Principled Innovation: Leadership for Today, Tomorrow, and the Future

Charmaine Farber writes on a poster

Amid the pouring rain, 67 area leaders gathered at the Tempe campus on Saturday, February 22nd to focus on Principled Innovation: Leadership for Today, Tomorrow, and the Future. This was a joint collaboration between the PI & Learning Futures teams. Attendees represented ASU faculty and staff as well as aspiring and current leaders from 18 Arizona districts, charter schools, and the Arizona Department of Education (ADE). Educational leaders had a rare chance to come together, share ideas, and discuss key issues related to learning futures, including the Principled Innovation (PI) framework and its application to our learning environments. Studio sessions explored topics like game-based mechanisms for designing change, personalized learning using educator teams, digital and physical learning environments, and PI case studies. A lunchtime panel featured Carole Basile and a team of school and state leaders – Jill Sarraino (Washington School District), Michelle Berg (Creighton School District), and Erica Maxwell, (ADE Associate Superintendent of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) – discussing how they personally and professionally address current leadership questions related to PI. Feedback at the event was overwhelmingly positive with participants being fully immersed in the PI framework in context, with many diverse voices and levels of leadership present. Attendees left with new connections as well as resources and examples to bring back to their school districts.