Micro schools are getting a lot of attention, and sometimes it feels like the attention is ahead of scale and impact. But our first award recipient is doing her part to make micro schools impactful and scaleable. Megan Hanley, Executive Director of School Design at Arizona State University’s Preparatory Academy, has worked with her team to develop a model approach placing a micro school on a university campus. Her microschool work is the latest example of her efforts to create and implement ways for students to discover new levels of ownership and purpose in their education. From the start, Megan and her team asked themselves an important question: “How can we make students feel that they are in control of their own education?” Rather than following the top-down structure of a traditional classroom, Megan and her team and school center on student autonomy and involvement. Every student has a role in their school’s community, whether it’s serving as a wellness advocate, welcoming new students, or sharing motivational quotes. And by focusing on one student at a time, Megan is creating a path for a new kind of microschool.
For her work on micro schools and beyond, we are proud to present Megan Hanly with the individual Excellent in Digital Learning Award.