In 2009, I was fortunate enough to visit New Tech High School in Coppell, TX…a "New Tech Network" school centered on project based learning and authentic student-led experiences. Prior to that visit, everything that I understood about education involved teachers as the holders of information with students waiting to grasp onto every word. Within a few moments of walking through the halls of New Tech, I knew that I was experiencing something life-changing. It was as if the doors of learning were unlocked ever so slightly and I haven’t been the same educator since. It was on that day that I first experienced what freedom to explore and learn meant. I saw kids, deeply draped in trust, collaborating, researching, discussing and even studying from all corners of the building. I saw a "grading system" that had zero numerical value but a life value far greater than a red pen could mark. I saw kids, excited about the "global awareness" project they were collaboratively creating…entranced by their ideas as well as the ongoing feedback of their peers…while also editing final videos for online submission to youtube. I remember leaving New Tech full of excitement and wonder and I was eager to try implementing some of those ideas into my own math classroom. I started with changing the way that I taught by giving much less and asking much more. That simple change, while not easy, profoundly changed who I was as a teacher. Over the last few years, I’ve been to many different schools and I have only felt such a life-changing jolt on two other occasions. One…after visiting Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia and the other…Anastasis Academy in Colorado. Like New Tech, both schools are inquiry driven and project based, with one (SLA) being a public magnet high school founded by a man with a transformative vision and The Franklin Institute. The second…a private school (Anastasis) formed because a pair of teachers wanted to create a "new paradigm in education". In both situations, the differences in belief and approach to learning versus traditional schooling were obvious from multiple views. Kids were empowered to think, dream, act and learn with many iterations of thought. Partnerships between students, teachers and parents were clearly evident. Students were trusted to be human and teachers were trusted to be their own curriculum writers instead of forced to teach from a district box-set of ideas. Both locations boasted students who spoke of the privilege that they felt to learn in such an authentic manner that their voices and ideas were not only heard but empowered to ignite their individual paths. Each trip, while months apart, forced me to think about the possibilities for kids and the future leaders that they can become if we stopped living in the traditional sense of school and shifted our thinking to be truly focused on empowering kids to be architects of their own thoughts and lovers of the art of learning. It should not be surprising to adults when students can articulate their own thoughts. We should not be shocked when a teenager makes some incredible scientific discovery or creates a work of art "beyond his/her years". When I am told, "…designed/created by a student", I do not want to live in a world where my response is, "Are you serious?"….but instead… "of course". If we listen to our learners, our schools should be empowering… Ideas Voice Passion Activism Creativity Curiosity Relationships Community Research Cultural Cognizance Invention Learning If we aren’t doing those things, why should we question when kids lack a spark or intent when approaching school? Why should we be concerned when attendance lacks while discipline referrals reach new peaks? Why should we wonder why parental support falters? Why question the social connectedness of teachers to ideas or opportunities for growth? Why question what we haven’t established, implemented or supported…in the traditional sense? Why have we created and accepted a system where authentic learning is a matter of privilege? We all speak of educational change and/or reform but no such change is possible until we cut the leashes of traditional learning and redefine our purpose for school. The key to getting there is tucked in the dusty boxes that are currently holding the muted thoughts of our greatest assets. Our Kids What do they think about learning? What do they think about school? How would they change it? What small change can you make in your classroom/school to empower "untraditional" growth? What needs to happen to support more meaningful and authentic approaches to growth? (Noticeably absent from the list above…Technology. We don’t need to empower technology. We need to empower our learners…who they are and who they can become. The technology should be accessible…supporting and empowering all of the characteristics listed and more)

If you asked me five years ago if I would have ever left the halls of my high school, I would have laughed and said…"No way!" I loved it too much. I still do. I also would not have ever considered leaving my home town…nor would I have seen myself traveling the country to talk about the state of education or collaborating on ideas for change. There is no way that I could have pictured myself having any form of impact outside of my classroom or city limits. It was not within my reach, vision or possibilities. I have been fortunate to have had many great experiences since my journey in education began. I always knew that I would eventually train teachers and so did my students as we took great pride in sharing our deepest dreams and encouraging each other. My dreams are possible because of them and I know that I have had great impact on theirs. A few weeks ago, I submitted my official resignation to my school