{"id":127758,"date":"2026-03-02T22:31:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T22:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/127758\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T22:31:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T22:31:09","slug":"at-forge-futures-2-0-local-education-innovators-took-another-step-in-charting-a-bold-course-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/127758\/","title":{"rendered":"At Forge Futures 2.0, local education innovators took another step in charting a bold course forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

By design, the Forge Futures convening that took place on Feb. 11 at Nashville\u2019s Frist Art Museum wasn\u2019t nearly as large as the massive conference gearing up nearby. At the sprawling Music City Convention Center up the street, a team from AASA, The School Superintendents Association, was preparing to host more than 5,000 visitors at their annual National Conference on Education (NCE).<\/p>\n

But the cross-sector group of about 150 innovators invited to Forge Futures \u2014 a thoughtfully curated mix of superintendents and leaders from national think tanks, philanthropies, museums and others who are shaping the future of learning \u2014 spent their day immersed in hands-on brainstorming that is poised to elevate teaching and learning nationwide for years to come.<\/p>\n

Like the first Forge Futures<\/a>, which Remake Learning hosted in Pittsburgh in May 2024, the goal in Nashville was to work in cross-disciplinary teams to explore bold visions for the future of learning. The collaborative teams at Forge Futures were charged with developing promising insights and shaping them into bold, testable initiatives brought to life through National Moonshot Grant funding.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a>Photo courtesy of Remake Learning.<\/p>\n

COLLABORATION AND AUTHENTIC CONNECTION<\/p>\n

Kicking off this year\u2019s Forge Futures, AASA\u2019s Chief Leadership & Learning Officer Kristine Gilmore spoke about the unique opportunity for connection and vulnerability that this full day of face-to-face interaction offered attendees.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe curious today. Keep your mind open, your heart open,\u201d Gilmore said. \u201cPut your guard down. Try things.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s exactly what took place as Michelle King, the dynamic \u201clearning instigator\u201d who emceed Forge Futures, led the group through a range of interactive, collaborative exercises. King\u2019s energy was exactly what the moment called for: an inspiring cocktail of authentic warmth and joy combined with unapologetic honesty about the challenges that schools and their students are facing.<\/p>\n

King was joined on stage by several creative partners, including two strategic foresight experts from KnowledgeWorks, Jason Swanson and Maria Crabtree, along with John Balash of Carnegie Mellon University\u2019s Entertainment Technology Center.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a>Photo courtesy of Remake Learning.<\/p>\n

Their contributions included a futuristic, tongue-in-cheek \u201cnews report,\u201d beamed in from the year 2031, exploring the pitfalls and possibilities of our tech-infused, disruption-laden future.<\/p>\n

As attendees were promised, this was definitely not a sit-and-get conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI deeply appreciate that you showed up, that you are willing to be courageous and you are willing to be curious and see where this road would take us,\u201d King said. \u201cI would invite you to be wild again, to be bewildered. And I\u2019m wondering if you could ask yourselves, did I create something that inspires awe within me? And can I do that for another? I don\u2019t think we can create what we do not habitually practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clustered at round tables, the participants worked closely together in small groups \u2014 up and out of their seats, using Sharpies and Post-It notes to capture, organize and build upon ideas throughout the day. Amid heavy conversations, there was laughter and encouragement.<\/p>\n

Their goal? To envision a truly valuable senior-year experience for 21st-century learners and to ask: If we want learners to graduate ready for what comes next, what must be true of the journey that leads them there?<\/p>\n

The groups were assigned pairs of grade bands (6th\/7th, 8th\/9th or 10th\/11th) and given opportunities to ask how these grade bands can contribute to the best possible senior year. What could a truly effective launch pad or ladder into a thriving adulthood look like in schools across the country? What future-ready skills and experiences are vital on a learner\u2019s journey? What kind of daily schedule might best serve learners at these stages?<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a>Photo courtesy of Remake Learning.<\/p>\n

