Greg Little likes to talk about journeys when speaking about education. As Superintendent of Lexington School District One in South Carolina, he has certainly taken his own journey to get to the position he finds himself in today.
Greg strives to bring personalization to the journeys of his students. Greg explains, “Our students need to create their own realities in learning. They can problem solve and do projects that they can really get their teeth into.” As superintendent, Little is working on programs and policies that will encourage student ownership across his district.
Little also talks about shaking up the status quo regarding letter or percentage grades and brings insight into what those grades actually mean. Part of the problem, according to Greg, comes from the fact that letter grades are so ingrained in our society that proposing change almost always poses a problem. It’s important that school leadership work to provide a clear message to parents and the community to create necessary buy-in.
The interview revealed that it takes a special nuance to persuade people to adopt sweeping change - a characteristic that the congenial Greg Little clearly possesses.
Interview
About Dr. Greg Little:
Raised in a family of educators and a veteran educator with 18 years of experience, Greg Little originally graduated in 1997 from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a Bachelor of Arts in English. Seven years later he earned a Master of Arts in curriculum and instruction, followed by a Doctor of Education in curriculum and instruction, both from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
He began his career as a secondary English language arts instructor in Durham Public Schools in Durham, North Carolina, where he planned and implemented curriculum for middle and high school students, and developed a creative writing curriculum and study skills curriculum for high school students.
He moved to the Wake County Public School System in Raleigh in 2004 as senior administrator of middle school English language arts and led district-wide writing instruction and reading.
In 2006, he became assistant superintendent of K–12 curriculum and instruction for Roanoke Rapids Graded School District in North Carolina where he budgeted and administered a wide range of K–12 curriculum and instruction programs, including career and technical education, academically/intellectually gifted, media centers, English as a second language, 504s, textbook adoption, homebound instruction, Title II, etc. and served as a Federal grant reviewer.
He is currently the superintendent at the Lexington School District One in South Carolina.
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Further Reading:
The Atlantic - Will Personalized Learning Become the New Normal?
Education Week - Personalized Learning: What Does the Research Say?
Chicago Business - Why aren't more Chicago businesses adopting schools?
Additional Reading:
Project based learning improving kindergarten learning
K-8 learning boosted by interactive curriculum
Thought leaders mentoring the next generation of superintendents
About Rod Berger, PsyD.
Dr. Rod Berger is President and CEO of MindRocket Media Group. Berger is a global education media personality and strategic influencer featured in The Huffington Post, Scholastic, AmericanEdTV, edCircuit, EdTechReview India and Forbes
Audiences have enjoyed education interviews with the likes of Sir Ken Robinson, Arne Duncan, Randi Weingarten, Sal Khan along with leading edtech investors, award-winning educators, and state and federal education leaders. Berger’s latest project boasts a collaboration with AmericanEdTV and CBS’s Jack Ford.
Follow Dr. Rod Berger on Twitter