Thursday, October 1, 2026
It’s a simple question, but one that every educational institution needs to answer: What do our students walk out with — after a lesson, a year or their entire 13-year public school career — that they did not walk in with? This question not only clarifies the purpose of school, in a time of new mandates with which schools have been tasked, but also empowers schools to adapt our goals to what our students need now.
While students’ education occurs in partnership with parents and other institutions, the goal of any school system should be to “move” students toward intentional growth in skills, knowledge and confidence needed to navigate and thrive in an increasingly complex world. Indeed, we, as educators, are in the movement business, and how we move students is our ultimate test.
We know that skilled and dedicated teachers, coaches and mentors have a visible impact on the growth and success of those they lead. Our personal achievements and successes in our own lives likely have at least some connections to a mentor who moved us in some way at some point along our journey.
As one of the poorest students in my school district growing up, and the first person in my family to attend college, I know that my own movement was directly tied to the lessons, guidance, wisdom and confidence I gained from key teachers, coaches and music educators. Now, as a school administrator in an amazing district, one of the greatest gifts has been to witness the multi-year journey of growth in our students and to know that our faculty and staff played a part in that. The fact that educators do indeed “move” students to new heights and levels of sophistication in their abilities has been proven to me time and time again. This growth would not be possible without these experiences in schools.
However, now more than ever, the direction in which we are moving students needs to change. Key core competencies in mathematics, literacy, science and technology, world languages, social studies, physical education and the arts will always be important, but schools and society need to consider how relevant skills are developed in these key areas while also considering the addition of other new concepts.
As the landscape of everyday life and work becomes increasingly shaped by complex forces such as AI, social media, infinite sources of information, shifting demographics, fiscal challenges, challenges to health and well-being, and natural disasters, students need to move toward sophistication in specific skills such as problem solving, innovation, creative and critical thinking, collaboration, communication and commitment to themselves and others. Moreover, as the New York State Education Department has emphasized, we need students to become proficient in new literacies for the new world, including financial, media and wellness literacy — including understanding the brain and what impacts or shapes its development.
While North Shore and other neighboring school districts codified these skills a long time ago — the North Shore Shared Valued Outcomes were created in 2015 — we must now help students understand how they are growing in these discrete areas, ensure that they know how these skills can be applied to the world outside school (performance-based learning), help them identify their personal strengths, and empower them to leverage this growth to have the most fulfilling life and career possible in 2025 and beyond.
While schools have always been in the movement business, we need to adjust our educational GPS to help students deliberately grow in the skills, knowledge and understanding they need to walk out with most, in the brave new world that awaits them, and all of us.
Christopher R. Zublionis, Ed.D., is superintendent of the North Shore School District.