district and April 1st will be my final day with Arlington ISD, a school district that will always hold a special place in my heart as it really is a spectacular place to learn. The reality is that to do the work that I believe in and know needs to be done for teachers and students, it is almost impossible to stay within a public education contract. I always said that if it came to be that my time out of school was shifting the focus away from my real job, I would need to make a choice. And so I did. The risk is worth it. What’s Next? I wish that I could share some big earth shattering announcement but I cannot because as with most things done outside of the norm…great impactful ideas take work and many iterations of thinking. What I will say is that during Google Teacher Academy, I wrote a massive "moonshot" and it is very much so happening! As soon as I can share…believe me, I will. In the meantime, I am scheduled for the next few months to work directly with schools all over the country on learning goals (with technology) for students and teachers. I’ll also be doing more consulting with developers as educator voice is certainly an often absent necessity. It’s safe to say that my message of creativity, curiosity and innovation isn’t changing. It will only get louder and one goal is for certain… I plan to move heaven and earth to make sure that all of our children, especially those of poverty and of color, will have the access and opportunity needed to be creative agents of passion and change in this world.  So, with that said….I am not leaving education but spreading my wings. My passion is to serve and resigning from that isn’t an option.

A few weeks ago, I attended a great session led by Katrina Stevens (US Office of Edtech) and Chike Aguh (Advisory Board Company) called, "Building an Edtech Bill of Rights". In this session, Katrina and Chike masterfully facilitated a necessary discussion on purposeful innovation amongst teachers, EdTech leaders, researchers, entrepreneurs and students…with a focus on teacher/student voice. During the session, we were challenged to listen to teachers about current educational problems and come up with some "technology based" way of solving them…in a limited amount of time. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been on many sides of edtech but this was new territory for me as I have never been asked… "What’s your biggest problem and how can we fix it?" Of all of the sessions that I have been to over the years, this one seems to have struck a nerve because it certainly informed a few thoughts that had been brewing concerning the evaluation of the necessity of tech. I want to know about the discussions and research that went into ideating and creating the product. Who does it serve, how does it solve and why? How does your product compare with others which have similar functions? I also want to know if your infrastructure supports product improvement and your plan of growth accordingly. In other words…where is your market research and how are you using it? As educators, we believe wholeheartedly in the power of feedback and if I am using your tool in my classroom, you most certainly should be listening to feedback from users and adjusting accordingly when necessary and possible. Not every tech specialist/teacher will ask these questions but when we consider the number of products on the market and how many make their way into classrooms, someone should be digging deeper. At a minimal level, we should be considering at least 5 questions BEFORE the tech is thrown into the training rotation. 1. What simple problem does this application solve? This is a question about purpose. If I can’t use the tool and understand why I need to use it…how can I possibly communicate this to teachers? With that said, people see tools from different perspectives and someone may find some use that I have not…like augmented reality. However, during the planning/pre-funding phase…that developer had to answer this question and should certainly be able to communicate their "why" to you. 2. If the application was made specifically for education, how much educator feedback was considered and was that feedback from a diverse space? I read an article in Edsurge about the Silicon Valley Education Association and that they have a program for edtech developers to get their product in Silicon Valley schools for testing. To be clear, if this is the ONLY place that your product has been tested and the only place where you are getting feedback, I am going to question this thinking. In addition, how can a product address a need in education if educators are not informing that need?  3. Does the privacy and terms of service align with my students, myself and our district? I have to credit Bill Fitzgerald and Audrey Watters with teaching me everything that I know about privacy, terms of service and the language of them. I read their work religiously. This came in handy as I sat in a room looking at potential products for a future venture and as shocking as it was for the men on the other side of the table to be asked about their TOS and privacy…it was necessary as it unlocked a slew of issues that they did not even know that they had. It’s not just about the age of student that can use it. That’s critical, of course. It’s also about ownership of product, life of your service if the product goes away and privacy of all stakeholders.  