One of the primary goals of our application for the Circulos Super School was to create a school whose primary pursuit would be to develop instructional practices and student skillsets that would prepare graduates to thrive in our modern, hyperconnected world.   To accomplish this, we needed a team that could innovate at a high level, who would be nimble enough to provide flexible structures for learning on an ongoing basis.  This type of flexibility is surprisingly difficult to achieve in practice.  The “dailyness” of school screams for structure and predictability.  The systems employed in most classrooms are created precisely with the aim of mitigating uncertainty.

But uncertainty is the name of the game in our modern world.

Admittedly, the past few weeks have introduced a level of uncertainty that even the most flexible amongst us probably find unsettling.  If anything, this has served as a sobering reminder about where we need to take our educational institutions if we hope to provide meaningful, authentic learning for students regardless of their living circumstances.  Last week I posted about the challenge of the digital divide – a very real challenge for students living in poverty in places where the digital infrastructure simply does not meet the standard.  Yet even when students have a reliable connection, there is the additional question about what quality learning looks like in the digital space.

Across the Santa Ana Unified school district, we have seen examples of teachers and administrators who have quickly mobilized resources and tools to provide a meaningful platform for student learning.  This is particularly the case with our Circulos team.  Early into our school closures, the team launched a series of protocols for connecting regularly with students – “virtual circles,” if you will.  The team even posted a screen shot of their team meeting on social media, a la Brady Bunch, which went viral and was featured by both our local county office of education, and by the XQ institute.

This weekend, the team announced a series of online professional development opportunities available to teachers across the district.  The offerings focus on things like “Branding and Designing your Virtual Space,” “Cultivating Voice through Student Blogs,” and “Virtual Circles: Tools and Best Practices.”  The school’s motto of “come join our circle” extends to professionals who desire to up their digital game.  A big part of our initial pursuit of the XQ grant was precisely to demonstrate our ability to share the learning from Circulos across schools and departments within a large school district.  It’s very satisfying to see that happening in practice.