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What would be the most beneficial improvement in access to learning? asked Tom Vander Ark, author of Getting Smart.

Headlines from audience members:

• Internet access in all hands
• Access to quality technology by addressing procurement process; 18 months is too long for up-to-date technology
• Having the right policies in place, such as school choice, c-time waivers, etc.
• Improving funding access
• Access to human capital: great teachers, great leaders
• Access to information; too many students leave school not knowing where to go
• Access to a great advisor
• Access to quality continuing education
• Access to high-quality early education
• Access to good schools
• Access to school that is the right fit for a student and focuses on joy of learning
• Access to intelligent, more nuanced assessment, less high-stakes testing

The panelists were Andrea Zopp, CEO and president, of the Chicago Urban League; Julie Jackson, managing director of Uncommon Schools NYC; John Katzman, founder and CEO of Noodle, founder of 2U and Princeton Review; and Lynda Weinman, founder and CEO of lynda.com.

“Disrupting poverty” is key in the discussion of educational access, Zopp said. Continuing support to students past high school, including book stipends and mentoring, can help students stay in school in the midst of financial and other life challenges.

Consider what a college education is buying you, Weinman said, noting that Google no longer emphasizes a college degree. It’s looking for people able to think, present themselves, and solve problems.

With the nature of jobs continuing to change, developing students’ love for learning is essential. Vander Ark discussed that everyone needs to have an individual development plan. It may be in the form of a sequence or playlist and will require personal support. Supporters will alert you to new experiences to undertake. He mentioned Louisiana course choice that gives students access to career education. He also noted flex models in which online high schools are connected to a business partner. 

What would new K-12 learning structures look like?

Panelists spoke of a blending of online and in-person learning. Some skills can only be cultivated in person, in collaboration, Weinman said. Katzman is a fan of the flipped classroom model. Vander Ark suggested a competency-based approach in grade school and high school. For example, to graduate high school, a student could be required to earn 100 badges. For her part, Jackson noted that some schools she oversees have a flex period in K through fourth grades in which three teachers facilitate project-based learning in a classroom. What’s popular is piloting different ideas and spreading those that work, she said.