Education Transformation Resource Network (ETRN) supports educators, schools, parents, and communities in their efforts to innovate, reinvent and transform education.
Mission & Objectives
The mission of Education Transformation Resource Network (ETRN) is to facilitate the rapid transformation of education by providing cost effective solutions that remove or reduce barriers to improvement. These include:
- guidance on the process of organizational transformation
- access to top level IT resources with expertise in education and digital learning
- principal and teacher development resources to build 21st Century teaching skills and to develop change ready capabilities
- a guide to curriculum resources and lesson plans (particularly for the Arts and STEM), and
- mobile learning resources such as mobile museums and science labs for small or rural, under-resourced schools and districts.
In addition, ETRN seeks to share lessons learned from Great Schools, Great Teachers, Great Programs, and Great Leaders.
A more detailed explanation of these initiatives appears below:
- School Transformation Projects. Successful transformation efforts require comprehensive efforts by those who are knowledgeable about the change process and willing to commit to a multi-year process. ETRN provides guidance about that process, and shares examples of pioneering schools and how they faced the challenges that often undermine such efforts.
- Rent a CIO. Most states are facing severe budget shortfalls. In California, for example, the state budget crisis has resulted in drastic funding cuts to schools (one school reported that they have experienced a 21% decline over the past couple years). Prior to the fiscal crisis, it would have difficult to carve out funds from the budget to support a high level IT position. In today’s environment, creating such a position may be viewed as sacrificing still more teaching positions in order to do so. The expertise needed from a CIO level leader doesn’t need to be a full time position. Indeed, this provides an excellent opportunity for smaller districts and independent charter schools to share a common resource. ETRN will provide resources and expertise so that all schools can have access to the latest and best practices to support education in a cost effective manner.
- Professional Development for Teachers, Principals, and Administrators. It is widely acknowledged that professional development programs for teachers are severely lacking, and an effective evaluation system to assess performance is non-existent. ETRN will collaborate with efforts across the nation to glean the best practices and share them with schools. In addition, ETRN will provide initial training modules for schools to help them develop continuous improvement programs to support rapid transformation of their schools.
- Dynamic Lesson Plans & Curriculum Resources. While there is a plethora of lesson plans and resources available on the internet, there isn’t an efficient method to find, evaluate, and share comments about them. ETRN will not only provide a single source for this functionality, but will also provide a match making service to coordinate resources between teachers, subject matter experts, and people with expertise in video production and editing to further develop angaging content.
- Mobile Museums, Field Trips & Laboratories. Given today’s fiscal constraints, funds are unavailable for transportation and attendance at museums and educational events. In addition, charter and small schools often lack the resources and facilities for science labs to complement instruction. ETRN will sponsor, develop and manage a variety of mobile units that can visit schools and provide stimulating and engaging learning opportunities for students.
Join us as we help to reinvent education for the benefit of future generations.