National Center on Education and the Economy

"For years, education celebrated the heroic leader. The tireless fixer. The person willing to work longer, move faster, and absorb more pressure than everyone else. We rewarded urgency and admired endurance. But the future will not be built by exhausted people holding together fragmented systems through sheer force of will." - Vicki Phillips

📖 For education leaders thinking beyond the next initiative, this is a must-read. https://bit.ly/3RXqvd7

This past week, we had the pleasure of joining the Rural Schools Collaborative Rural Education Summit in Madison, WI.

High-performing systems globally show us that schools are strongest when learning is connected to community, local context, and real-world experiences. Rural educators are already designing the kinds of learner-centered, community-connected experiences that many are trying to build.

Thank you to Rural Schools Collaborative for convening such a thoughtful and inspiring group of educators, leaders, and partners. We look forward to further storytelling and collaboration.

NCEE’s Design Pathways help districts redesign how things work so priorities, structures, and daily practice line up. That work might focus on:

🎓 Defining a Future-Ready Learner Profile
🛠 Creating a clear learning model
🌍 Building career-connected pathways
⏰ Rethinking how time is used to support learning - accelerate outcomes, expand opportunities, support educator PL

Each pathway is grounded in research and shaped by your local context.

A simple next step:
👉 Take a closer look at the Design Pathways and see what’s possible for your district
🔗 https://ncee.org/designing-systems-that-work/

For those already starting to plan for next year, here are a few ways NCEE can support your work.

➡️ Strengthen school and district leadership through NISL NEXT
➡️ Support teachers with TEL2 and the science of learning
➡️ Explore fresh ideas from high-performing systems through our Thinking Differently series
➡️ Start with the end in mind by creating a shared vision for student success and designing backwards from there.

The work is different in every community. The goal is the same: helping more students thrive.

If you're beginning to map out priorities for next year, we'd love to talk.

Congratulations to our inaugural cohort of graduates from Freed-Hardeman University on completing the National Institute for School Leadership (NISL) program!

Thank you for your dedication to leadership, learning, and the success of every student. Here's to the impact you'll continue to make in schools and communities across the region.

We're proud to share our latest story and grateful to East Tennessee State University, their faculty, and the practicing principals and teacher leaders from rural districts across the region who came together for shared learning.

This case study offers valuable insights for universities, districts, and regional partners working to strengthen leadership development in rural communities.

https://ncee.org/building-leadership-bridges-in-east-tennessee/