Blog

Recognizing sustainable innovation in schools

February 1, 2016

Recognizing sustainable innovation in schools

How do you define innovation? This is a question that comes up a lot in my work as an Education Innovation Specialist, but it is not one with a straightforward answer. Education innovation by its …
Accelerating the adoption of STEM education

January 25, 2016

Accelerating the adoption of STEM education

What is STEM Accelerator? As the Director of STEM Accelerator for NC New Schools/Breakthrough Learning, I am asked this question quite frequently. STEM Accelerator is our renewed approach to science…
The STEM Mindset

January 21, 2016

The STEM Mindset

STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math, but is not focused on these areas only. STEM is bigger than the subject matter. It is a mindset. As educators, we believe in educa…

January 18, 2016

Equal access to a quality education

As we embark upon the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, I find it appropriate to take a moment to reflect on the efforts of our organization to ensure equity for all students. Every student gradu…
Power of college access in rural communities

January 13, 2016

Power of college access in rural communities

What role should schools play in improving the rural quality of life? That’s the question posed in a recent article in The Atlantic, which highlighted the struggles of widespread poverty, limited…

January 6, 2016

48 hours to change the world

“What have you learned from this project?” “I learned that I can change the world.” That was the exchange between a visitor to our school and a student she was questioning as he and h…

December 27, 2015

Untangling the Education Policy Web

In the education arena, if 2015 had label, it would arguably be titled “The Year of the Policy Reforms.” It has been a big year for education policy. With the respective reauthorizations of the El…

December 22, 2015

Top 10 Blog Posts of 2015

It has been a great year for NC New Schools/Breakthrough Learning. We have grown from serving one state to serving five. We now work with over 100 counties nationally and impact over 80,000 students. …

December 17, 2015

‘Awakening the Force’ of STEM education

“Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is.” Yoda, Attack of the Clones Much to the chagrin of my mother, vast hours of my childhood were spent watching the original Star Wars trilogy and buildin…