229 - Eric Williams on Empowering Students to Make a Contribution

Today's episode is all about contribution and empowering all students to make meaningful contributions to the world! At Loudoun County Public Schools that is their motto! LCPS is a big Virginia district west of Washington, DC, serving about 84,000 students in 94 schools. In today's episode, Tom Vander Ark gets to speak with the Superintendent of Loudoun, Dr. Eric Williams. Dr. Williams has been Superintendent in Loudoun for just over five years. While many districts reference citizenship as a goal, Williams prefers the term 'contribution,' as it incorporates careers in the private sector, civic engagement, and community service. He believes in engaging students in solving authentic problems as a means of developing knowledgeable critical thinkers, communicators, collaborators, creators, and contributors. Join the conversation today to hear all about Loudoun, how Williams is driving authentic learning from the elementary level to high school, and his focus on empowering all students to make meaningful contributions to the world! Key Takeaways: [:15] About today's episode! [1:00] Tom welcomes Dr. Eric Williams to the podcast! [1:07] Why did Dr. Williams study history at William &...