4. What type of data is collected and how is that data used? This should be a "no-brainer" to ask. Data = dollars. Believe that. This is especially important if your parents have signed district documents limiting the use of their child’s data. In addition, if you or your teachers are uploading lessons, how will those lessons be used? Who owns them? If uploading my lessons means that I no longer own them, I should not be uploading them. This information should be located somewhere in the terms of service and if it isn’t…ask. 5. If we are creating and storing within the platform, can our work be exported to use elsewhere? Visibly, if the platform includes a "download" feature, do it. Upload it to your external hard drive as you never know when that small step will come in handy. Not every product has an "export" feature and for me…that is a deal breaker. If there is no visible export function, ask about it. Again…see the section in TOS about…"If our product is sold…"  Not every product that we use in schools was made for education but every tech creator should have no problem answering a few questions that are not immediately visible. Gone are the days that we can be oblivious to what happens on the other side of tech. Innovation is a shared responsibility and we must be a part of those discussions as our goals should always be to impact student learning…with effective technology.

For the past few years, I’ve shared many social media postings about my #edtechdad, who earned that name because of his adoration of tech company branded t-shirts. He has never actually used any of the products that he freely advertises around town but that doesn’t stop him from talking about them. As a matter of fact, until a month ago…aside from his former employee entry computer, my father has never been on an internet enabled device himself. Back in February, after engaging in an online mission to disrupt the Slave Simulation game, created by Mission US, I started researching the slave roots within my own family. This was unchartered territory as it is known widely within my family that my great great  grandfather insisted upon avoiding the conversation at all cost as he was considered a product of slavery even though slavery itself had ended. So, even though my father knew the names of his relatives, he did not know anything about their lives and learning about them intrigued him. As we searched and uncovered details, my father became more and more interested in the tools that were enabling him to make connections that he always longed to do. He could not believe that so much of his family history was located online, searchable at any time. Eventually we handed him his own ipad and he has been hooked since. My Dad’s Journey Into Tech My father’s adoption of technology was not an overnight process. As a matter of fact, if you told him one month ago that he would be toting around an ipad mini, he would have given you the best "get away from me" face ever and walked away. These days, my dad is using his ipad to further dig into his history…searching digital archives and artifacts for the gaps in our family history that he never knew. So far, he has traced back at least 12 generations of our "Adams/Hearne" relatives from Hearne, TX to Louisiana, Alabama, North Carolina, Maryland and London, England. He has located primary documents that further connected not only the missing roots of his great grandfather but also the financial ramifications and gain of his family as slave owners and slaves…with no identity. Yesterday, my father asked me to share a few postings to my social sites so that our family could benefit from some of his stories. One of his postings was about the teacher from his primary years who passed away Thursday. He wanted her story to be shared. In addition, my father suggested that he could and should start putting as many of his stories online as possible so that our future generations would know of the history that he uncovered. My father wanted me to post this dedication to his 1st grade teacher who passed away Thursday. In 1959 Berry Joyce Whiteside, fresh out of college, taught her first class of 1st grade students at Blackshear Elementary in Hearne, TX. My dad is on the top row 3 students to the left of Mrs. Whitehead. My dad still remembers how she made learning fun with relevant reading and games. She loved her class and they loved her too. Today, we salute her memory A photo posted by Rafranz (@rafranzdavis) on Mar 28, 2015 at 11:26am PDT Learning from my Father This past January…I published my book, The Missing Voices in Edtech: Bringing Diversity into Edtech. In chapter 2, I talked about the perception of teachers when it comes to tech. In it, I described four types of teachers… Tech-Fearless Educator (leads, teaches, shares, creates, adopts, mentors) Tech-Compliant Educator (learns what is asked and uses) Tech-Reluctant Educator (fear hinders progress) Anti-Everything Educator (not trying to hear about anything new) I found several correlations between these descriptions and my father as he made his trek to becoming a tech user/creator. Although he was not that into using technology, my dad has always been a little curious and I would definitely go as far as calling him reluctant. The difference for him was that we found his "trigger"…something that made technology necessary. He wanted to know about his roots and he wanted to do it himself without our assistance. I joked around that he did it all without any professional development. Technically, that is true. However, he did have help. Between myself and the kids of our family, he has learned not only how to navigate the device but search, curate and even share. As I mentioned earlier, he has asked about ways to put his stories online and we are currently exploring those options for ways that are simple enough for him to get started yet searchable for our family and friends to find it. My dad, a man of 63 years…who has only been a technology user for about one month, is about to get a domain of his own. In his words…if he can do it, anyone can do it. All you need is "the trigger", access and support.

