Blog | Getting Smart

If your teams have ever spent valuable meeting time translating between frameworks instead of moving learning forward, this piece is for you. Nate McClennen and Rebecca Midles analyzed 16 leading school-design frameworks and 7 change models and found something remarkable: beneath every different vocabulary, the same seven questions keep emerging. Their Learning Innovation Wayfinder offers a common map, not to replace the frameworks your system trusts, but to help every partner finally see they have been working toward the same destination all along.

Equity & Access

What Makes Dual Enrollment Actually Work: Intentional, Coherent Design & Equitable Access

Getting Smart Staff

Sep 11, 2026

Dual enrollment promises a head start on college, but for which students? In the first installment of a four-part series developed with Britebound, Getting Smart examines what separates a well-designed dual enrollment model from a catalog full of disconnected courses. This post introduces two foundational principles, intentional design and equitable access, and offers concrete questions every district can ask about its own program. It is essential reading for leaders who want dual enrollment to be more than a line item.

Ed Policy

How to Rethink School Finance Models Before the Funding Cliff Hits

Nate McClennen

Sep 10, 2026

Public schools are navigating a perfect storm: declining enrollment, expiring ESSER funds, and expanding school choice mechanisms are reshaping the financial ground beneath district leaders. Nate McClennen's latest piece on Getting Smart breaks down traditional and emerging school finance models, from weighted student funding to student-run enterprises, and offers concrete action steps for leaders ready to think creatively about sustainability. If your district is feeling the pressure, this is a timely and practical read.

Leadership

When to Innovate, When to Implement, and When to Improve: A Framework for Strategic Schools

Nate McClennen, Rebecca Midles

Sep 8, 2026

Not every school challenge calls for the same solution, but most systems are only fluent in one approach. In this new piece, Nate McClennen and Rebecca Midles unpack the critical differences between implementation science, innovation, and improvement science, and show leaders how to build the organizational fluency to use all three. If your system defaults to implementation for every problem, or chases innovation without the structures to scale it, this framework offers a clearer, more strategic path forward.

	Beginning	Piloting	Implementing
From Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery	BeginningFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Beginning	PilotingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Piloting	ImplementingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Implementing
From One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning	BeginningFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Implementing
From Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry	BeginningFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Beginning	PilotingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Piloting	ImplementingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Implementing
From Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning	BeginningFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Implementing
From Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities	BeginningFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Beginning	PilotingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Piloting	ImplementingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Implementing
From Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment	BeginningFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Beginning	PilotingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Piloting	ImplementingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Implementing
From Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets	BeginningFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Beginning	PilotingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Piloting	ImplementingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Implementing

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