Assignment: Create Your Wall

Half the group received this assignment. The other half received the one below.

Context	Yesterday the group created a strong vision for what needs to happen in the state of Nebraska to grow the economy and meet the needs of citizens.
Objective	The objective of this round is to examine the highlights of yesterday’s work and create a framework for how we invest the Perkins Grant.
Process	This is a pairs activity. Please find someone to pair with whom you do not know well. Each pair is provided a single panel white wall for your work. You have 25 minutes for this activity. In your pair, discuss and document your ideas on the following: What were the top 3 highlights from yesterday? These could be insights, surprises, learnings, discoveries, etc. What did you hear yesterday that could lead to educational innovation in Nebraska? What do the conversations and the work accomplished yesterday mean to us as educators? How should we invest the $45million Perkins Grant differently than in the past to achieve the goals set out yesterday? What are the top five focus areas we should invest in? What policies and requirements (including in the local application) will ensure that Nebraska can document and demonstrate the focus of these funds toward keeping America and Nebraska competitive and show that we are making significant progress in closing the skills gap?
Exchange	After you finish this activity you will have an opportunity to share your work with others.

Half the group received this assignment. The other half received the one above.

Context	Yesterday the group created a strong vision for what needs to happen in the state of Nebraska to grow the economy and meet the needs of citizens.
Objective	The objective of this round is to examine the highlights of yesterday’s work and create an innovative framework for how we invest the Perkins Grant.
Process	This is a pairs activity. Please find someone to pair with whom you do not know well. Each pair is provided a single panel white wall for your work. You have 25 minutes for this activity. In your pair, discuss and document your ideas on the following: What were the top 3 highlights from yesterday? These could be insights, surprises, learnings, discoveries, etc. What do the conversations and the work accomplished yesterday mean to us as educators? What innovations are needed in the education system to ensure that all populations have access to training for high skill, high wage and/or high demand occupations? The Perkins Grant will be a 6-year process with more than $45 million to fund career and technical education initiatives in Nebraska. Based on what you learned yesterday, what should be different about this Perkins cycle than in the past? What are 3 most important characteristics of any program funded by Perkins money? Thinking ahead six years, what should be different in Nebraska as a result of how would invested the Perkins allocation?
Exchange	After you finish this activity you will have an opportunity to share your work with others.

Output

These are the walls that were done in pairs.

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Assignment: Share Your Wall

Context	Sharing the work we did in pairs.
Objective	The Objective of this round is for each person to have an opportunity to share the work they just completed with the other members of their new team.
Process	Small Group Activity Travel to each of the single panels created by the members in your team. Each person takes approximately 4 minutes to share the results of their pairs panel. When the whole group has had an opportunity to share their work you will be provided with the next activity.
Exchange	At the end of this round you will be given instructions for the next round of work.

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Assignment, part 3 - Six Year Plans

Context	Imagine it’s six years from now and you have been very successful in leveraging and using the Perkins Grant to accomplish innovative and successful changes in the Nebraska School System.
Objective	The Objective of this round it to develop a six year timeline of achievements – looking back from 2013 to 2007.
Process	Small Group Activity In your breakout area, develop a six-year plan for Perkins Grant money. Please focus on innovation - what is different this time around, and how do these differences lead to a quantum improvement in results? Your plan should identify the following elements and show how they are different than in the past: Goals Milestones to be achieved (and by when they would be reached) Initiatives undertaken, and by whom Partnerships developed Policies created Success measures Develop and document your Plan using the white walls and pens provided.
Exchange	At the end of this round you will have an opportunity to share your work with the other groups.

Team 5

Our mission was the six year plan and in good structural plan, we put into a grid. Putting these into a particular year was really tough.

Seamless transition and using the NCE model is our common language. We want to get the governor’s office in support. All schools are student-focused and all have PLPs that meet their needs. We want to have collaboration. State-wide articulation would be a milestone. We want to have an ongoing and productive partnership with all the stakeholders. We know we have an ongoing challenge with communication because of the transitions in the legislature.

We looked at partnerships with businesses having trainings. Partnerships and advisory groups need to be fully functional and not just paper tigers. All associates degrees are two plus two programs. We want seamless transitions into either 2-year or 4-year degrees.

Rule 10 needs to serve all students and we don’t want to have any barriers. We offer all kinds of visions for how schools look. Maybe have virtual classrooms.

Success looks like a plan that meets federal approval without any comments and gets approved on the first round. We want equitable opportunities for all students. The K-12 prepares our students for the workforce. We focus on the 21st century skills. Our education system is flexible and timely, as close to real time as possible. Everyone works together to make that possible.

