At GLP, we believe that staying abreast of new ideas, trends, and information is essential to visionary leadership. This newsletter seeks to help leaders cut through the noise and find resources that are worth reading. Visit our  website  to explore earlier editions!
Imagining September and Beyond
Harvard Graduate School of Education professor Jal Mehta (coauthor of the book In Search of Deeper Learning ) is one of GLP's favorite thinkers. Over the past few months, he has worked with MIT professor Justin Reich to publish a collection of meaningful planning resources under the umbrella title of "Imagining September."

Consistent with Mehta's pedagogical beliefs about student agency in the learning process, these materials focus on using participatory design as a key planning element for the upcoming school year. But student voice isn't just important for abstract philosophical reasons: it's also because they have key insights into remote learning that educators simply do not have right now.

"There is exactly one generation of American students who have participated in remote learning during extended school closures: the students enrolled in our courses and classrooms this past year," the authors write. "Adults have all kinds of wisdom and expertise in teaching and education, but none of us have experience as learners during a pandemic. Our students have an intimate perspective on what works and what doesn’t during remote learning."

You're doubtlessly reading tons of articles and white papers right now about planning for next year, but here's what's unique about Mehta and Reich's work. Most publications are focused on establishing "best practices'' from a teacher's perspective: based on what these experts say, here is what remote learning or hybrid models should look like next year. But we haven't seen a whole lot about participatory design, and if it's mentioned at all, it typically lacks concrete frameworks for making it happen. Having students fill out a quick Google Form survey isn't truly inviting them into the conversation. "Imagining September" offers plenty of ideas for scaffolding the design process to make sure that we can effectively collect student perspectives and, in turn, build a plan for next year that is more creative and more inclusive.

The core ideas can be found in two full-length reports: “ Principles and Design Elements for Ambitious Schools During COVID-19 ” and “ Online Design Charrettes for Fall 2020 Planning with Students and Stakeholders .” For a quick overview of both documents, check out this Twitter thread from Reich that summarizes the reports. There's also a recording of a recent HGSE webinar hosted by the authors available here .

And what about beyond the fall? Inspiration comes from a recent piece by Bharat Anand , a Harvard business professor who also serves as the university’s Vice Provost for Advances in Learning. Anand envisions the shift to remote and hybrid learning as an opportunity to break out of the conventional model in ways that will drive a lasting impact on how we think about education. He’s particularly hopeful about distance learning’s capacity to transform conventional academic schedules, increase opportunities for multidisciplinary course offerings, and facilitate learning that is experiential, place-based, and personalized.
A Call to Boards and School Leaders
Our most recent blog post aims to share our reflections on how school communities might drive and sustain ongoing work around equity and inclusion. We’ve written this piece with school leaders and trustees in mind and grounded our thoughts in the notion that these stakeholders must work together as a cohesive team in order to effect lasting change. Our post does not reflect on the content of your actions — that is to be determined by school communities. Rather, it offers a checklist for processes so that you might formulate the content of change in a way that is authentic to the purpose and values of your school. 

One key takeaway: The best strategy is to address your community honestly, to listen openly, with genuine interest and compassion, and to follow up with actions that align to the mission and values of your school. This is an ongoing and virtuous cycle, one that invites dialogue, seeks a range of perspectives (especially from students), incorporates feedback, and results in clear next steps. It’s not a one-time response or a simple position statement. Rather, it’s the beginning (or the continuation) of the most important conversations we have in any community: How might we become better learners, better citizens, and better people, so that we might all participate in a better world?
Even Better Than the Real Thing
While the pandemic, economic crisis, and issues of racial justice have made increased demands on the work of a board, these same forces have dramatically disrupted the conventional model for board meetings. Given these high stakes, the timing could not be worse for boards to suddenly stop meeting in person — or is it?

A new Harvard Business Review article shows why some boards have actually increased their effectiveness thanks to the sudden shift to virtual meetings. "Aside from the obvious benefits of reduced travel and increased attendance," the authors write, "shifting to virtual has allowed boards to improve governance and collaboration through shorter agendas, crisper presentations, more inclusive and bolder conversations, and broader exposure to key executives and outside experts."

We couldn't agree more with this framing. The pandemic has led to boards being able to press the reset button on how they approach their meetings; it would be unwise to not take full advantage of this opportunity.

The authors of the article outline eight key practices for a successful virtual meeting, and while their guidance is obviously geared towards the Zoom context, their recommendations align with the guidance that we have given boards for years (including our recent article for Independent School magazine on structuring meeting time). Boards that lean into these practices will find strength during the current crises and set themselves up for success down the road.
Summer Reading
We'll conclude this edition with elevation, inspiration, and pleasure, and call your attention to two remarkably curated lists recently published by Zora, a digital publication that centers around the voices of women of color. Both lists aim to establish a “canon” (a collection of essential texts) created by African American women, and the lists feature brief blurbs and a beautiful digital layout. Click here to check out the Zora literary canon and click here for the music canon. We hope these canons help you (as Zora puts it) “discover and rediscover” books and albums that too often go unrecognized despite their capacity to move us, heal us, and shape American cultural history.
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