The purpose of this initiative is to design innovative solutions to challenges in education by using an open-ended design process that values local context, diverse perspectives, entrepreneurial thinking and testing of solutions.

The project has two primary goals:

• Engage students in a dynamic learning environment that promotes academic excellence and prepares them to be innovators and leaders of tomorrow.
• Deploy educators in non-traditional ways by creating new roles and staffing structures which will attract and retain high-quality staff and reinvigorate the teaching profession.

Curriculum Audit Findings:

The program model addresses multiple findings and recommendations of the curriculum audit. Specifically, long-range plans for the following:

• Facility Utilization - plan for under-utilized schools with low enrollment
• Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment - comprehensive plan that addresses rigor, curriculum development and implementation and assessment
• Professional Development - job embedded professional development to address continuous learning for teachers
• Talent Management - plan to address retention of teachers and pathways that attract new teachers

Kyrene Strategic Plan 2022:

Kyrene’s mission and vision guide the Kyrene Strategic Plan, and this project is included under Goal 1: High Performing Students: “Prepare all students to achieve their full potential in school and life by providing a dynamic learning environment that maximizes student growth and performance.”

Within this goal, strategies and tactics include:

• Enhancing the district portfolio of competitive options to offer innovative programs that meet the needs and interest of all students
• Partnering with Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College to develop a design for a new school model
• Creating a prototype and test model

This project is reflective of voices from our Kyrene students, parents, teachers, school leaders, district leaders, community members and Governing Board members. The following is a recap of the multiple opportunities for community involvement that have been provided over the past two years. For each activity, new stakeholders were invited to join the process. To date, more than 100 voices have contributed to the development of the program model.

Dell Visioning Day February 17, 2017

Participants: Approximately 70 individuals, including about 30 students. Other participants were teachers, parents, district leaders, community members and Board members.

Stakeholders spent the entire day visioning what the future of education could look like with a focus on the following question: “There is a tremendous amount of conversation happening in school systems across the country about transforming learning environments, but what does it mean to remove all of the barriers to learning?”

Here is a quote from one of the stakeholders from the visioning day:

“My vision for Kyrene is to have classrooms that look like the "Starbucks" of learning. I'd love to see flexible seating incorporated to support movement and student learning. I would also love to see blended learning where students take ownership of their learning and teachers become facilitators that support students when/where they need it the most.”

The information from the visioning day was used as feedback for the “Imagine the Possibilities” team as they launched the design work.

Dell Visioning Exercise April 25, 2017

Participants: Approximately 20 representatives of the Parent/Superintendent Council and invited guests

The objective of the meeting was to understand parents’ perspective of what they felt the vision should be for Kyrene schools in 5 years, and to share some of the takeaways from the February 2017 Visioning Day.

The group discussed “What is the urgency for doing this work,” including the consistency with District priorities, the need for personalized learning, 21 Century Skills and Future/Job-Readiness. They shared what some of their positive learning experiences were growing up and what made them so memorable, followed by the identification of the conditions for learning that needed to be considered to build students’ capacity to succeed in a changing world.

Small groups selected one of the skills identified as being essential for students to be career, college or life ready and discussed what that skill meant to them and what role the school should play developing this skill within students. Feedback on learning models included allowing for movement during the instructional day, changing the learning environment to adapt to the lesson, providing hands-on, sensory lessons, and creating more opportunities for collaborative student learning.

Imagine the Possibilities! Kick Off Day November 7, 2017

Participants: Approximately 40 teachers, parents, school leaders, district leaders, community members and Board members

This was the initial meeting for the design work that would take place over the next year and a half. This representative group of stakeholders participated in a day of activities to begin imagining solutions to challenges in education.

Feedback from the Kickoff Day and the Dell Visioning Day was critical in capturing multiple stakeholder voices.

Design Team Meetings (10 Design team meetings held between January 2018 and January 2019)

Participants: Approximately 20 teachers, parents, school leaders, district leaders, and community members. New design team members joined the group as they expressed interest in the project.

These meetings consisted of multiple sessions during which Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College facilitated a design-thinking process for the Kyrene community to develop a “school of the future.” The design team members participated in design sprints, focus groups, shadowing students, research, innovative school field trips, brainstorming, and creating activities as well as developing multiple school models.

The work of the design team was compiled to develop the proposed model that is ready for the prototype phase of the process.

