Strategic Learning & Leadership Advisor; Designing Systems Where People Thrive Why students are drifting, disengaging, and choosing new paths — and why the response, across almost every cause, starts in the same place. Superintendents across the country are asking the same question: “Where did they go?” For some students, the answer is concrete — they moved to virtual school, enrolled in a microschool, or chose an alternative pathway. And for the students who are disengaged o

Part 5 of a Series: Beyond Attendance The students who have become inaccessible to the systems meant to support them and what it takes to find them. In Part 4, we looked at two patterns that live inside your building and your data: the disengaged student, present but already disconnecting, and the drifting student, whose absences are accumulating in front of you. Both are, at least, visible. Both are somewhere someone can still reach. This piece is about the students who aren

Why listening to educators, understanding school rhythms, and designing for readiness matter more than a launch date. Every school year has a rhythm. There is the beginning of the year, when educators are learning names, building relationships, understanding classroom dynamics, and discovering what their students need. It is the bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils time of year. When notebooks are crisp, markers all have their caps, and every possibility still feels open. The