District 742 Summit Brings Together Students, Staff, and Community Members to Reimagine the Future of Learning

(KNSI) – St. Cloud Area School District 742 hosted a summit on Friday to reimagine what learning could look like in the years ahead.

The Future Ready by Design summit at Tech High School brought students, educators, and community leaders together in two different coordinated sessions. One focused on teacher led professional learning in artificial intelligence, assessment, and student engagement. The second session, called a Changemaker Hub, worked by having all parties collaboratively envision what the future of education in St. Cloud could be.

District 742 Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Jason Harris sat down with KNSI News at the summit and explained the challenges they are learning about as they try to educate the next generation. “We heard today 85% of the jobs for our elementary kids haven’t even been created. So how are we preparing our kids if we don’t know what’s there? But we do know if we have skills [and] knowledge around the learner and building agency, whatever is out there, we’re going to be prepared for it.”

Event organizers say what sets this summit apart is its commitment to placing student voices at the center of planning.

Two North Junior High eighth graders, Selene Sanchez and Brielle Boyd, participated in the Changemaker Hub. Boyd wants the district to spend more time bringing everyone together. “I want everyone to feel extremely welcome, every single race, every single culture, to feel welcome. And today I just wanted to come here, share my thoughts, and meet new, wonderful people. I’ve met so many kind, generous, joyful people, and I’m glad I came here today, because it’s been the best day ever.”

Sanchez agreed, emphasizing the importance of students connecting across grade levels. “I want us to have more activities, getting to talk to these high schoolers. The freshmen right now, the seniors, everyone. And then the same thing for sixth graders. They come to us, and we explain how life is and give advice.”

Liz Cummings-Cervenka, National Director of Programs for World Savvy, explained the follow-up process. “We’re actually going to be taking all the data that we’re going to get today, and then next week, come together as an adult leadership team, to be thinking, Okay, this is what the kids are telling us. What do we do about this? And one of our big things is to not be like, we’re going to throw the baby out with the bath water. We’re taking tiny little steps.” World Savvy is the nonprofit running the summit.

Director of Research Assessment and AI Integration for District 742, Donna Roper, highlighted the critical role teachers will play in shaping the future, “They have the most important job in the world right now. They’re on the front lines of making sure that the wise and strategic use of these emerging technologies doesn’t harm or shortcut learning, that it’s done intentionally, thoughtfully and really well, to prepare our kids with the right skills.”

Roper stated the partnership between District 742 and World Savvy builds on momentum from two previous AI summits held at Tech High School over the past two summers, which brought together stakeholders from across Minnesota.

Brian Myers, a retired business executive representing the community voice at the summit, believes teachers have never been more important than they are today. “Kindling that entrepreneurial spirit amongst the teachers so that they start innovating and doing things differently, that’s what’s going to get us to the Promised Land.”

The event was organized in partnership with World Savvy, the Minnesota Generative AI Alliance for Education, and St. Cloud Area Educators.

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