Over the past week I have been looking a bit more deeply into the Future Ready Summit coalition partners in order to learn more about how each one contributes to the #FutureReady initiative. One of those is Digital Promise, an independent, bipartisan nonprofit, authorized by Congress in 2008 as the National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies. Earlier today, I came across a blog post written by Krista Moroder called, Words Matter: Let’s Talk About Learning, Not Technology. In it, Krista reflected on a moment from her training experience in which she came to understand the power of focusing on learning outcomes in lieu of the "tech tool" heavy phrasing that is too often utilized in learning spaces. She goes even deeper by offering alternative phrasing that tech trainers can use to better adhere to the needs of classroom teachers. This is a topic that has been near and dear to my heart for some time and as a matter of fact, I wrote about it in October from the lens of the edtech conference which also too often relies heavily on tool focused sessions. Remember…It’s not about the tool. …Unless you are talking about access instead of professional development because for schools without technology, it IS about the tools. "It’s not about the tech. It’s about the learning" has become a buzz phrase no different than the buzzwords of tech that it’s said against. There are two different sides to this conversation and it’s important to acknowledge that. I agree with the phrase completely in the case of school learning and implementation when it comes to technology as Krista described and even as I described from the tech training circuit. However, the phrase does not apply in schools where there is no technology. A few years ago, I led a technology implementation initiative at a school where teachers were using the equivalent of "overheads" by way of document cameras that were only connected to projectors and not computers. Picture…stacks of notebook papers of notes being used for lectures. School policies prohibited cell phone use and 150 classrooms sharing two common labs plus one cart of broken netbooks, meant that technology use was limited unless students took technology courses. Professional development involved a projected ppt, foldables, TAP evaluation rubrics and the Marzano book. Teachers, under a distict paper limitation mandate, had to find creative ways to help kids learn. So…we focused on "the learning" but there was always something missing…the technology…and by default, the opportunities. Again…I agree wholeheartedly that we must refrain from letting tech tools dominate PD but at the same token, let’s not forget that as many of us have access…too many do not. At some point in time, no matter where we are in the spectrum of learning, there exist a period of time that it is about the tools. There also exist a transition when it is not about the tools. It’s important to acknowledge this as we work to make access to digital learning the norm.

