Sara Duvall

Change Agent, Educator/Teacher, Idea generator, Technologist, Writer/Editor

Dr. Sara Duvall is a former entrepreneur in the entertainment industry, where she served on the Boards of Directors for Women in Film, Mediascope (film and media rating system) and The Center for Media Literacy. She was a member of the Hollywood Women’s Political Committee and lobbied in Sacramento and Washington D.C. She served on the AFI 2nd Decade Council that raised money to restore deteriorated classic films. After leaving the film industry, Sara became fascinated with aligning free public education to the needs of today’s students. She joined Ann Arbor Public Schools in time to become a member of the founding team of Skyline High School as the Lead for Media & Technology (aka Librarian) where she revolutionized school library services. She holds a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership & Curriculum and instigates change wherever she goes. She is the adult curator of TEDxYouth@AnnArbor, an inclusive city-wide event that celebrates youth voice, entirely organized and produced by high school students. Her success in the private sector was based on • Skill in creative thinking, systems and organizational analysis and financial analysis with alignment to achieve goals; • Ability to communicate a compelling vision • Ability to administer complex organizations and multiple projects simultaneously; • Skill in building relationships and coalitions among unlikely stakeholders; and • Skill in marketing and strategic planning. These business skills have contributed to her success in educational improvement in Ann Arbor. Dr. Duvall agrees with Marc Prensky and other forward thinkers that technology is not a “tool,” rather it has become an extension of individual brain-power. She believes in the power of crowd sourcing ideas to change the world and advocates for 1:1 computing. Dr. Duvall has published several articles with her Skyline team about the Curriculum & Portfolio Integration Project. She is now promoting the Learning Network Model of digital research and organization at educational conferences around the country.

Ian Jukes, educator and futurist said, “We must teach our students for their future, not our past.” I am passionate about how we actually change our teaching to accomplish education for their future.

Take your mind to the end of the 19th century. Model T automobiles are the hotest technology. Ten white university presidents get together and define public education. Industrial model – production line, batches, discard flawed product, agricultural seasons. Sit, get, memorize, don’t speak unless spoken to. Keep your slate clean and don’t loose your chalk. In the 21st century we live in a NASCAR world. Globalization, wireless technologies, Skype, Facebook, iPad, instant messaging. Yet, American society clings to model T education. My idea is a PROCESS for your local schools to define what students actually need from their education in the 21st century and then redefine ‘schooling’ to meet those needs. This is about teachers changing how they have always taught because they know it’s the right thing to do. This is not about politicians, business leaders, administrators debating and mandating. This is about teachers reclaiming their profession.

21st Century Teaching & Learning, Big picture and decision making, Educational Media & Technology, Systems Analysis and Design, Teachers as Innovators

How many of you think that our kids need something from their education that we didn’t get? Most of us feel this at the gut level. However, we don’t have the answer to “What is it they need?” My idea is that only teachers can provide that illusive “what.” Not administrators, not politicians, not business owners…teachers. I suggest that teachers take every assumption about education off the table and start fresh with a simple question: “What do students need from their education today?” Once we have an answer, then we can redesign the school experience. That was the process at the new comprehensive high school in Ann Arbor, Michigan, now in its 10th year. A group of 30 innovative teachers did not take the easy way out and create a new school in the image of the old. They created a public high school based on students’ needs. My idea is to spread the word about the ‘process’ we used and the results we’ve garnered; a replicable model for 21st century education.

I am an advocate for Youth Voice. TEDxYouth@AnnArbor is organized and performed entirely by students from area high schools - both public and private.