There would be no more silos, either in education or in the business field. We would provide specialized training to meet business and industry needs. We will accomplish all of this by 2012 and the world will still be a great place.

Report Out Wall

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Team 1

We approached this from a different standpoint. We came to grips with the letting go. It’s like a trapeze artist when they swing forward and let go trusting the other person is going to catch them. We don’t believe we can get here from there without significant changes.

We want to look at how to have the best interest for the state, not just from an education standpoint, but also for business, industry and lifestyle.

We talked about incremental change. There about four models out there. We see the new venture as something we can’t get to with incremental change. We need a new leadership structure that’s going to make sure that the ideals we put out we can realize. We need Network Nebraska. There are pockets of communication and no communication in our state. We need to have the ability to network and be able to move toward expert models.

This is not just about technology, this is about human potential. We will have seamless use of technology and improved learning. It’s about having the skills and not just the content. We have awareness and ability to leveraging resources, especially expertise that we don’t have. We also need to move towards a big picture state. This has to be good for all of Nebraska.

We used the ‘S’ curve that shows how change is radical. We’ve got too much to lose to stay with a structure that we don’t trust will catch us in this radical shift. We need to fill the pool over a period of time, so that we can feel confident when you jump off the board.

Report Out Wall

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Team 3

Every student will have a career plan and we’re well on our way. The school will be different, such as the calendar, content through relevance. We want educational ties to the economic situation. We want to get students up to the 21st century with their skills.

We have will have a seamless K-16 program and funding for all of these. Teacher certification will be a big issue for this. We talked about policies and there was a lot of discussion about the high school diploma which should be proficiency-based. Maybe students should graduate at sophomores and then come back for elective courses.

We want to alignment of course titles with the outcomes. We want to have partnerships with businesses. Internships will be key to this process. We want to create a common vision with the state.

Five years ago, if I had a music teacher who asked me about going to a conference, I couldn’t have funded it. Last month we sent a group of them to a program of music technology which was fantastic and I expect more of that in the future.

Report Out Wall

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Assignment, part 3 - Manifesto

Context	Building upon the work completed yesterday, let’s develop a manifesto for the Perkins Grant.
Objective	Develop a manifesto that describes the directions we need to take with our Perkins Grant.
Process	Small Group Activity This Manifesto will articulate the needs, explain why change is needed, and defines the principles and framework that guide our Perkins efforts. Please focus on innovation - what is different this time around, and how do these differences lead to a quantum improvement in results? Use the following questions to help develop your Manifesto: How can the Perkins process be oriented to address the new needs articulated in our work of yesterday? What goals should be achieved through the use of the Perkins Money that will be different than in the past? What innovations do we need to help Nebraskans learn, earn and live well today and better in the future? Thinking of the world of 2020, what should our priorities be? How will progress be measured? How will accountability be determined? What new partnerships are necessary for our success? Use the white walls and pens provided to develop your Manifesto.
Exchange	At the end of this round you will have an opportunity to share your work with the other groups.

Team 4

If we’re going to have multiple players at the table, they need to be at the table. It needs to be physical. That means not just have an advisory group, but we go to their place to have our conversations and include the students. We want education to be all students, all teachers, and all education. We have curriculum-integrated partnerships which are not business partnerships but learning partnerships. If you’re innovative then you get money, but it needs to be dramatic innovation.

We talked about humongous focus on professional development. Parents, teachers, students, advisory councils, governor and others need to be included. It needs to be sustainable. We need to know how to learn from our partners.

The things we had a hard time with are coming up with the language. We talked about having no silos, and maybe no school houses. We struggled because we started focusing on the wordsmithing and getting out of our innovative ideas.

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Team 2

We looked at some of the things we could do, such as combining all of the boards that we’re on and save us some time. We want to have PLP, marketing and continuous improvement.

We want our systems to be innovative and want to spend time on professional development. We need to focus on pedagogy. Our students will have some work/life issues. We are preparing for a workforce that we don’t know what kinds of jobs they’ll be preparing for.

We need meaningful data. Right now we have no tracking system to know whether they’ve met their requirements.

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Team 6

We talked about regional collaboration and having a state-wide effort. We need people power behind these ideas, possibly a person to facilitate this. We spoke highly of the NCE model and building on it. We want to implement it from everybody’s standpoint.

We threw out many ideas, even having Perkins offer funds for the middle school level. We looked at dollars for projects instead of institutions. We want a common course articulation. We want to make it a web-based process so that everyone has immediate access and the same information.

In technology, we looked at a curriculum vein. We need professional development. We need to work out a local definition of data.

Report Out Wall