I’ve been an Adobe Voice user and have used it countless times with students. However, there was a piece missing for students who needed a platform to liven up projects or ideas that required much more text. A few weeks ago, I was able to get a peek inside Adobe Slate and I’ve been anticipating its release since. Simultaneously, my father…with his ipad…has been thinking about publishing his family history based on his research. Today, Adobe Slate released and I put it to the test with my dad who at 63 years young is a complete tech novice who has never used an app beyond safari and the photo album. Ironically, I was asked today if I have ever used this app with students. In a non-traditional sense, my dad is a student. We all are…aren’t we? As a matter of fact, my work with my father is something that I recommend for all of us to do. Whether we capture these stories via video, portfolio or web…capture them. This is necessary. Adobe Slate was simple enough for him to use and we appreciated that. A Few Tidbits The app was created with schools in mind although it definitely has applications beyond school. For now, sign-ups are limited to Adobe and "Facebook". For many schools, this is limiting and even more so when students do not have email. Come on Adobe? Work with us here! Typing was problematic so we’ll definitely have to purchase a keyboard. The app includes an internal image search and cites it accordingly, which is awesome! Adobe boasts that stories can be embedded yet, that option is only available via the ipad app so to embed his story, I had to copy the code to a note file and then share it. The published web piece should have an embed option, somewhere at the bottom or where ever the share options are, but it does not. Adobe Story allows videos to be saved to camera roll. Adobe slate should at least export as a pdf. It does not and that alone almost made us not use this app. Where is the option to copy the published link to share? Yes, we can post to social media and then grab the link but if I wanted to embed a Slate story into thinglink, I have to share it to social media first and then grab the link. Updated below! When the research supports that schools using Chromebooks outweigh those using ipads, why make an application that works on an ipad only? Creative storytelling via the web should always be a thing! I recommend this app for grades 5 and up or any age when a person is writing full stories, research, essays or letters. (The sign-up will continue to be problematic for the under 13 crowd) My dad’s first creative app was Slate and so far, he is pretty happy with it. Now, to work on his space to house his published library! Edited to add… Thanks to Ben at Adobe, the "copy link" mystery has been solved. "To embed and get the kink, go to the Projects, click the … and select Share, you’ll see an option to Copy Link. You’ll also see Copy Embed Code." Check the image below!

There’s a really huge myth that kids come to class with zero experience in the grit area…that somehow "struggle in school work" is supposed to magically teach that. By definition, grit is about courage, resolve and strength of character in the face of obstacles. In real life, those obstacles can be hindering and impossible sometimes to just "do"…because of grit. Some kids thrive and some struggle beyond school. With boys, especially black boys…those obstacles can be crippling, especially in a world that immediately judges them unfairly because they have those obstacles to begin with and not by how they rise above them. I am a mother of a son who struggles. Over the past year, I’ve experienced his highs and lows, mostly in private yet still very much so out in the open. He has struggled emotionally with the constant rejection of his father and financial hardships of his mother working to support him alone. He carries the weight of the world on his shoulders but his spirit in doing so is empowering and motivating…especially to his mother. No one knows his real story. They see him, the son of a "seemingly successful" educator and assume that he is belligerent and just needs a little grit. Trust me…he doesn’t need any more grit. He needs meaningful experiences, curiosity and the ability to escape into wonder…to be inspired. He has plenty of grit…even when you don’t see it and especially when you refuse to see it. I can’t talk about grit without talking about my son’s good friend. He’s a young man who is learning how to survive in the face of obstacles and he is certainly trying hard. His mother, gone from his life indefinitely, is locked up and his father, unable to cope and deal, threw him from the home. He’s now thriving, in the face of hardship and rejection…living with his grandmother. …An yet, he smiles But…you want to teach him grit??? These two boys, for me, represent much more than the lives that they live. They are the epitome of hope. What their teachers/schools need to do is focus on how they can build a culture of support for them. How will they know that there are opportunities that can help them transcend the cards that they are dealt? How will they channel the anger and hurt into positive outcomes? How can they question the world that they live in and know that they too can contribute ideas and maybe even innovate to change their future? If you’re focusing on grit, you’re focusing on the wrong thing because the ones who you think "need grit" the most…are the ones who are already drinking a full cup of it. More of us need to sit back…learn from them…and create the system for their success. Right now…it doesn’t exist. One more thing… Technology is not accessible to either of these boys at school. So, there’s that.

