We were thrilled to have been able to take sixteen talented educators from across the Building 21 Network to the 2024 Aurora Symposium in New Orleans!
Their reflections underscore the collective momentum for this vital work, so let’s hear what our team has to say:
Dannyelle Austin
Executive Director, Launchpad (Philadelphia)
“Witnessing educators, schools, and districts come together to share, explore, and learn about innovative models to reimagine education for young people was inspiring. It highlighted the importance of aligning career readiness curriculum with future workforce needs using a competency based model. These innovative approaches support young individuals to build authentic, meaningful evidence of skills, preparing them to thrive and grow in their careers. This symposium underscored the importance of workforce professionals engaging with competency-based models to enhance career readiness and support the next generation’s success.”
Crystal Danzy
School Founder, PACE High School, Casa Grande Union High School District & Visionary Leaders LLC (Arizona)
“Having the opportunity to attend the Aurora Symposium and present about our CBE journey was amazing. As our world changes, so must we as educators and leaders. It allowed me to share the possibilities and the positive impact with those who are courageous enough to step out of tradition and be radically learner-centered!”
Thomas Gaffey
Vice President of Technology and Innovation, Building 21
“There was a lot of excitement about Beacon Learning, especially its ability to allow students to submit evidence that they generate beyond the classroom/school.
This was our first time as an exhibitor at Aurora and that allowed us an opportunity to listen to people’s stories and problems they are trying to solve. There were moments when I felt really proud of our team and our schools for having created so many helpful tools to enable school transformation. No matter what problem people described, we had a solution to show them.”
Heather Harlen
Instructional Coach and Designer, Building 21
“Co-facilitating a session on supporting teachers in transformational models was a highlight of my time at Aurora. I had the honor of presenting alongside two talented teacher-leaders and we used stories as a vehicle to connect with almost 30 other educators from around the country. You can find this powerful group’s takeaways and advice here.”
Jared McElroy
School-Based Teacher-Leader, Building 21 Philadelphia, The School District of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania)
“Attending Aurora 2024 was a friendly reminder that innovation never stops innovating. In addition to exploring how other schools and cities are implementing student centered, competency based learning, I was also able to attend sessions on pivotal topics such as conflict resolution (central to restorative practices) and the impact of AI on education. I look forward to taking what we collectively learned and exploring new and different ways that we can innovate for our students.”
Sandra Moumoutijis
Executive Director, Learning Innovation Network, Building 21
“I always enjoy attending the Aurora Symposium to connect with old friends, to make new ones, and to be inspired by all of the innovative work that is happening around personalized competency-based learning. I especially enjoyed the symposium this year as we were joined by teachers and leaders from our two lab schools and from across the Learning Innovation Network. It was a joy to present with them and to celebrate all of the amazing work they are doing!”
Holly O’Leary
Academic Coach & Innovative Educator, New Liberty Innovation School, Salem Public Schools (Massachusetts)
“We must be part of the change! From the students who are advocating and creating change to professionals doing the work day to day this symposium offers space for this to happen. This networking opportunity allowed for community educators to build their knowledge and practice around competency based education with the goal of changing what education looks like. Being a part of this movement is empowering and rewarding! This is only the beginning and we need more of these events to continue to reshape education opportunities for our youth.”
Susan Poppe
Principal, Waukesha East High School, School District of Waukesha (Wisconsin)
“Engaging with educators and leaders from across the country emphasized how our efforts at the network level drive genuine change, even if it’s sometimes hard to see the immediate effects in our daily routines. The opportunity to share Waukesha East’s transformation process with others was a highlight of the symposium. It was motivating to reflect on our journey and to hear from others engaged in similar work. This experience strengthened my commitment to advancing competency-based education and to the continuous improvement of our collective efforts.”
Jose Rosado
School Leader, Building 21 Allentown, Allentown School District (Pennsylvania)
“Attending the Aurora Symposium 2024 was an enriching experience, particularly as I had the chance to participate in a panel discussion where I shared insights on the successes and challenges of implementing a competency based framework, within a school district over the past decade.
Learning about emerging AI policies, tools and practical approaches to integrate them into instruction, and or work flow, was equally valuable, giving me fresh ideas for our work. Connecting with colleagues from Allentown, Philadelphia, and across the Network was inspiring, as we shared our vision and commitment to transforming education together. Listening to others dedicated to this mission left me feeling energized and motivated for future work. “
Brittney Whitehead
Assistant Principal, Building 21 Philadelphia, The School District of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania)
“This experience solidified the notion that everything that we do at the network level is making a true change in the educational landscape. It gets hard to see the effects when you are in the field on a day to day basis but having an opportunity to collaborate and exchange ideas with others who are also doing the work around the country was invigorating. Being able to share best practices and resources for successful implementation of competency-based education in one of the largest districts in Pennsylvania was such a motivating experience!”
We’d like to offer a special thank you to the team at The Aurora Institute for their hard work in putting this incredible symposium together. We look forward to returning to New Orleans for Aurora 2025!
Now that you’ve read about our team’s experience at the Aurora Symposium, what can you do next? You can:
- Follow us here.
- Follow the Aurora Institute here.
- Set up a free consultation with us to see how we can support you in bringing transformational teaching and learning to your school or program.
