Are you a school leader looking to cultivate a transformational, self-directed, equitable education environment?
To explore the conditions for innovation, this Institute anchors in Transcend’s Conditions for Innovation framework, which suggests that a community’s ability to engage in innovation depends on several crucial factors, including their capacity, internal culture, conviction that change is necessary, clarity on their context, goals, and strategy, and the depth, breadth, and diversity of their coalition for change. Participants of this Institute will explore how to use the framework for reflection and self-assessment, strategic planning and decision making, professional development, collective action, partnership vetting, and vision casting.
In addition, this Institute draws on multiple leadership theories, case studies, and strategies that will develop a leader’s and/or leadership team’s capacity to grow—and sustain over time—the conditions for innovation. Institute participants will learn ways to grow local conviction for innovation, to improve their clarity of vision, to build a culture of innovation in their organization, to fully align resources with innovation goals, and to develop a coalition of support.
Similar to how trees need good soil to live and grow, innovative learning communities require strong conditions perpetually. Thus, paying close attention to conditions for innovation is applicable for teams at any stage of the innovation journey—whether they’re building a new learning model, advancing or improving an existing learning community, or codifying and sharing an education innovation. The experiences of this Institute are also relevant across a wide range of education settings—including districts, charter, and private; rural, urban, and suburban; and in- and out-of-school.
What You'll Gain
Self-assess the strength of your local conditions for innovation
Acquire tools and resources to strengthen your local conditions for innovation
Build greater understanding of the education innovation journey
Who Should Participate
Individuals who affect the design and/or implementation of an emerging or existing transformative learning environment
Individuals who support teams that affect the design and/or implementation of an transformative learning environment
Key Topics
Conditions for Innovation in Education
Leadership and Change Management
Future Trends in K-12 Schooling
Education Innovation Process
Radical transformation in education is possible, but only when strong local conditions are in place. In this 16-session course, participants will identify the nature of those local conditions—and make plans to nurture their growth. These are the most important lessons that a leader or leadership team can learn.
In addition to the online course materials, Cohort members will be invited to attend three virtual check-in sessions in 2025 — on January 15th, February 26th, and March 26th from 6:00pm to 7:30 pm EST. — to discuss the content and receive coaching and feedback from Institute personnel.
Each team will conduct a rigorous self-assessment of their current conditions for innovation and will be guided through a process for creating a plan to nurture their growth. As part of the Cohort, you will receive one round of feedback from Institute staff on your self-assessment and cultivation plan plus the ability to purchase additional consulting hours with our team.