VISIONING AND VULNERABILITY<\/p>\n

Collective visioning sessions led to some fascinating conversations. At one point, participants shared words describing their preferred future for students, then critiqued their own resulting \u201cword cloud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Purposeful. Relevant. Connected. Meaningful.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m noticing that so many of these adjectives are connecting the young person or a human with other humans,\u201d one participant said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s about purpose or about connection or about engaging. All these things are about becoming a public person. You\u2019re a human who is there \u2014 in, and for, and with others.\u201d<\/p>\n

They also noted which words didn\u2019t crop up: \u201cI don\u2019t see the word \u2018outcomes,\u2019 which I think is important, because that\u2019s been a code too long in the education system for 10th grade English and math scores,\u201d one participant pointed out.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that an outcome isn\u2019t just, \u2018Do you graduate high school after that 12th grade year? \u2026 Longitudinal studies, qualitative and quantitative, talk about the relational connectedness between people as the single greatest predictor of long term health and flourishing,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe\u2019ve built a system that\u2019s willfully blind to, and does not value, that relational connectedness. And I think that\u2019s what we have the potential to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

The vulnerability that AASA\u2019s Gilmore had encouraged was authentically on display.<\/p>\n

Participants discussed the need to ambitiously rethink the years leading up to senior year. Implicit in that was the realization that schools\u2019 traditional approaches haven\u2019t necessarily prepared students for the real world as well as they might have.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Among the thoughts that participants shared related to this:<\/p>\n


\nWe\u2019ve traditionally set up structures for young people to pass or fail \u2014 not to let them struggle and make sense of things.
\nSystems built to measure students\u2019 knowledge don\u2019t necessarily help them learn to actually become learners and develop mastery.
\nWe need to operate as curious learners ourselves, open to testing ideas, making discoveries and failing in the short-term as we seek long-term success. <\/p>\n

Another topic that surfaced repeatedly through the day: The importance of authentically involving students as we shape the future of learning.<\/p>\n

\u201cCould we ask the students the same questions we ask ourselves today, and let them lead this work? Because real change rarely comes from us telling communities what they need. \u2026 I worry that we are not asking our most valuable asset in a way in which we could really engage in transformation,\u201d one participant said. \u201cI think the students could be where we need to lean in the most right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mood throughout the day was equal parts unvarnished honesty and genuine hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like we\u2019re in a dark and stormy time right now,\u201d one participant said. \u201cI\u2019ll mix some metaphors and say that the education system has sort of felt to me, for a while, like a sort of old, creaky house. It\u2019s the thing that we live in, and there\u2019s stuff that we wish was better, but that\u2019s the way it was built.\u201d<\/p>\n

We lack the resources to do a full remodel, he continued. \u201cThat\u2019s where we\u2019ve kind of got to live. And what\u2019s happening right now is like, part of that house is getting torn down, and I want to celebrate that that\u2019s scary and terrifying, but it also creates this opportunity. \u2026 We\u2019re in a place right now where we\u2019re part firemen and trying to save some of the important things that are there, and part architects and engineers building something new at the same time. We have to be able to hold those two.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

With that in mind, Remake Learning<\/a>\u2019s executive director Tyler Samstag announced that a next round of National Moonshot Grants<\/a> will be awarded in the coming months. A total of $775,000 will be granted toward groundbreaking, collaborative projects led by Forge Futures participants.<\/p>\n

Lisa Guernsey of NewAmerica.org also announced the formation of a new National Commission on Learning Ecosystems<\/a>. This collaborative, two-year initiative will bring together a wide range of education and community leaders, all sharing lessons about what works and interrogating what doesn\u2019t as communities look to grow and leverage their own learning ecosystems.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo years ago at Forge Futures, there was such a spark that came out of the learnings and the convenings. And at New America, we were watching. Like, \u2018Wow, this is important work. How do we ensure that this is happening in many more places around the country?,\u201d Guernsey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much momentum out there,\u201d she told the Forge Futures participants as their day was ending. \u201cWhat you all have been designing and thinking about \u2014 there\u2019s just a hunger for this right now, and it\u2019s incredibly exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By design, the Forge Futures convening that took place on Feb. 11 at Nashville\u2019s Frist Art Museum wasn\u2019t…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127759,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74,28560,59507],"class_list":["post-127758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-remake-learning","tag-the-grable-foundation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}