School & District Management Video

Walking in a Student’s Shoes

By Carmen Rojas — August 11, 2016 7:13
Walking in a Student's Shoes
The Shadow a Student Challenge encourages school leaders to spend a day walking in a students' shoes. Assistant principal Karen Ritter followed a 9th grader through all of his classes. What did she learn? (August 11, 2016)
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This spring, more than 1,300 school leaders from all 50 states and over 26 countries participated in the first Shadow a Student Challenge. The idea comes from a partnership between the Institute of Design at Stanford University and IDEO, a leading design firm that also works with schools.
Among those who accepted the challenge was Assistant Principal Karen Ritter of East Leyden High, outside Chicago. She put aside her walkie-talkie and follow one 9th grader through all of his classes—not to mention gym, the lunch line, and a full slate of homework.
What did she learn? Education Week reports in this video for PBS NewsHour.

Carmen Rojas
Carmen Rojas formerly was a Video Administration and Communications Assistant for Education Week.

This video also appeared on On Air: A Video Blog.

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