Happy New Year 2017
Greetings to each of you as we embark on a fresh new calendar year. For most educators a new year is actually in August when the school year starts. But January is always a great time to reflect upon the year so far, where we have been, and of course where we are going. January through about March is a traditionally long stretch for many of us as we dig in to meet state requirements and help our students be successful as they finish out their year. Many of us pray for snow days just to get a little break in between.
At US Digital Literacy, we are keeping a watch on changes from the No Child Left Behind Legislation to the Every Student Succeeds Act. “With this bill, we reaffirm that fundamentally American ideal—that every child, regardless of race, income, background, the zip code where they live, deserves the chance to make of their lives what they will.” — President Barack Obama
The ESSA ensures that there will be a shift from federal protocols back to the states to identify and guide action to effect positive change even in our lowest performing schools. With a change in administration in Washington for the coming year, it will certainly be interesting to see how this all plays out. President-Elect Trump has called upon Betsy DeVos to lead conservative education reform for all America’s children. She is a proponent of charter and private school vouchers and school choice with high hopes of better outcomes for children.
The bottom line; however, for better outcomes for our children, will be with innovative leaders at each and every level. And this means less of what has been done in the past and more of what our future ready graduates need daily in and out of the classroom. It also means that districts must begin to look for innovators, seek out hard workers, and trust in a vision of risk takers and groundbreakers. It means shifting from what we have always done to trying new ideas that are grounded in research, but redeemed in catalysts.
In 2017 US Digital Literacy will continue to bring you great web based apps in our blog, but we will also be exploring a variety of topics in an editorial style dialogue to help pave the way for innovators and risk takers like you!
