Tip of the Hat:Bett Builders in Action

Want to harness your parent power, activate community advocates and get kids excited about learning across cultures? Meet Eric Dailey, a Bett Builder from Nashville representing Tennessee (corner him and he just might tell you where to get the best Nashville Hot Chicken…but will not reveal his favorite line dance, we tried!) As a Superintendent Executive Director of Rocketship Schools, innovation is part of every school day. These non-profit public charter schools in TN, WI, DC and CA are so popular they have a lottery system for admission. They host STEM Nights, parent-led Town Halls and cultural events such as Lucha Libro, a Mexican wrestling troupe that body slams illiteracy by unmasking their love of books between bouts.

“Innovation isn't viewed as a separate thing that we do to schools, we integrate innovation into our infrastructure,” says Dailey.“That might be engaging parents of multicultural backgrounds or using technology to innovate our instructional practices. Innovation is part of the organization as opposed to a separate tactic.”

“Rocketship is built on three primary pillars,” says Dailey. “The first is personalized learning. We're elementary by design model, serving kindergarten through 5th graders. Math teachers teach math, STEM teachers only teach STEM. Almost half of our students speak English as a second language, so we really do everything through a multilingual lens, given our student population.

“The second pillar is parent power. We engage our parents beyond the PTO. We view parents as active leaders. We invest in them by providing leadership development programming and activate them through empowering activities. The third pillar is talent development. We invest in our people through professional learning, weekly one-to-ones, executive coaching and professional development work.”

One popular Second Pillar event was a parent-led Town Hall.

“Setting up a Town Hall isn't just about hearing from politicians.” says Dailey. “The event was led and designed by parents. They invited the political leaders, sent the emails, asked the questions during the Town Hall. They facilitated the meeting. It is about centering parents in the work and having them lead as opposed to simply attending or engaging with something set in front of them.”

Connecting students, parents, educators and the greater community makes for stronger schools.

“Engaging with our community feels deeply aligned with how we view ourselves,” says Dailey. “We didn't just plop a school into a community and folks are just driving up to receive a good. It's really about the school being a reflection of the community that we're investing in. We want to have strong partnerships with those local stakeholders and be good contributors. This is why our parent power work is so important. It positions parents as contributors to the local community: as activists, as advocates, as leaders.”

Students also benefit from events outside of school hours geared toward their passion projects. Giving insight into a typical day at school encourages support from home.

“Quarterly STEM nights are key,” says Dailey. “We engage with parents in the everyday activities students experience in the classroom. There are demos and scientific experiments. Our robotics club grew from one of our STEM nights, now kids are building their own robots. It's an opportunity for parents and students to engage in the beauty of joint learning aligned to our core content.

“During our Literacy Nights, students run the read-alouds, and the parents sit in the students’ place and listen. One of our schools is an arts school, with drama as an enrichment course. Those students perform dramatic readings or skits.”

Dailey has big hopes for Bett USA. (He also let us know Broadway’s the spot if your toes are tempted to go local with some Nashville sole, but if you can’t wait you can boot up right at the airport on landing!)

“I think the most important thing about attending the Bett USA summit is just to be in community with other folks deeply committed to and passionate about innovation, no matter the lane or the position they hold. As an Executive Director, I'm excited about innovation and its impacts on broader educational outcomes across our country. I”m excited to talk with others about what cutting edge is, to see what they are testing or piloting.

“That conversation is often lost in the urgency of just getting through the day and making sure that the status quo is maintained. Carving out space to have some of those conversations is exciting. I believe the work that the summit will illuminate is really critical to the future of education. It's why I agreed to join as a Builder. It is why I'm committed to the movement.”