Take the Future Ready Schools Pledge
The Future Ready Schools® (FRS) District Pledge is a commitment by superintendents on behalf of their districts to collaborate with educators, families, and community members to ensure all students are ready for the future. FRS provides school leaders with a set of customized tools and resources on policies and practices necessary for the adoption of learner-centered strategies that result in deeper learning outcomes.
I, _______________________, Superintendent of _________________________ do hereby affirm the commitment of this school district to work with students, educators, families, community members, and the FRS network of support to continuously create learner-centered environments in all schools served by the district. In doing so, areas of focus include the following:
1. Foster a culture of collaborative leadership.
FRS district leadership teams are composed of leaders at all levels who work collaboratively to transform teaching and learning to a more learner-centered approach.
Leaders are empowered to leverage technology to create a culture of innovation within their district and drive improved deeper learning outcomes for all students. FRS district teams foster student agency so that students can become productive, responsible, and contributing digital citizens.
2. Provide rigorous academic content for all students to build life skills.
In a FRS district, curriculum, instruction, and assessment are tightly aligned with and designed to engage students in personalized, technology-empowered, deeper learning experiences that build life-long learning skills.
Curricula and instruction meet specific learning standards while connecting to students’ interests, strengths, and aspirations. They are research-based and enriched through authentic, real-world problem solving, and life skills are embedded within content. Students and teachers have robust and adaptive tools to ensure learner-centered experiences that emphasize a deep understanding of complex issues. Assessments are embedded and performance-based and allow students to monitor their progress in mastering critical knowledge and skills, enabling them to take greater ownership over their learning. In areas where students struggle, they receive targeted instruction, practice, and support while engaged in challenging academic content and skills. Data and associated analyses serve as building blocks for learning that are differentiated to ensure all learners succeed. In FRS districts, equity in opportunity is a non-negotiable.
3. Empower personalized professional learning opportunities.
FRS districts strive to provide all educators with access to professional learning experiences that are personal and authentic.
All educators are empowered to lead and take ownership over their professional growth. FRS districts provide robust opportunities for teachers to make learning more personal for students, which could include but is not limited to digital professional learning communities, peer-to-peer lesson sharing and observation, better use of data and formative assessments, and experiences that eliminate the confines of geography and time. FRS districts value non-traditional forms of professional learning and offer vast new opportunities to collaborate, learn, share, and master best practices with colleagues in school buildings across the country.
4. Help schools and families transition to anytime, anywhere learning.
High-quality, high-speed technology and infrastructure within a FRS school district are essential to advancing authentic, learner-centric experiences.
The use of technology is seamless and students have ubiquitous access to broadband on high-quality devices both at school and at home. To every extent possible, FRS districts will create these technology-enabled environments and promote anytime, anywhere learning within schools and collaborate with families, businesses, and the community to support broadband access outside of school. FRS districts maintain a laser focus on the effective use of technology and long-term sustainability.
5. Rethink the use of space and time.
Learner-centric experiences in a FRS district require changes in the way instructional time is allotted and how the learning space is designed.
A more personal approach to learning adapts to meet the needs, pace, interests, and preferences of the learner. As instructional pedagogy shifts and multiple instructional approaches are used, so too must the learning space be more flexible. Therefore, a conscious effort is made to ensure that learning spaces are transformed to be research-based, flexible, collaborative, and interactive while supporting learner choice, comfort, and empowerment.
6. Implement thoughtful data and privacy policies and protocols.
Data privacy and security are foundational elements of learner-centered digital learning. FRS districts ensure that sound data governance policies are enacted to ensure privacy, safety, and security of confidential data.
Education professionals are provided with a range of resources, trainings, and services available to build awareness and capacity to implement such policies and procedures with precision.
7. Focus on long-term sustainability.
In FRS districts, the transition to learner-centered, technology-empowered experiences requires strategic short- and long-term budgeting as well as creative leveraging of resources.
All budgets at the district and school levels are aligned with the vision for teaching and learning and have consistent funding streams for both recurring and nonrecurring costs. District leaders strive for regular cost savings and efficiencies through the effective use of technology while remaining focused on long-term sustainability.
8. Share and mentor for continuous improvement.
FRS districts understand that transformation is a process, not an event. No matter where FRS districts may fall on the implementation continuum, they are working diligently toward a system of continuous improvement districtwide, with emphasis on its lowest-performing schools and student subgroups.
Examples include attending events, engaging in webinars, reading and contributing to blogs posts, collaborating with out-of-district colleagues, and reflecting on ways to improve learning outcomes for all students. They align, curate, create, and consistently improve policies, procedures, and practices used in the support of learning and work collaboratively to break down traditional silos between school districts for the success of all students.