School District Innovation
Proposal Format
45-minute Presentation
Track Choices
Navigating the Change and Reinventing the Future
Abstract
R2 Innovates serves the faculty, students, and community of Richland School District Two in Columbia, SC. We want to share with you how innovation as a principle practice inspires our district to lead with creativity and think outside of the box to solve real problems in our setting. R2 Innovates offers various services to foster a culture of innovation which we hope will spur your thinking in your own educational context. For example, we offer an Incubator, Accelerator, and Design Playground to encourage teachers and staff to develop innovative practices that support district priorities. We believe teachers and staff possess the ideas to foster positive change if given the right mentoring, resources, and support. We also work with students in design projects like the Student Hackathon and site-based projects which improve our schools and communities. This session will inform you of innovative practices in a school district, and you will interact with the tenets of design thinking. We hope to foster a culture of creativity and connection, so we hope you will join us!
Keywords
innovation program, school districts, reinventing the future
Speaker Bio
Kedralyn L. Folk, EdD, serves as Innovation Program Specialist for Richland School District Two. She attended South Carolina State University and, in 2015, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. From there, she began her career as a certified educator. She received her Master of Education in Teaching from the University of South Carolina (2017) and her Educational Specialist in Instructional Technology from Coastal Carolina University (2019). In 2022, Kedralyn graduated with a Doctor of Education in Education Systems Improvement Science from Clemson University. Dr. Folk is passionate about improving education, innovation, and design thinking. She has experience teaching grades Kindergarten, 3rd and 4th grades. Nathan O'Neill serves as Innovation Program Designer for Richland School District Two. He holds a Biology degree from Augusta State University and a Master's in Intercultural Studies and ESOL from Columbia Biblical Seminary. In addition, he has several certifications in design thinking and creativity. Mr. O'Neill's job is to help teams do cool new things in the educational space. He enjoys helping expand the use of creative problem-solving among students, staff, and the community. He has worked with various programs: Bengal Biodiesel, robotics, teacher recruitment and retention, theatre tech training, student hackathons, and many others.
School District Innovation
Penny Hall, 210
R2 Innovates serves the faculty, students, and community of Richland School District Two in Columbia, SC. We want to share with you how innovation as a principle practice inspires our district to lead with creativity and think outside of the box to solve real problems in our setting. R2 Innovates offers various services to foster a culture of innovation which we hope will spur your thinking in your own educational context. For example, we offer an Incubator, Accelerator, and Design Playground to encourage teachers and staff to develop innovative practices that support district priorities. We believe teachers and staff possess the ideas to foster positive change if given the right mentoring, resources, and support. We also work with students in design projects like the Student Hackathon and site-based projects which improve our schools and communities. This session will inform you of innovative practices in a school district, and you will interact with the tenets of design thinking. We hope to foster a culture of creativity and connection, so we hope you will join us!