State of The Publication, January 1st, 2016

Happy New Year!

I’d like to take this opportunity for thank you all for following The Synapse, and continuing to support authentic voices in education. I’ve already introduced myself, but in case you missed it, I’m the new owner and editor around here. I’ve been doing my best to keep the publication that Shawn White, the previous owner, nurtured and grew over the last three years running to your expectations. In the month since I’ve taken the reigns of this thing, we’ve posted some of my favorite articles on education, and brought a few new voices to the forefront.

Speaking of new voices, one of my goals for the publication was to grow the editorial staff to include more individuals dedicated to sweeping the web for the very best, most invigorating education-related content. It is my belief that everyone from classroom educators, to administration and support staff, to policymakers, and to students should be involved in this conversation. About a week ago, as luck would have it, I was contacted via twitter by a student with a vision. I’ll let her say the rest:

Happy New Year! I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself, I am Merrit Jones a high school senior from South Carolina. I’m known to be a lover of learning, history, politics and pursuing education policy as a career. I am so thrilled to begin 2016 and join The Synapse as a student editor. I’m new to Medium but I hope to bring a fresh perspective as a student and advocate for education transformation.

If you haven’t heard my state is home to “The Corridor of Shame,” which is an area where schools are essentially segregated and resources are scarce. We are infamous for the documentary of the same name, which I watched from a classroom of my brand-new state of the art high school. Immediately I knew something was wrong with this picture. Fortunately, I was chosen to be a Lead Activist for the National Youth Leadership Council’s #Youth4Ed campaign. I attended National Youth Leadership Training in Minnesota over the following summer and met youth from all over the U.S. and world. We were charged with completing a year-long Service-learning project and I decided to address the lack of youth voice in decision-making. I created Student Space, a nonprofit that aims to amplify student voice in South Carolina. Our mission is to empower students to take an active role in their education and find their voice.

I will be recruiting weekly student pieces and ensuring students are a part of the conversation. I am passionate about a variety of education-related topics from funding, personalized assessment, policy, etc. I am pumped to join a community of passionate educators and stakeholders. Let’s grow the movement, transform education, and teach students to fall in love with learning.

You can find me @merritjones on twitter and learn more about more organization at stuspace.org

Meritt’s role will be focused on bringing student voices to our publication, an activity with which she is already clearly familiar, and I’m excited to see the kinds of content she is able to drum up. Students are (at the very least) one half of the educational equation- after all, they are the ones for whom education is built. As educational professionals, concerned parties, and students ourselves, we must allow for a space to validate and incorporate their voices. Meritt and her student writers are sure to be a welcome addition to the publication!

Speaking of which, if you find yourself thinking to yourself that you share in the vision of the publication, feel free to tweet at me with any inquiries you might have regarding your involvement- be it a single article, a series on a specific topic, or an editorial vision you’d like to pursue. I look forward to engaging the entire community of followers in conversation!

This year is going to bring us a wealth of new opportunities and challenges, no matter our role in education. Together, we can inspire, support, and challenge one another to grow.

Once again, thank you all for continuing to support the publication. Medium is a platform that I believe in, and The Synapse is the best publication on the platform. Here’s to another year of highlighting the most authentic voices in education!

Yours,

Brad Decker

Owner and Editor,

The Synapse