Getting Started With The Institute
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In the spring of 2013, a team of Mountain Brook leaders affirmed their belief that education must be transformed. While attending the CoSN Conference and sharing ideas with other school districts such as Scarsdale Public Schools, our leaders decided to add another facet to the Metamorphosis Project: The Institute for Innovation at Mountain Brook Schools.
During the 2013-14 school year the superintendent asked a select group of teachers and administrators with varying skills and backgrounds to participate in the initial preparation and planning for the creation of the Institute. This group studied current research on innovation including reading Tony Wagner's book, Creating Innovators. In addition, the group created the Institute's mission statement and the superintendent unveiled the project in his address to all employees, August 2014. As follow-up the original committee shared the statement with all teachers in Mountain Brook Schools and encouraged them to be a part of building the Institute.In the fall of 2014 teachers were invited to attend the kickoff meeting for the Institute for Innovation. There they learned more about the mission of the Institute and about the research that the original committee explored. Dr. Missy Brooks, Director of Instruction stated that, "There was a sense of excitement and energy surrounding the concept." Subsequent meetings with the committee were held to create the Institute's processes for submitting proposals, preparation for selection committee, accountability, and documentation.
