Being a bit skeptical at first, I did my homework and quickly realized that the Lexington Institute and Education Elements were the real deal. It did not take long for the next realization, which was that instead of wondering what was ahead of me, I should have asked what amazing things were in store for our district.
The fellowship organizers know that it takes the proverbial village to create systemic educational change. As such, our district assembled a cross-functional team to participate in the on-site Ed Elements Foundations workshop and final Graphic Facilitation in Washington D.C., where we built a common vocabulary and a shared vision for this district-wide shift. I did not anticipate how the fellowship would benefit others in my district, and I am so happy that it did.
Luckily, both the Lexington Institute and Education Elements understand that, while leadership is the key to systemic change, leadership is not a solo practice. My personal experience in this fellowship cannot be told without including my internal team as well as my district-based team — all who gained tremendously from the LELA fellowship. Over the six months of the LELA fellowship, my team and I worked closely with the Education Elements team through a series of strategy, vision, and design activities to better understand personalized learning and the right path for our district. Along the way, we all had the opportunity to work with mentor Matt Akin, the Superintendent from Piedmont City Schools, Alabama. I personally met many other great leaders from around the country through LELA who are looking to make a big difference in their districts.
Apart from the physical touchpoints of the fellowship, I deeply appreciated its philosophic underpinnings. While the LELA fellowship focused on personalized learning, when a district reaches self-actualization of a truly student-centered system, then the term personalized learning (PL) won’t even be needed.