Schools are increasingly understanding the need to have an in-house innovation leader; leaving the job of promoting innovative practices up to the site CEO means innovation always gets stuck behind the daily obstacles of keeping the school lights on. Over the last year or so, I have had a number of calls, particularly from independent schools: “Who can you recommend who would make a great ‘Chief Innovation Officer’ (or other similar title)?”.
For those who I don’t connect with on Twitter (really?), or who might have missed it, Lindsey Own, a middle grades science teacher from the Seattle area, posted a blog with two tremendous, must-have resources: a one-page diagram and a draft job description for Chief Innovation Officer or equivalent. If you are serious about innovation, and do not have someone dedicated to how that is actually going to happen at your school, then you have failed to align resources with your vision. If I were running a school today and did not already have this person on staff, I would steal/borrow from Lindsey and get after it.
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