Education is a vibrant world filled with challenges that educators, school districts, and communities constantly navigate. To thrive in this landscape, a clear dedication to purpose is essential. We don't just embrace this dedication; it lives by it through a powerful mantra: URRY, which stands for "You are our why." This simple yet powerful phrase drives our mission to support educators, foster leadership, and provide services and products that enhance schools and communities.

Recently, I've noticed that I've been unintentionally viewing the world through the lens of cynicism. Normally, I see a lot of light and positivity in everything around me, but lately, it feels like I've been surrounded by darkness. The constant exposure to negative news, crime podcasts, and dark-themed books seemed to have taken a toll on my perception of the world and the people in it.

For those of you just catching up, artificial intelligence software rolled out late last fall and is designed to mimic the thinking and writing of actual people. The concern is that students will use AI chatbots to create products in response to classroom assignments and submit those products as their own work. Could this happen? Absolutely. Has this sort of thing been going on for years? Also absolutely.

Most times when we start down the path of Project Based Learning, we take it slowly, tackling 1-3 projects in our first year. That’s a great idea because it gives us a chance to run a project, reflect, retool, and go again, without overwhelming ourselves or our students. But often, I’m asked by go-getter teachers what should/could be done in those in-between times. They recognize that kids gain skills, knowledge, and general “want-to” attitudes the more we offer great PBL opportunities.

Are you committed or are you compliant? What does that mean in terms of leadership and as an employee?

You know that word "REST" we've been hearing about? Yeah, it used to bug me because it felt like giving up. The past year has been full of surprises, and REST keeps showing up in random places - podcasts, stories from friends, and even research stuff. Got me curious, you know?