background

1. What impact did education make on you growing up?
2. What motivated you to work in independent schools?
3. Do small independent schools require staff to wear many hats?  If so, what are the advantages of creating generalists in this environment?

Historical review of education

1. Compared to 20 years ago, what strides have been made in our education system? 
2. What are some of the unique challenges that small independent schools face that students face 20 years ago?
3. Have students developed an oversimplified view of pass/fail in the past decade?
4. What were some of the learning lessons from a year of COVID schooling at Renaissance?
5. What do you think students get out of a college degree that justifies the cost?

Future thinking

1. What do we want our education system to look like in 20 years?
2. What does equity look like in our school systems?  
3. Jobs ask for resumes, Colleges ask for test scores, and school systems depend on transcripts.   Are we too dependent on test scores?
4. What does the class of 2041 have that the class of 2021 does not?
5. What does collaboration look like among educational institutions?
6. What can we do NOW to shape our education system?
7. Would focusing on project-based learning help or hurt students' career trajectory?

Welcome to the Future of Education: Charlottesville, a show where we consider what our education system should look like in 20 years.   I’m your host Lee Elberson and I ask you to join me on a journey to the future as experts from the Charlottesville Community explore our education system through a variety of different lenses.  These topics are specific to Charlottesville but likely have wide-reaching implications.

Intro Music: Yoffee, J. (2020). Will To Live [Single]

Topics Covered:

Historical review of education

1. Compared to 20 years ago, what strides have been made in our education system? 
2. What have we done correctly in education?
3. What are some of our growth areas? 
4. What are some of the positives that have come out of this year in COVID?  
5. What lasting effect will virtual education have on students and is there a place for it moving back into in-person education?

Future thinking

1. What do we want our education system to look like in 20 years?
2. How should the relationship between independents and public schools look like in 20 years?
3. What does equity look like in our school system?  

What can we do NOW to shape our education system

1. What stakeholders do we need more involvement from to help make these changes happen?  
2. Do we need some radical changes to our education system?
3. What type of benchmarking do we need to do with our students?
4. How can we empower teachers to take creative leaps in their curriculum decisions?
5. How will your potential new role as a city councilor change from your role as a school board member?

Welcome to the Future of Education: Charlottesville, a show where we consider what our education system should look like in 20 years.   I’m your host Lee Elberson and I ask you to join me on a journey to the future as experts from the Charlottesville Community explore our education system through a variety of different lenses.  These topics are specific to Charlottesville but likely have wide-reaching implications.

Intro Music: Yoffee, J. (2020). Will To Live [Single]

Historical review of education

• Compared to 20 years ago, what strides have been made in our education system? 
• What are some of the unique challenges that middle school students face that students our age didn’t face 20 years ago?
• What is the profile of a middle school student who has a healthy lifestyle?
• Do students have an oversimplified view of pass/fail?

Future thinking

• What do we want our education system to look like in 20 years?
• What does mental health look like for the student of the future?
• What does equity look like in our school system?  
• What does collaboration look like among educational institutions?
• What does the class of 2041 have that the class of 2021 does not?

What can we do NOW to shape our education system?

• Are middle students aware of professions that fit their skillsets?
• How can we get students to take more risk in a healthy manor?

Welcome to the Future of Education: Charlottesville, a show where we consider what our education system should look like in 20 years.   I’m your host Lee Elberson and I ask you to join me on a journey to the future as experts from the Charlottesville Community explore our education system through a variety of different lenses.  These topics are specific to Charlottesville but likely have wide-reaching implications.

Intro Music: Yoffee, J. (2020). Will To Live [Single]

Topics Covered:

Historical review of education

1. Compared to 20 years ago, what strides have been made in our education system? 
2. We have a tendency in our society to stick with the status quo.  Where do you see that happening in independent schools? 
3. How have independent schools involved this past year during COVID?
4. Do students at independent have an easier time advocating for resources than their public school counterparts?

Future thinking

1. What do we want our education system to look like in 20 years?
2. How should the relationship between independents and public schools look like in 20 years?
3. What does equity look like in our school system?
4. What does the class of 2041 have that the class of 2021 does not?
   

What can we do NOW to shape our education system

1. What classes do we need to implement now to help students improve agency and wellness?
2. Is there a role for independent schools to support public schools?
   

Audience questions

1. What does physical education look like at independent schools post-COVID?
2. How do we better prepare our students for an ever-changing job market?