Guest Experts

School districts have a variety of absences that need filling: long term, last minute and pre-planned. We started thinking how could we leverage the advance notice of pre-planned absences to bring something extraordinary to students? With those few days advance notice and some strategic partnerships between schools and nonprofits, what might we be able to do? Many pre-planned absences are for professional development, and if a teacher is out of the classroom for a special learning opportunity, could we offer their students something similar?

Many nonprofits that have incredible staff, exciting content and not nearly enough opportunities to reach students. What if we could help bridge that gap and bring exciting, memorable learning experiences to students and also cover a critical absence? Along with MathAction, a nonprofit seeking to empower the next generation to use math as a tool to understand—and seek solutions for—the most pressing global issues of our time, we are designing a structure to facilitate a new kind of partnership. Working with local school districts MathAction will bring their expertise in math instruction and inquiry-based global math challenges directly to students.

We’re Exploring

What would it look like if “substitute teachers” were guest experts who brought their own expertise and lesson plans?
Could a nonprofit partner provide guest experts to districts, filling in for pre-planned teacher absences?
Could this provide students with deeper learning experiences when their regular teacher is absent?
Could this also be a way for nonprofits to advance their missions?