Lisa Simms - Competency-Based School Design

My guest today is Lisa Simms. Lisa is the owner of Lisa Simms Consulting, LLC, an Education Innovation Partner that provides consulting services in school design and coaching, competency-based, personalized and project-based learning as well as community development. Previously, Lisa was a co-designer, founder and eventually principal of Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design, DSISD, the first competency-based high school in Denver Public Schools. Additionally, she has taught language arts, been an instructional coach and peer observer among other experiences in innovative environments. In our conversation, Lisa traces the timeline of her vast experiences in education and how these shaped her passions and values in designing DSISD. She shares how many of these experiences included innovative approaches such as instructing from a cultural lens, developing thematic and project-based units and designing expeditions with students, and learning to utilize data to drive instructional moves. She dives into the process of designing a school, recruiting talented teachers, finding students who are the right fit and much more about her journey to open and operate DSISD. We also discuss what it means to be a competency-based school and why she feels like this is such an effective approach. Please enjoy this week’s episode of Humble Badass Educators with humble badass Lisa Simms. https://www.lisasimmsconsulting.com/