Dr. Bill Daggett, founder and chairman of the International Center for Leadership in Education in Rexford, NY., was a keynote speaker for the 2019 National Conference on Education in Los Angeles sponsored by AASA, The Superintendent Association. The following is an excerpt of his speech:

According to Daggett, there is a need for a future focused school rather than a forward focused school. A forward focused school begins the budgeting process based on what the school has in place such as the curriculum, faculty contracts, staffing patterns, and building conditions. It looks at how much funding the school needs the next year to continue doing what the school is doing the current year. Whereas, a future focused school spends more time focusing on students’ needs than the content. This school uses a zero based budgeting model, describes clearly how the classrooms should look, and what skills the students should learn for success and life.

For this era, a future focused school is needed because our children have drastically changed although the content for instruction has remained the same in many of our schools, noted Daggett. We have to spend sufficient time to determine how students are different and how they learn. We have to rethink how we prepare our students for this millennium while being mindful of 21st century technology. A cell phone that can provide students access to useful information, for instance, could be used as a resource in the classroom for learning rather banned or seen as a device for students cheating on standardized test, suggested Daggett.

In summary, the school system must become evolutionary to meet the needs of its students, suggested Daggett. Being student focused rather than forward focused is needed in our schools to prepare our students for success and life economically, socially, and emotionally.

Dr. Ronald Holmes is the author of 18 books and publisher of “The Holmes Education Post,” an education focused Internet newspaper.  Holmes is a former teacher, school administrator, test developer and district superintendent.