Category: News

Student Changemakers Collaborate to Reimagine Education in Saginaw County, Michigan

Posted on by Gabrielle Horta

Local media outlet WNEM 5 covered World Savvy’s Changemaker Hub in Saginaw, Michigan on April 30, 2024. In partnership with Saginaw ISD, the Changemaker Hub brought together nearly 140 students, educators, school leaders, and community members from eight districts in the county. In this day-long learning experience, participants collaboratively reflected and ideated on how to build inclusive school environments that allow ALL students to thrive–in school, and as adults in the future. 

“We’re here with other educators and people from our community and we’re discussing things that we want to see changed, and they’re listening to us, they’re taking notes, they’re engaging. They seem to be very understanding. It makes me feel like I’m seen and the other people who are sharing are seen as well and hopefully that changes are to come,” shared one student.

Read the article here.

About World Savvy

World Savvy is an organization that partners with schools and districts to reimagine education and create more inclusive, student-centered, and future-ready learning communities. We are continuing to expand our work across the country. Connect us with a school or learn more about our school partnership opportunities.

Michigan Students and Educators Explore New Ideas for Education at World Savvy Changemaker Hub

Posted on by Gabrielle Horta

World Savvy CEO and Co-founder Dana Mortensen and Superintendent Jeffrey Collier were interviewed by a local Michigan media outlet at our Changemaker Hub on April 30, 2024. Held in partnership with Saginaw ISD, this World Savvy design-thinking experience brought together nearly 140 students, educators, school leaders, and community members from multiple school districts. Collaboratively, they reflected on their learning and explored ideas to build inclusive school environments that allow ALL students to thrive–in school, and as adults in the future. 

Watch the news segment here.

About World Savvy

World Savvy is an organization that partners with schools and districts to reimagine education and create more inclusive, student-centered, and future-ready learning communities. We are continuing to expand our work across the country. Connect us with a school or learn more about our school partnership opportunities.

Learning from the Future: Moving from What Is to What If?

Posted on by Gabrielle Horta

In the second domain of effective leadership, according to Harvard Business School, one must forget the past and let go of practices that fuel the current system. Yet in education, we often look to the past for answers on how to navigate the future. 

In the April issue of the New York State Council of School Superintendents (NYSCOSS) Councilgram newsletter, World Savvy team members (KK Neimann, National Director of District & Strategic Initiatives, and Melanie Peterson-Nafziger, Professional Learning Facilitator) co-authored an article that encourages education leaders to think creatively and expansively about shaping the future of teaching and learning.

“While these ideas might feel impossible, we can derive value from what came before: 30 years ago, eliminating textbooks or teaching without a physical campus seemed preposterous. What is the next impossible dream?”

Read the article on page 12.

NYSCOSS is the primary membership organization in New York for school superintendents.

About World Savvy

World Savvy is an organization that partners with schools and districts to reimagine education and create more inclusive, student-centered, and future-ready learning communities. We are continuing to expand our work across the country. Connect us with a school or learn more about our school partnership opportunities.

A World Savvy Approach to Navigating the Future of Education

Posted on by Gabrielle Horta

Our National Director of District and Strategic Initiatives KK Neimann explores World Savvy’s innovative approach to education on The Good Life EDU Podcast presented by Nebraska’s ESU Coordinating Council. In KK’s words, World Savvy is a “capacity builder.” Through multi-year Comprehensive School Partnerships, we work with school leaders and educators to embed global competence and create inclusive, adaptive, and future-ready learning environments.

Tune in to learn more about global competencies, fostering teacher empowerment, and enhancing support for students! 

Listen to the podcast here. 

World Savvy is continuing to expand our work with schools and districts across the country. Reimagine education with us and learn more about our school partnership opportunities to embed global competence into your learning environment.

Navigating Change and Ambiguity with World Savvy

Posted on by Gabrielle Horta

World Savvy team members, National Director of District & Strategic Initiatives KK Neimann and Executive Director – Western Region Harben Porter, were invited to talk about our transformational work on the Make It Mindful education podcast with hosts Seth Fleischauer and Lauren Pinto.

In this episode, the hosts explore the concept of global competence with KK and Harben and in doing so, talk about how it can prepare students for the increasing complexity and unpredictability of our future. A key challenge schools face today is ensuring students graduate with the core skills that will be needed in a future that’s changing at such a rapid pace we can’t fully predict what jobs to prepare students for! KK shares that there is one certain thing we can tell young people about the future: they need to be prepared to navigate change and ambiguity. 

Listen to the podcast here.

How can schools equip their students with these essential skills to thrive in an uncertain future? World Savvy’s answer is through teaching for global competence – developing the skills, behaviors, and dispositions needed to thrive in a diverse, complex, and interconnected world. 

KK and Harben also discuss the need for a shift in the traditional approach to teaching, toward one that’s more student-centered. Through our Comprehensive School Partnerships, World Savvy supports teachers to not only embed global competence into the classroom but also to make learning more relevant and personal to students so that they feel connected to the content, leading to better student outcomes. 

But none of this is easy and pushback to new concepts and ideas is bound to happen. Perhaps Harben says it best. World Savvy is a partner that helps schools navigate “the messy work of systems change and transformation.” Learn more about our school partnership opportunities or connect us with a school today!

