Special Events
Schlechty Seminar
The Gheens Institute for Innovation sponsors periodic internal education seminars for Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) District leaders. The most recent is led by Dr. Phillip Schlechty, former executive director of the Gheens Professional Development Academy. A team of 18 JCPS leaders are engaged in a seminar based on his most recent book, Leading for Learning: How to Transform Schools into Learning Organizations.
Dr. Schlechty is currently the president of the Schlechty Center, a pace-setting school reform organization based in Louisville, Kentucky. He is a nationally respected speaker, thinker, writer, and leader with a deep, abiding passion for equity, excellence, the public schools, and American democracy. His unique talent lies in the ability to draw upon diverse sources of inspiration and to develop coherence among them around issues of kids, schools, communities, and leadership.
Larry Keeley’s Seeing Around Corners
On February 18, 2010, almost 300 JCPS leaders and aspiring leaders attended Larry Keeley's Seeing Around Corners presentation. Dr. Keeley, an internationally known innovation consultant, challenged the group to "look back from the future," imagining the kinds of innovations that are needed to "change entire systems" in ways that prepare our students to thrive. Quoting Charles Darwin, he told the crowd, "It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change." In his view, innovation is not about individual creativity, accidental discovery, or random brainstorming. Rather, it can be carefully and purposefully nurtured. Keeley, noting that "education is weird and different," pointed out that in contrast to business and industry, innovation in education has often moved more slowly and in isolation and with infrequent diffusion. However, he offered great hope for what we have begun in JCPS. In particular, he cited that our innovations are deep and coherent and touch upon the majority of key processes that research has shown to be essential for innovations that are lasting and transformative.