Professional Development
School Retool
In 2018, with an eye towards helping schools improve their students’ experiences, Excellent Schools New Mexico launched a local cohort of School Retool in partnership with Stanford University’s world-renowned d.School.
School Retool is a professional development fellowship that helps school leaders redesign school culture to support Deeper Learning practices using small, scrappy experiments called “hacks.” These hacks help principals determine how their schools can best encourage students to build knowledge and skills critical to academic and life success, including critical thinking, effective communication, collaboration, and a learning mindset.
Excellent Schools New Mexico covered the cost for thirteen school leaders to participate in this experience, which included four cohort-based workshops and multiple one-on-one coaching sessions over the span of six months.
"I feel excited about the change that’s going on within my school. More importantly, my staff is excited, and I am starting to see these small hacks making an impact on student engagement. I have had two teachers tell me that students are coming to class more, so I can’t wait for our next session."
School Retool Participant
- Investment Date: 2018
- Type of Investment: High-impact professional development
- Students Impacted: 7,500+ New Mexico students across thirteen public schools