I’m writing you this letter because I think that you should be much more intentional about connecting with the education community. To be honest with you, for a platform that fundamentally enables users to share stories, you are missing out on some of the most amazing stories involving twitter. I know that you are fully aware of the impact that you are having on education. You see the stats and you may even be aware of the educational hashtags that scroll amongst the billions of tweets per second but I wonder if you truly "get it"…how deeply your platform has supported the transformation of teaching and learning. Think about that for a second. Plenty of tech companies have tried but not many have done what you are doing…without really trying. I’m not asking you to provide any form of sponsorship, send money to schools or even change your platform in any way. (Although a private periscope channel would make that app a bit more user friendly for education) What I am suggesting is that you have a more intentional presence in the education community. There is an initiative going on right now to connect more kids, teachers, schools and communities. As a former teacher who used to be limited to the boundaries of her hometown, this connecting is critical and can be life changing. I had no idea that there were so many different ways to disrupt learning (in a good way) until I started connecting via twitter. I am one teacher. There are thousands more just like me. There are schools who have completely changed the way that they approach learning because their school leaders and teachers engaged in conversations beyond their school walls. Teachers that could barely talk to the teachers in their halls are connecting daily with other teachers all over the world. That’s huge! There are kids gaining more opportunities because through twitter, practices were questioned through thought provoking questions…all in 140 characters or less. It’s not just our teachers. Our students are connecting to each other and also to professionals in the field…real people who want to help support education. I know that I may be asking for quite a bit but, it would be awesome if you had a presence at our educational events. You…dear czars of open communication…could even participate in conversations ranging from principles of learning to impact beyond textbooks through social justice. You could be a part of the conversations about tech, diversity, equality and equity. You could share amazing stories of connectedness on your blog or even help promote stories as they are being told. The key, though, is in recognizing that we are an audience worth sharing about. Can you imagine the impact of capturing those stories on the ground in schools and sharing videos from around the globe? Think about the thousands of schools that are not connecting and that are not using your platform yet. Why aren’t they and how can you help them? We share the power of twitter to anyone who listens because we know how much it has changed many of our lives and classrooms. Maybe you could start sharing these stories too.   Thank you! Rafranz PS: At minimum, you should have a section on your blog that shares stories specifically from education. There are plenty of them…as long as your are intentionally grabbing them.

Before traveling to New York for the Games for Learning Summit, I talked to my teenage son about his love of gaming and why he is so captivated by the game, Assassin’s Creed. My son looked at me and said… "Mom, I know that you have some influence in education…or at least you think you do. But, if you say or do anything that makes Ubisoft change Assassin’s Creed from what it is to some watered down game for schools, I will hold you personally responsible [insert smile]" My son loves this game because of it’s captivating graphics and brilliant integration of fiction and history. He also loves the video vignettes that take place throughout the game and has quite honestly, learned more about history through gaming than he did sitting in his desk…listening to lectures and writing down notes from powerpoint. During my keynote at "G4L15", I shared my son’s words as well as how he learns through playing games like Assassin’s Creed. I was also clear in saying that this is not a game for K-12 schools but that the intentionality with which the game was created to immerse players into a real historical experience was something that we should not ignore. Gaming in My Classroom As a classroom teacher, I integrated games but my games were specifically math based. I even blogged about them and how "great" they were. If my only focus was on skill development, those games would have been okay. However, my students demanded more than that. They were just beginning to download mobile games and wanted more "education-less" application that didn’t care whether they found the value of x but cared more about if they understood the why and when of the math itself. Our deep dive into gaming started with Angry Birds but eventually landed in the territory of games like Farmville, Plants vs. Zombies and even certain sports games like Madden and the Tony Hawk series. Kids began to recognize algebraic and geometric patterns that existed within the context of gaming and that is how they often made their real world connections….ironically in a world that wasn’t real. What they wanted to know was… Why is it that math games created for school are boring and seem to follow the same formulaic pattern…skill