World Savvy Changemaker Hub Brings Together Ohio Middle School Students

Posted on by Gabrielle Horta

The Lorain County Chronicle-Telegram spotlighted World Savvy’s Changemaker Hub hosted at Lorain County Community College in Ohio on February 22, 2024. The day-long design thinking experience was attended by approximately 120 students and 15 educators from area schools, including Avon, Elyria, North Ridgeville, and Lorain. Together, they reimagined the future of learning and centered student voices to understand their perspective on how to better the educational experience.

“Southview eighth grader Josiah Dolores Laboy wants to see more people taking education seriously, saying that school is a place for not just learning but also having fun.”

Read the article here. 

About World Savvy

World Savvy is an organization that partners with schools and districts to reimagine education and create more inclusive, student-centered, and future-ready learning communities. We are continuing to expand our work across the country. Connect us with a school or learn more about our school partnership opportunities.

Opening the World Through Education

Posted on by Gabrielle Horta

There’s nothing like an international experience to shine a light on why schools need to better prepare students to become global citizens. That’s why World Savvy has partnered with EF Education First on their international educational trips for school leaders that highlight how to integrate culture, identity, and global competence into classrooms right here at home. 

Our CEO, Dana Mortenson, recently appeared on Break the Ice Media’s Destination on the Left podcast with Nicole Mahoney. She was interviewed alongside Kate Berseth from EF to talk more about this partnership and the crucial need to embed global competence into our learning environments, as well as how our education system can better prepare students with the skills they need for success, leadership, and citizenship in our diverse and increasingly interconnected world.  

Listen to the podcast here.

World Savvy is an organization that partners with schools to reimagine education and create more inclusive, student-centered, and future-ready learning communities. We are continuing to expand our work across the country. Connect us with a school or learn more about our school partnership opportunities.

Global Competence Skills and Artificial Intelligence: A Discussion with Dana Mortenson

Posted on by Gabrielle Horta

World Savvy is pleased to share a recent podcast discussion featuring CEO and Co-Founder Dana Mortenson, focusing on the fascinating intersection of Global Competence Skills and Artificial Intelligence.

During this conversation on WOUB Public Media’s NPR Teaching Matters podcast, Dana delves into how AI is reshaping the educational landscape and its potential to promote global competence, inclusivity, and active learning methodologies. At World Savvy we are passionate about empowering students to become responsible global citizens, and we are both curious and excited about the role AI will play in this.

Whether you’re an educator, a student, a parent, or anyone with an interest in the future of education and technology, this podcast is a valuable listen. 

Listen to the podcast here.

World Savvy is an organization that partners with schools to reimagine education and create more inclusive, student-centered, and future-ready learning communities. We are continuing to expand our work across the country. Connect us with a school or learn more about our school partnership opportunities.

Iterative Learning: Why Our Schools Need to Abandon Compliance

Posted on by Gabrielle Horta

The workforce that students are preparing for is changing at an unprecedented pace and will only continue to do so. The shift towards a competency-based education model is imperative, especially one that equips students with the essential skills needed to prepare them for a complex, ever-changing world.

This is what World Savvy’s CEO and Co-founder, Dana Mortenson, advocates for in a recent article, “Iterative Learning: Why Our Schools Need to Abandon Compliance,” which appeared in District Administration, a K-12 education publication. She explains how moving to a model of education focused on competencies will empower students to learn and re-learn for the rest of their lives.

Read the article here.

District Administration is a leading K-12 education publication for school district leaders that covers topics in edtech, staffing, leadership, analysis, and thought leadership.

About World Savvy

At World Savvy, we partner holistically with schools to reimagine education and create more inclusive, student-centered, and future-ready learning communities. We do this by collaborating with schools to embed global competence–the skills, values, and behaviors that prepare young people to thrive in a more diverse, interconnected world–into their strategic vision, school environment, and teaching and learning practices. Connect us with a school or learn more about our school partnership opportunities.

Conversations on Connection: Dana Mortenson

Posted on by Gabrielle Horta

Inspired Teaching’s Continued Exploration of School Connectedness

World Savvy’s CEO and Co-Founder, Dana Mortenson, spoke with the Director of Teaching and Learning at the Center for Inspired Teaching, Jennifer Fournel, about elevating student expertise and fostering cultures of connection.

In their conversation, Dana shared an effective tactic to help teachers dive deeper into who their students are and how the students’ lived experiences may help to inform classroom culture. Hear what Dana said about World Savvy’s work, belonging, youths as experts, curiosity, and more.

Derived from the organization’s Global Competence Matrix, the World Savvy team uses Global Competence prompts — questions that “get outside of potentially more one-dimensional and surface-level understanding” — in place of traditional ice-breakers. Think “Describe the last time you tried something multiple times before finally getting it,” vs. “What did you do this summer?”

As you continue to learn more about your new students and work to build equitable, engaging learning environments, we hope you are inspired by the prompts Dana shared — as well as the rest of her conversation with Jenna — to build authentic connections and community in the school year ahead!

Listen, read, or watch the interview.

World Savvy is an organization that partners with schools to reimagine education and create more inclusive, student-centered, and future-ready learning communities. We are continuing to expand our work across the country. Connect us with a school or learn more about our school partnership opportunities.