Design Charrette Day July 11, 2018

Participants: Approximately 30 students, teachers, parents, school leaders, district leaders, community members and Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College staff members

Stakeholders worked together to imagine alternative ways of schooling through a series of activities facilitated by the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. Activities generated a diverse set of ideas with some similar threats appearing regularly across six different working groups. Participants emphasized a need for access to technology, changes in staffing models, and changes to seating arrangements and classroom furniture.

Superintendent Council Focus Groups (Conducted between January 2018 and January 2019)

Participants: Student/Superintendent Council (SSC), Parent/Superintendent Council (PSC), Kyrene Business Alliance (KBA)

Focus groups were conducted with students from the SSC to gather student voice in what they felt were the needs of the students now and in the future.

Presentations to the SSC, PSC and KBA groups shared the goals and work of the design team. Feedback from all of the groups was used by design team as they continued to imagine a school of the future.

Public Governing Board Retreat January 28, 2019

Participants: All five Governing Board members, Superintendent and Cabinet members, District directors and members of the design team

The purpose of the public Board retreat was to share with the board and interested community members the school of the future model and to seek feedback on moving forward with the prototype, including new positions for the 2019-20 school year. During the Board retreat, the Kyrene team, along with Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College partners shared the process that was used to develop the model along with the multiple opportunities for stakeholder feedback throughout the design process. Board members asked questions and shared enthusiasm for the project.

Public Governing Board Meeting February 12, 2019

Participants: Board members, Superintendent and Cabinet members, District directors, members of the design team, teachers, school leaders, parents and community members

The Kyrene team, in partnership with Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, will present the prototype model and seek action on moving forward with the prototype including the positions in the 2019-20 school year.

Community Information Nights

Kyrene will hold at least two informational night for parents, guardians, staff, and community members on February 20 and March 4, to learn more about the prototype and to ask questions. Information will also be available online with a dedicated web page explaining the vision and enrollment process, as well as answering frequently-asked questions.

Communication and feedback will continue throughout the prototype year as a critical part of the design process, as we look to continuously improve our programs and services for students and families in Kyrene.

Governing Board Updates:

The following information was shared with the Governing Board at public Board meetings over the past two years:

February 28, 2017 - Shared an update on the Dell Visioning Day

April 25, 2017 - Shared “Parents Vision of the Future of Kyrene” from the Parent Superintendent Council Visioning Day

November 28, 2017 - Shared the idea of creating a school of the future, including project goals

February 13, 2018 - Shared an update from attending “Education by Design: Innovation with Purpose in Schools and Systems”

May 22, 2018 - Shared how stakeholders have participated in design through focus groups conducted with students, parents and community members

October 23, 2018 - Shared the work of the design team and that the model would be presented to the Board at a future meeting

Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) – ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College:

An intergovernmental agreement (IGA) was established with input from district legal counsel for this project. The IGA was approved at a governing board meeting in January 2018. The Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College team led the Kyrene design team (made up of members of our Kyrene community and staff) through a series of design thinking activities that led to the creation of the proposed school model.

The model is reflective of Kyrene community voices and what they envision as a school of the future. A steering committee led by Kyrene District staff (Laura Toenjes, Assistant Superintendent; Dr. Susie Ostmeyer, Chief Information and Accountability Officer; Damian Nichols, Information Technology Director) and three Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College staff members planned and guided the work of the stakeholders throughout the process.

Kyrene Education Association (KEA) Support:

This project has been supported from the initial Kickoff Day and throughout the design process with representation of KEA members on the design team and participation in the Design Day Charrette.

The location for the prototype was not discussed during the design team meetings. This discussion occurred at an executive level with input from multiple directors. There were multiple sites considered for the prototype, but once the following criteria were considered, the site selected for the prototype was Kyrene de las Manitas.

1. Location
   a. Centrally located within District 
   b. Access to freeways
2. Cost
   a. Existing pod with operable walls to minimize construction costs
   b. No new build required
   c. Projected cost for remodeling, furniture and equipment is $125,000 which is earmarked within Capital Master Plan, funded through bond dollars
3. Capacity
   a. 49% capacity utilization (426/876)
   b. Space to implement prototype with no change to the existing Manitas program
4. Enrollment
   a. Declining (down 134 since FY15) - 38% resident enrollment (162/426)

While the prototype would be housed at Manitas, it would be open to all students. There would be minimal impact on the Manitas community as there is no requirement for in-boundary students to participate in the program. One potential area of positive impact would be increased enrollment, which is good for the whole school. Operating schools at capacity is a better use of tax dollars, to ensure we are fully utilizing the costs associated with running a school.

A form has been created as an open line of communication to address questions Manitas staff and families may have.