\u201cThe goal will be to create a more responsive and adaptable education system that ensures the workforce remains well equipped to meet the evolving demands of the job market.\u201d<\/p>\n
District leaders will be updating curriculums with a deeper focus on future-ready skills and adding more work-based learning, STEM education and vocational training programs.<\/p>\n
“These efforts will be aimed at equipping students with the skills that are in high demand in the job market and promoting a broader range of career paths,\u201d Larsen notes. \u201cWith a rapidly changing job market and evolving skill requirements, schools and education systems will find themselves under increased scrutiny to ensure that students are adequately prepared for the workforce.<\/p>\n
Employers should grow ever more eager to collaborate with schools and districts, predicts Hans Meeder, a senior fellow for education and workforce education at YouScience and a former deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Education.<\/p>\n
“Yet, a challenge lies in the limited experience of schools and districts in systematically collaborating with business partners,\u201d Meeder points out. \u201cMany are still navigating this uncharted territory, actively searching for tools, guidance and real-world examples to establish partnerships that are not only effective but also sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n
What other issues will be top of mind for K12 leaders and their teams in 2024? Here are predictions, hopes and forecasts from solution providers that cover a range of education topics.<\/p>\n
Academic growth and interventions will be carefully assessed<\/h2>\n
The disruptions of the pandemic will continue to loom large over academic progress, and administrators will be emphasizing growth and doubling down on the most effective interventions, say thought leaders at NWEA<\/a>, the testing firm. Here are some of their insights:<\/p>\n The expiration of ESSER funding and tightening budgets will force K12 leaders to prioritize, says Jeremy Cowdrey, the CEO of Discovery Education<\/a>. That means, in the wake of the COVID-era flood of edtech, administrators and their teams will begin paring down the edtech resources they are using down to the most effective platforms.<\/p>\n Read more from DA<\/strong>: How to help families overcome social media health problems<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe are calling this movement the great rationalization and consolidation,\u201d Cowdrey explains. \u201cThey will seek to renew products that have high usage, personalize learning and drive deeper engagement in instruction. They will keep edtech resources that have shown a proven, measurable impact on students.”<\/p>\n Leaders will maintain relationships with edtech providers who are purpose-driven and offer multiple solutions from one consolidated platform, he adds.<\/p>\n Beyond that, artificial intelligence will likely continue to suck up all the oxygen in the edtech space. \u201cAI will impact everything\u2014from creating relevant lesson plans to acting as a teacher\u2019s assistant and student learning,\u201d says Sara Gu, co-founder and COO of ClassIn<\/a>, which provides blended, hybrid and remote learning platforms. \u201cAI tools are being developed for educators and launched into the market every week. Many of these are designed to save teachers time.\u201d<\/p>\n As many AI tools are designed to save teachers\u2019 time, Gu says she expects a comprehensive lesson-planning tool will soon emerge. \u201cWith the vast amount of material currently available on the internet and the number of databases that the [AIs] can pull from, a world where all teachers have to do is plug in their learning objectives and standards and get an array of choices in each of the categories\u2014materials, activities, and assessments\u2014can\u2019t be that far off.\u201d<\/p>\n Gu also predicts that student behavior will guide the development of AI codes of conduct and determine how the technology is used in schools. Gu sees a fine line between AI being used as a tool and being used to cheat.<\/p>\n “There is not yet one commonly accepted approach to integrating AI tools and technology into a school or school district\u2019s code of conduct,\u201d she continues. \u201cEarly policies range from extremely strict \u201cstudent work submitted for academic credit and completed using AI will be considered plagiarism\u201d to encouraging teachers to use AI tools in their classrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n Teachers will increasingly use AI to assess and grade students and these tools could save time and reduce burnout, says Sari Factor, chief strategy officer at K12 curriculum provider Imagine Learning<\/a>. \u201cEducators will have more equitable access to actionable, research-based measures of student success to better inform instruction, allowing educators to focus on providing personalized support to students,\u201d says Factor.<\/p>\n Ethical school leaders will also have to ensure that principles such as transparency, accountability, fairness, and privacy are priorities when adopting AI-driven educational tools. \u201cLeveraging AI and digital-first curriculum to develop personalized lesson plans that cater to unique student needs, for example, will allow teachers to focus on delivering impactful lessons that inspire student success,\u201d Factor contends. \u201cAs a result, we\u2019ll see less teacher burnout over time.<\/p>\n Beyond AI, Gu expects more schools to lean on virtual and hybrid instruction to cope with teacher and staff shortages. She notes that a charter network in San Jose, California, has transferred math and science classes to Zoom where students are taught by teachers from around the country.<\/p>\n “We also expect hybrid solutions to gain momentum in response to student demand as schools work to balance their finite resources while offering more flexibility,\u201d Gu predicts.