practice, test, mini-game? Why is it that games created for phones and consoles seem to apply more skills without making it seem "educational"? Why aren’t we just playing the games that we want to play that use these skills instead of playing games that focus on the skill? (translation…math games = glorified worksheets with sound) My Son’s Ideal Game I asked my son if he could design a game for school, what would it be. His response is below… "If I could design a game, I would make it a cross between The Sims, World of Warcraft, Assassin’s Creed and Grand Theft Auto…except without violence or stealing. I want the characters to speak languages of the world and even learn them, go to work/school and solve real problems in school and even in the community. If they go to a class in school, I want them to sometimes complete real assignments on their own and sometimes work collaboratively with their peers on projects in the game (project based learning). I want them to have social interactions and even experiences like trying out for the basketball team, going to dances and playing games. I would create a game about about the things that we experience as teens but I would make sure that it included things like anti-bullying without being too preachy and some way that kids could play, learn and feel good about themselves in the process. Oh, and I definitely want it to be in a realistic 3d world." My son told me that he has been dreaming about doing this for 3 years now and although he has been trying to learn to code, it’s not as simple as he thought. He’s also not giving up on the idea of game designing which is a great reminder about the importance of kids learning to design their own games which is still an entirely different but necessary conversation. Also…My son’s game + adding elements of financial responsibility that can’t be solved with simple cheat codes would be a remarkable game and if anyone wants to make this or help him…he’s in. Reflecting on G4L15 If I learned anything at the Games for Learning Summit…it is that there are entertainment game developers and organizations with a vested interest in education who want to find some way of engaging in this space. It is also important to have educators immersed in these discussions as well as development. If you think that this is not worth exploring consider this… Educational Gaming 2015 = Britney Spear’s Dance Beat (2002) I should know. I owned, played and beat that game…because in 2002, dancing via controller was a thing. (Yes, I am admitting this in public) Our kids deserve so much more than this. One more thing…to the teachers that say that games are not for learning and continue to bar such amazing experiences like Minecraft, I challenge you to spend one day with me, my son and any device. Game on!  

Earlier today, one of my former principals shared this quote… "When a seed is planted, the creative urge is to grow. It never stops trying… The audacious hope of rooted things…" From the novel "Ruby" by Cynthia Bond.   The beauty of this quote is in its direct relationship to the art and science of being a learner. If we get education right, we will in essence be creating a culture of growth just like a seed…all types of seeds that grow in their own way…their own purpose. Over the course of my career, I have had many great mentors, experiences and opportunities for growth. Some I excelled at immediately and some were epic failures…all of which leading to lessons that I continue to learn from today. When I left Arlington, I envisioned myself doing full time contracting and continuing to work with a team to develop a system of learning. As with all paths, sometimes there are forks and we must choose. I’ve always known that my heart belonged in public education and when a friend offered a nudge to look into a career opportunity in Lufkin…I pondered, prayed and decided to take the leap of faith and try. It’s now been about 1.5 months since that initial nudge and here I sit as the new Executive Director of Professional and Digital Learning for Lufkin ISD…a role that I’ve dreamed about my entire career…before I knew that it existed. I am extremely honored to join such a student and community centered school district like Lufkin and as I take the time to look, listen, learn and build relationships…I am proud to continue to be the seed…growing with each moment, conversation and experience. I am fortunate to have worked with many amazing educators over the years while also being connected to some of the best educational leaders globally. With that said, I could not be more excited to work in a district with such a prolific superintendent and executive leadership staff that completely understands the power of innovative learning with countless opportunities for all learners. Aside from myself, I am also excited for my son as this change will be just as significant for him with a move three hours away from the only home that he has ever known. I will admit that even after our visit to Lufkin, he was understandably apprehensive about moving. With my family living in Ennis, he could still opt to stay and graduate with his peers. This path will be his to choose. As of now, I am watching him as he looks through the extensive course guide of Lufkin High School…verbally commenting on classes that he would love to take…classes that are not offered in our home town. I have a feeling that he’ll soon understand the importance of taking the leap into his own future. Growth is amazing like that. The audacity of it…