Designing the Future with Speaker Grant Lichtman

The conversation and activities were focused through the lens of the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development, which Chatham Hall has adopted as a core component of the long-term strategic plan. Lichtman kicked off the day with a keynote address outlining the need for schools to adapt to a student-centric model of teaching, not just in the classroom, but throughout the school community as well. Members of the Board of Trustees and Alumnae Council were also in attendance throughout the day to work alongside current students and faculty to imagine the future of Chatham Hall.

Grant Lichtman is an internationally-recognized thought leader on the transformation of K-12 education. He works with school teams to develop a comfort and capacity for change in a rapidly changing world. For almost 15 years, Grant was a trustee and senior administrator at one of the largest independent schools in the United States. Since 2012, Lichtman has visited more than 125 schools and districts, published three books, written numerous articles, and worked with thousands of school and community stakeholders to develop unique and powerful visions and strategies for transforming education away from the Industrial Age and towards future-focused models of deeper learning. He is the author of three books: Moving the Rock: Seven Levers WE Can Press to Transform Education; #EdJourney: A Roadmap for the Future of Education; and The Falconer: What We Wish We Had Learned in School.

After the keynote address, the assembled group moved into Yardley dining hall for small group activities exploring the idea of relevance as a guiding force in planning for the future. The eight to twelve person groups first defined relevance as a concept so as to develop a common language for the rest of the day, and then dove into the seventeen U.N. Global Goals for Sustainable Development, which range from tackling poverty to addressing gender equality. Lichtman ended the day with a “blue sky thinking” activity in which each group had to pitch the school on a new program that both fits into the current Chatham Hall curriculum, and addresses at least three of the U.N. Goals. Students and Faculty ended the day by pitching their ideas to the whole community. These ideas will be formalized over the next few months, with the goal of adapting some into the fabric of Chatham Hall.