<\/p>\n States and school districts have about $70 billion left to spend this school year, which “will be a mix of states and districts spending their remaining funds while also looking to the future,\u201d says Lindsay Dworkin, NWEA\u2019s senior vice president of policy and government affairs.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the one-time funds expire,\u201d Dworkin adds, \u201cit will be more important than ever for education communities to have access to reliable and actionable data to know which interventions have been most effective in helping students grow, and where to continue investing strategically amidst shrinking budgets.\u201d<\/p>\n Because decision-makers will continue to analyze persistent learning gaps, they also will be looking for innovative approaches to instruction and assessment.<\/p>\n Administrators and teachers will become more discerning about edtech purchases as ESSER money expires and shortages increase workloads. Says Gu, of Classin, who estimates that schools adopted between 600 and 1,400 products during the pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile many of these products helped plug the gaps during remote instruction, now districts are faced with the dilemma of too many tools. The process has already begun, but schools are starting to become more strategic about which tools they keep and which ones they stop using.\u201d<\/p>\n The academic identities of educators will have to be a focal point in district administrators’ efforts to make their districts more equitable, says Fenesha Hubbard, the lead professional learning designer at NWEA.<\/p>\n Academic identities comprise educators\u2019 attitudes, beliefs and dispositions toward teaching and learning. \u201cWhen teachers develop an unhealthy academic identity, their internalized negative perception is very likely to influence their instruction and can shape their students\u2019 academic identity,\u201d Hubbard, explains.<\/p>\n Educators will strive to better understand themselves and others by exploring their beliefs, examining their actions and strengthening their academic identity. “More teachers will identify and address their academic identities, whether healthy or not, and employ strategies in their classroom to help all students thrive,\u201d Hubbard forecasts.<\/p>\n Districts will take several approaches to leveraging the strengths of families to accelerate student achievement, including by providing more learning materials that can be used at home, say Vidya Sundaram and Elisabeth O\u2019Bryon, co-founders of the nonprofit Family Engagement Lab<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here is what they expect will happen:<\/p>\n The science of reading, or SoR, has gotten almost as much attention as AI in K12 circles over the last year. In 2024, districts navigating its adoption will, for one, have to ensure teachers, principals and other administrators are receiving adequate PD in the science of reading, say thought leaders and experts at IMSE<\/a>, the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education.<\/p>\n \u201cStates that have passed SoR legislation recognize the need for teacher prep programs to include SoR, but getting universities to change is a slow-moving shift, even if legislation requires it,\u201d says Janelle Norton, IMSE\u2019s senior manager of strategic partnerships.<\/p>\n \u201cExpect more administrator training in SoR as districts recognize the need for principals to understand what children need to learn to read,\u201d Norton adds.<\/p>\n Teacher shortages will likely be a barrier as district leaders work to embed the science of reading in their curriculums, says Alana Mangham, a lifelong early educator and IMSE\u2019s current director of development and implementation support.<\/p>\n \u201cThere aren\u2019t enough qualified individuals in the science of reading,\u201d Mangham notes. \u201cSchools can only hope to find capable candidates. And, if they do, the next hurdle is paying them equal to or better than what they can make as a private professional.\u201d<\/p>\n Elsewhere in the literacy realm \u201cmultilingual learner instructional practices will become a hot topic,\u201d concludes Nicole Florez, literacy specialist and IDA structured literacy dyslexia interventionist for IMSE. She predicts more leaders will \u201crecognize the need for culturally responsive teaching in response to the growing population of English language learner.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStates are leveraging the right stakeholders to develop learning modules around second language learners and literacy,\u201d she concludes.<\/p>\n If 2023 was all about the science of reading, state education leaders will turn their attention to providing systemic support for math education in 2024, says Karen Beerer, Discovery Education\u2019s senior vice president of teaching and learning.<\/p>\n In the wake of COVID learning loss, several states have already passed new laws requiring schools to identify and provide additional math support to students and teachers.<\/p>\n Alabama is creating an Office of Mathematics Improvement to monitor the implementation of screener assessments, diagnostic assessments, and formative assessments for grades K5. Florida now requires students deemed \u201cdeficient\u201d in math to receive intervention and monitoring from their district while Louisiana mandates additional professional learning in numeracy for math teachers in grades 4-8.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile these are just a few examples of state departments of education adding additional support to math education,\u201d Beerer notes, \u201cI believe in 2024 these efforts will accelerate and become the norm nationwide.<\/p>\n\n
Edtech evolution will be all about AI<\/h2>\n
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\nESSER expiration requires reliable data<\/h2>\n
The ongoing importance of equity and PD<\/h2>\n
Family engagement will be emphasized<\/h2>\n
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Literacy will revolve around the science of reading<\/h2>\n
Elsewhere in the literacy spectrum<\/h2>\n
Math will matter even more in 2024<\/h2>\n
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