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Yesterday I was honored to attend a luncheon announcing the kick-off of LEAP innovations, a Chicago-based education technology hub that advances personalized learning to prepare Americans for 21st century skills. The fundamental premise behind LEAP is that our current learning ecosystem must be brought together to expand the use of innovative teaching and learning technology tools from pre-K to early college: students, teachers, administrators, parents, educators in the schools; entrepreneurs, technologists, developers and builders at ed tech companies; investors; and the various philanthropic and engaged stakeholders – whether donors, reformers, journalists, researchers and others – who round out the educational ecosystem. A number of distinguished guests, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel, were on hand for the luncheon and to help answer how LEAP is going to bring meaningful change not only to our educational community in Chicago, but also to learners across the country.
LEAP Board Chair Mark Furlong, CEO of BMO Harris Bank, spoke of the critical importance of having a driving force able to bridge the gap between innovators trying to develop new solutions to improve learning outcomes and schools who have to evaluate which tools make the most sense for their students. Barbara Byrd Bennett, CEO of Chicago Public Schools, welcomed LEAP as a center of R&D for learning. She noted how education must continue to move forward to ensure that every student has the opportunity to advance beyond just their early years in school. Phyllis Lockett, CEO and the driving force behind LEAP, spoke passionately about the importance of applying technological solutions to differentiated learning. She noted all of Chicago’s strengths in being an R&D and incubation hub for education: CPS is the 3rd largest school district in the country; we have the largest archdiocese school network in the country and a well-established Charter School network; our students are representative of students nationwide with our mix of urban, suburban and rural schools and our range of socioeconomic and demographic characteristics; we have world-class universities; and our technological ecosystem is vibrant and growing. This is the time for Chicago to do for education what Silicon Valley has done for technology and Minneapolis has done for Health Care, to borrow from Michael Moe’s keynote address.
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In introducing Mayor Emanuel, Leo Melamed, Chaiman Emeritus of the CME Group which runs the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, noted that it only took his organization 4 minutes to commit the $1 million to support LEAP. Why? Because he recognized that the drive and ingenuity LEAP brings to transforming education reminded him of what he set out to do in establishing the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as one of the world’s leading exchanges. Mayor Emanuel talked about the importance of creating a pathway for children growing up within the shadow of Chicago to believe that living and working and being of the community downtown is within their reach. He noted the challenges we face in ensuring that each student is given the proper support and how technology can help drastically improve a student’s chances of succeeding. Finally, Michael Moe, co-founder and CEO of GSV Capital, one of the leading thinkers and investors in education, gave the keynote which drew from his comprehensive work, the American Revolution 2.0, How Education Innovation Is Going To Revitalize America and Transform the U.S. Economy. He discussed the many trends affecting education and our economy and country as a whole and the opportunities those present for the forward thinking. I encourage anyone interested in education innovation to read through that presentation.
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For those of you in the education space in any capacity, I encourage you to keep an eye on LEAP and figure out a way to get involved through one of their three offerings:
- LEAP Collaboratory: a physical and virtual space designed to spark collaboration and new ideas. Here at LEAP, we want to serve as a connector, bringing together innovators of all kinds – educators, researchers, and companies – to scale the use of personalized learning strategies and tools.
- LEAP Pilot Network: Pilots and evaluates the best learning technologies and helps scale what works. We look globally to find the best technology products and programs for key learning gaps and pilot them in real-life learning environments. We see what works with research based on national standards, and then scale the best solutions broadly from early childhood to early college.
- LEAP 21st Century Schools: Through support programs and funding mechanisms, LEAP is paving the way for new and existing schools to dream, design and implement exciting new strategies. Our first pipeline initiative – a regional pilot of the national Next Generation Learning Challenges program – resulted in $700,000 in grant funding for innovative school models from The Broad Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Chicago Public Education Fund.
I worked for a few months over the summer advising Phyllis and her exceptional team and helping to develop the strategy and mechanisms for executing the Pilot Lab, which brings leading ed tech entrepreneurs and companies together with schools to pilot and test the most innovative products. Now running my own effort to offer digital skills training through the Digital Professional Institute, I appreciate how valuable it is to work directly with learners to assess their needs and improve delivery to ensure the best possible outcomes. I look forward to watching LEAP grow and make a meaningful impact on our community.
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