The Future is Bright: How Gem Prep Is Reimagining Education and Building Tomorrow's Leaders

By Dr. Jason Bransford

The Future is Bright: How Gem Prep is Reimaging Education and Building Tomorrow's Leaders captures the essence of how some of America's best schools are transforming education and the next generation. Gem Prep schools utilize strong academics, competency development, and exposure to a variety of experiences to prepare today's students to be tomorrow's leaders. Gem Prep's approach to education places students in the driver's seat of their education as they incrementally take ownership of their education and their future.

This book helps the reader understand how Gem Prep accomplishes its work, but it also helps the reader understand how educational leaders can pursue foundational shifts in their approach to education to successfully propel students toward a bright future.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9798888516652

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

1: Earned Autonomy: A Pattern for Life

2: One-on-One Relationships

3: Finding Their Why

4: Scaffolding Toward Ownership

5: Embracing Failure as Part of the Learning Process

6: High Expectations as the Norm

7: Peer Tutoring and Support

8: Competency Development

9: Flexible Spaces and Schedules

10: Online Courses: Learning and Leading in the Digital Era

11: Early Career Explorations

12: Lay a Strong Foundation & Build on It

13: Coaching

Conclusion

About the Author

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The Future is Bright

How Gem Prep Is Reimagining Education and Building Tomorrow's Leaders

Dr. Jason Bransford

ISBN 979-8-88851-664-5 (Paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88851-665-2 (Digital)

Copyright © 2023 Dr. Jason Bransford

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Acknowledgments

It is difficult to enumerate the blessings that I have in my life. I am surrounded by friends, colleagues, and loved ones, who give my life meaning and remind me of its purpose. I am blessed to work with board members, whose hearts are pure and who genuinely want what is best for students. At just the right time, they push me, encourage me, and bolster me up.

I am surrounded by an administrative team, who are not only the best in their professional field, but are also some of the best people I know. The staff members at Gem Prep schools are remarkable. With rare exception, they arrive each day in a spirit of enthusiasm and altruism. It is their execution of the concepts in this book and their commitment and love for their students that afford me the privilege to talk about how bright the future really is.

I hold deep gratitude for my colleagues across the country, who have shared their hard-won lessons with me, opened their school doors to me, and allowed me to learn at their feet. In my wildest dreams, I never thought I would be blessed with the professional opportunities that these great leaders have given me. These exemplary leaders have blessed me with a profound sense of connectedness and opportunities to see beyond the walls of my own work.

I likewise thank my friends, who have contributed portions of their stories, where they intersect with my own, in an effort to share valuable lessons with others interested in guiding children toward success.

To my parents, who gave me life's first lessons and a truly great childhood, I love you. I also acknowledge my family who has sacrificed countless hours with me, which has allowed me to invest a large part of my soul into Gem Prep and, eventually, the writing of this book. To my children, Annabelle, Reese, Andrew, James, and Jackson, you will always be the greatest source of joy in my life. You make me laugh when I need it most. You tell me I am a great dad, even when I question myself. Finally, to the love of my life, Rebecca, who took a chance on me and began our journey together many years ago. Your endless optimism has always sustained me, your wise counsel has always enlightened me, and your selfless service of others has served as an ongoing source of inspiration for me.

Foreword

My childhood hero was Abraham Lincoln. As a twenty-five-year-old living in New Salem, Illinois, Lincoln was studying to be a lawyer while also running for the Illinois House of Representatives (he was first elected in 1834 and served four terms). He told friends and colleagues that education is the most important subject, which we as a people can be engaged in.

This wonderfully simple and insightful book, The Future Is Bright, by Dr. Jason Bransford reminded me of the wisdom shared by Lincoln so long ago with his friends in rural Illinois. Education is a noble profession, and those of us who engage in it need to not only be proud of the work we do and the profession we represent, but to also be inspired by the efforts of our colleagues, students, and families. Great educators are prodigious and humble learners. Dr. Bransford models these traits in his deeds and his words.

In thirteen crisp chapters, ranging from Relationships to Scaffolding Toward Ownership to Competency Development, Dr. Bransford reminds the reader of why education is not only the most important subject, but that it is a profession that demands constant learning, steady improvement, strategy, and humility to really do well over months and years. This is true not only for individual teachers, but also for systems of schools.

Throughout the book, Dr. Bransford weaves stories from his childhood, family, as a teacher, and lessons learned as chief architect in building an Idaho-based public charter school network called Gem Prep from scratch. Gem Prep started as an online school, but over the last decade, it has evolved to not only Idaho's best online K–12 school, but also a network of brick-and-mortar schools that serve thousands of students. Its growth is ongoing and steady.

Great storytellers inspire action by the stories they yarn, and they use these stories to help readers make connections that they otherwise wouldn't make. Dr. Bransford does this throughout the book and helps the reader understand and appreciate old school values that permeate successful education, but in ways that make these long-cherished values feel new and fresh. For example, Dr. Bransford leads off chapter one with his story as a young baseball player, who thought he knew it all when it came to stealing bases because he was blessed with speed. It took a grizzled, no-nonsense baseball coach to get him to understand the difference between learned expertise and raw talent.

From this personal experience and growth, Dr. Bransford helps the reader understand the importance and value of earned autonomy. He earned autonomy as a base-stealer, who could steal a base anytime he thought it possible because he had earned the right from his coach by learning how to actually read pitchers and know when it was the right time to steal a base. For educators, Dr. Bransford argues the primary goal of schooling is to help students take responsibility for their own learning. Successful students have earned the autonomy to take control of their education and learning. A student at Gem Prep modelled earned autonomy when she said, "I go home during classes because I have great grades and I have