Educelerate XXVI: Personalization by Design

Join Educelerate for a panel on designing schools for personalization, reflecting what "personalization" means across pedagogy, technology and even physical space! Continuing the conversation from our recent Educelerate Conference on "Personalization and Student Success", we have collected leaders from K-12, including new school founders as well as leading figures in pedagogical as well as physical design -- all with a particular focus on aspects of personalization.

Our esteemed speakers will include:

• Trung Le, co-founder of Wonder by Design (http://www.wonderbydesign.org/about/), an education design agency that lives at the intersection of learning, design and innovation. With a curiosity on the future of learning, the Wonder team collaborates with education institutions and communities to formulate systemic strategies for positive change. Their projects have been published in such periodicals as Architectural Record, World Architecture News and Edutopia

• Eric Davis, founder and president of GCE Lab School (https://gcelabschool.com/), a private school in Chicago and online which emboldens students and families by equipping students to thrive in today’s complex world through an innovative approach to education—one that hones relevant skills, incorporates adaptive technologies, and embraces the inspiration and practicality of real-world learning.

• Cameron Smith, co-founder and CEO of Bennett Day School (http://www.bennettday.org/), which he was inspired to create after the birth of his first son in 2010 (who was subsequently a member of the first JK class at Bennett Day!). As a new parent, Cameron recognized there was a great need for more options for progressive independent schooling and 'learning by doing' in Chicago. Cameron previously served on the Board of Namaste Charter School where he chaired the Investment Committee, and he is a member of the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance and Education Law Committee of the Chicago Bar Association.

• George Gauthier, architect at BLDD, brings a qualitative, diversified 15 years of architectural experience to the office. He has combined a well-rounded set of skills with a design sensibility to enhance his experience on various projects.

• Chris Liang-Vergara, Chief Learning Officer of LEAP Innovations (http://www.leapinnovations.org/), where he advises and co-designs programming to drive education innovation and new learning models that enable personalized learning. Chris was named by the Center for Digital Education as one of the Top 40 Innovators in Education for 2013.

A special thank you to Bennett Day School for hosting and helping organize this event!