InnovateK12 Newsletter: April 15, 2019
InnovateK12 is proud to welcome an international thought-leader in the innovation space - AJ Juliani! Don’t miss this chance to hear AJ’s thoughts about how to be intentional about innovation during his keynote at the InnovateK12 Summit.

At the 2019 K12 Innovation Summit , you’ll be networking with the most innovative educators in the country. Join AJ as he poses the question, “As the world changes, how do we educate differently so students, teachers, and staff are empowered to thrive in this environment?” That is the key to the InnovateK12 toolkit. In A.J.’s keynote session at the 2019 K12 Innovation Summit, you’ll learn a clear process to guide risk-taking and lead change so you can be intentional about innovation in your classroom, school, and life. Juliani shows why we need intentional innovation and how to implement it effectively. The team at InnovateK12 is excited to offer this great opportunity to connect with AJ and to learn more about how to be intentional with innovation.
InnovateK12 Cohort Updates
12:00 - 1:30pm National Cohort

1:00 - 1:30pm
ALL 2018-2019 Cohort Districts!

1:00pm - 3:00pm Face-to-face Cohort

3:00pm Happy Hour
End of Year Celebration
Continuous Improvement: How Do We Get Better?

Friday, May 3, 2019

Minneapolis Airport Marriott
(location of the 2019 K12 Innovation Summit)
2020 American Blvd E, Bloomington, MN 55425

Is Your Team Registered for the Summit?
The K12 Innovation Summit is a 2-day event designed specifically to help district teams plan an innovation event for the upcoming school year. As the only face-to-face for all InnovateK12 cohort members, conference sessions and networking time are the perfect place to both share and discover new ideas and best practices.

New Member Districts - District teams will spend the first day with an overview of the InnovateK12 Toolkit; including Building an Innovation Team, Running an Innovation Event, Preparing for the Idea Workshop, Lean Startup, Storytelling and Strategic Planning. There will be district team time built into the day where teams can utilize the InnovateK12 JumpStart Guide to help them make critical decisions about their innovation event. By the end of the day, district teams will be able to make informed decisions about what sessions to attend for their second day of the conference.

Returning Member Districts - District teams will enjoy two days of conference sessions where they can learn a new strategy or approach from another cohort member or InnovateK12 partner. There will also be networking time so that you can meet and connect with other InnovateK12 cohort members from across the country! District teams who have already implemented a crowd-based innovation event are encouraged to present at least one session at the conference so that the cohort experience can be shared.

InnovateK12 Sandbox Challenge Update
Our InnovateK12 Sandbox Challenge has been a great success! Since Monday, April 1st, participants have been submitting ideas and commenting on the question “What is one thing that could be done to create a culture of innovation in a school or district?” Check out our stats!
  • 45 registered users
  • 19 organizations
  • 10 states
  • 20 awesome ideas
  • 39 comments
  • 85 “likes”
There is still time to check it out (see the timeline below)! Just submit your contact information here and we will send you an invite. The challenge is just for fun, but you'll be able to see how the software works and how it can help you start building a culture of innovation in your school or district! Join us!
Current Phase - Pairwise Voting
April 12th at 12:20pm CDT
The Sandbox Challenge transitioned to Pairwise Voting during our April 12th Friday Webinar! In this phase, participants may use Pairwise to vote on the top ideas. (Participants may also submit ideas and make comments.)
Challenge Ends - Winners Announced
(This challenge is just for fun but results are based on real voting!)
April 19th at 12:30pm CDT
The Sandbox Challenge will end and voting will no longer be available. Top ideas will be announced during the April 19th Friday Webinar! Webinar participants will get a sneak peek at the report features of the platform.
Contemporary Research on the Topic of Innovation
In the recent post from our friends at McKinsey, “Five essential disciplines can more than triple the success rate of public-sector change efforts,” we gain some valuable insights about innovation in the public sector.

Here is the lead paragraph from the article:

“In our conversations with public-sector leaders across the world, we hear real urgency—and a fair amount of anxiety—about the need to transform government services. At the national, state, and city levels, governments know they must find new ways to meet the expectations of citizens, many of whom are increasingly discontented. Often governments must also provide “more for less” in an environment of fiscal constraint, and myriad forces that trigger government transformations make their task more challenging.”

Does that sound familiar to anyone? Click here for the full report.


Still looking for more resources about innovation?
Check out this great article from Forbes. It focuses on the key element of successful innovation efforts... the ability to execute on an idea! The title of the article is Innovation without Execution Is Only Ideation by Peter Hinssen. 

Here’s the lead paragraph:

”I believe in networks. Fostering networks of intelligence and sharing information are two of the most important characteristics of those organizations that will survive this era of disruption. I also believe that connecting ideas with other innovation experts is one of the best ways to inspire new radical insights. That is why I want to share my conversation with one of the most notable chief innovation officers I know: Garry Lyons of MasterCard .”

Thank you to our K12 Innovation Summit Sponsors!
ATS&R Announces Key Role as Premium Sponsor of 2019 K12 Innovation Summit
We are pleased and excited to announce the beginning of a great partnership with the architecture firm ATS&R as a Premium Level sponsor for the upcoming K12 Innovation Summit. ATS&R is the partner of choice for many of the InnovateK12 members, and their innovative design has earned them awards and accolades nationally and internationally.

As it says on their website, “We’re passionate about creating beautiful, functional, sustainable, and compelling building environments. Good architecture is about people. Whether learning or teaching, working or playing, moving in or just passing through; people make a building come alive.” Please join us in thanking them for their support, and please take the time to meet with their leaders at this year’s summit to see how they might support your innovative design needs.