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As students return for the new school year, ConnectED looks forward to working with our school, district, and community partners around a shared belief: all students deserve the right to a great education. We’re working in communities across the country to challenge the status quo so that students become more inspired and better equipped to succeed in college, career, and life. As independent evaluations have shown, students who engage in certified linked learning pathways earn more credits in high school; report greater confidence in their life and career skills; and say they are experiencing more rigorous, integrated, and relevant instruction.
Linked Learning Certification is a way to validate high quality pathway design and implementation. It confers well-deserved recognition and celebration of the hard work of district, site, and pathway educators. At the same time, it serves an even more important function: continuous improvement. The certification system developed by the Linked Learning Alliance establishes clear, research-based standards for quality pathway implementation. As pathways move from Candidate status through Silver and Gold attainment, they can track their progress on the Alliance’s certification dashboard and, when needed, seek help in meeting standards presenting difficulty.
Gold Certification is a high bar, and for pathways just starting out, it may take several years to attain. But it is the goal to which we all must aspire and keep working toward.
-Gary Hoachlander
Why Going for the Gold (Certification) Matters
As students return for the new school year, ConnectED looks forward to working with our school, district, and community partners around a shared belief: all students deserve the right to a great education. We’re working in communities across the country to challenge the status quo so that students become more inspired and better equipped to […]
How “Delicious” is Your Learning Environment—for Adult Learners? (Part 2)
In a recent blog post, I suggested that those who doubt students’ ability to direct their own learning because “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink” might want to focus not on the horse, but what he’s being urged to drink. Students are more likely to try ambitious, self-directed […]
Can Linked Learning Work in Rural School Districts?
Friends, Parents, teachers, community members and anyone in the Linked Learning field have all seen the transformative effect that Linked Learning has on students, especially in some of the biggest, most challenging school districts across the country. We know that when students love what they’re learning, they work harder, dream bigger, and learn more. As […]
Bringing Together School, Work and the Wider Community
Colleagues, Making learning real and relevant is a big part of what we, in the Linked Learning field, do. We do this because we’ve seen, through research and testimonials, that when students are able to apply what they’re learning through professional pathways and experiences, their connections are deeper and they retain more of what they’re […]
How “Delicious” is Your Learning Environment? (Part 1)
When you picture students directing their own learning, what comes to mind? In my long career serving students far from the center of opportunity, I’ve grown as a professional by working with skillful colleagues, in schools built around a core of career-themed, work-based application. In these schools, the teaching expectations included real-world problem solving, where […]
Lessons from the 2018 Linked Learning Alliance Convention
We were honored to meet and get to know so many of you at this year’s Linked Learning Alliance Convention in Anaheim, and to learn from colleagues new and old. In the spirit of sharing lessons across our field so that every student can be better prepared for college, career and life, please find links […]
Your Generosity Makes Our Work Possible
Since 2006, we have walked this journey, hand-in- hand with more than 45 school districts across the nation, corporate partners, policy makers, government, local and national funders and donors. Through your support, each of you has affirmed the transformative power of a Linked Learning education. In this rapidly changing environment of a global and digital […]
Reimagining Career and Technical Education
In my work as President of ConnectED, I meet with a lot of teachers, district leaders, superintendents, and community members. There’s something we all agree on: every child in this country deserves the right to a good education—and we’re failing to provide that opportunity to far too many students. In our sector, we see many […]
Letter from the President
As the new school year gets into full swing, there are more than 300 Linked Learning Pathways in more than 55 districts across the country. Today, Linked Learning is reaching more kids than ever before. This matters—not just because of numbers, but because of who we are serving. Linked Learning is for all students. Linked […]
What’s the Future of Digital Badges for Educators?
Many of you may have heard the term ‘digital badge’ or ‘micro-credential’ these days, mostly in regards to students earning badges as a way to capture and recognize their skill development (similarly to how the Boy or Girl Scouts award badges for demonstrating specific skills). While student badges continue to be popular across the educational […]