Syd Young Email & Phone Number

Utah, United States

As Director of Teaching and Learning at KnowledgeWorks, Syd Young works with learning communities across the country to build, scale and sustain personalized, competency-based learning. Syd came to KnowledgeWorks from the Utah State Board of Education, where she served as an Education Specialist supporting local learning communities implementing blended, personalized, and competency-based learning. Under her leadership, learner-validated programs have continued to grow and spread across Utah. Her fervor for strategizing ideal local conditions, where individuals see themselves as change agents, dates back to her days in conservation biology and her previous roles as a science teacher and school administrator. Syd is keenly motivated to help educators and administrators envision ways to more effectively translate aspirations into reality for K-12 public school systems and post-secondary pathways. Her support for PCBL implementation empowers local innovation, shifting the focus from teaching to learning and moving instruction beyond information dissemination to a focus on transferable skills necessary for success in the modern world. She enjoys time with her family, a well-pinned insect, the life cycle of deciduous tree leaves, pollen morphology, and considering COVID as a disruptive catalyst for reimagining learning.

Salt Lake City, Utah

Leading projects, programs, and communications for Digital Teaching and Learning (DTL) and Personalized Competency-Based Learning (PCBL) initiatives:• Overseeing the continued development of professional learning communities (PLCs) within the Digital Teaching and Learning and Personalized Competency-Based Learning communities to foster the implementation and spread of best practices throughout all 41 public school districts and over 100 charter schools in Utah• Collaborating with stakeholders, both within the Utah community as well as on a national scale, to envision ways to more effectively translate innovations into reality for K-12 public school systems• Collaborating with the USBE DTL and PCBL teams to plan, design, and carry out professional development experiences and promote local innovation• Annually budgeting related to a fiscal year’s worth of activities• Utilizing the Utah Grants management system to review and approve annual budgets and reimbursements for grant awardees• Engaging professional correspondence with education leaders to develop positive working relationships and a deep professional community• Working with several stakeholder groups (university faculty, K-12 leaders, educational technology providers, diverse committees, cross-agency workgroups, etc.) to create a culture of change leadership and continuous improvement• Developing and implementing strategic internal and external communication plans tailored to diverse stakeholder needs in written, oral, and digital formats• Presenting virtual, written, and in person sessions on DTL and PCBL initiatives in a variety of local, statewide, and national conferences and webinars.• Participating in cross-agency work groups related to USBE’s strategic plan and goals• Manage USBE Grant Programs while partnering with grant awardees, service providers, and professional organizations

Greater Salt Lake City Area

Providing consulting services for innovative technology initiatives while making a career transitionDiverse leadership and management skills developed over the last decade spent in the education sector translate well to ed tech/business:*Leading and managing cross functional teams in a dynamic environment*Utilizing communication, productivity, and presentation tools to facilitate organization, communication, and collaboration while removing traditional barriers of time, space, and place*Facilitating collaborative completion of complex initiatives ahead of time and within budget*Initiating extensive, diverse, successful business process improvements and efficiencies*Effectively executing overlapping initiatives requiring project management and program management*Exceeding customer expectations, measured by survey feedback and NPS metrics*Successfully implementing innovative software and programs as well as analytics that help reveal trends; telling stories with data.Transitioning to a progressive, forward-thinking, positive, upbeat work environment and a well-rounded team is an exciting pursuit. I welcome challenges that require strategic/complex problem solving, thrive when I'm contributing to meaningful work, love to learn new skills and exceed expectations. I prefer to work where I am encouraged to grow personally and professionally and look forward to thriving in new roles.

South Jordan, Ut

Throughout tenure at ELA, actively sought opportunities for continuous improvement and professional development, willingly embraced change and increasing levels of responsibility, acclimated quickly to new roles and changing conditions, adapted and learned to apply new skills/perspectives with enthusiasm. Pushed for innovative, future-ready initiatives in an increasingly competitive landscape. *Functioned as Principal, Superintendent, CXX*Successfully executed multiple projects simultaneously while juggling competing priorities under constant time constraints *Recruited/hired/on-boarded/trained/coached/developed/mentored >100 educators*Directed change management initiatives for state assessments, core standards, curricula, teacher/student tech, school grading/report cards, standards-based grading, UMTSS, expansion of facilities/enrollment/staff, strategic planning/goal setting/execution, digitizing internal workflows*Implemented new ed tech/software/curriculum to personalize learning and accelerate feedback loops; Established weekly data dives and plans for responding to trends*Successfully renewed accreditation*Active on 16 advisory initiatives in service of the larger charter movement*12/2017: Achieved enrollment, financial, and academic metrics to facilitate refinancing 2010 bonds, resulting in 21.5% savings ($5,276,352 total/$187K annually), 40,000 sq. ft. expansion, $1.5m project fund, enrollment/staffing increase by 33% to accommodate 1030 students, and significant increases in educator compensation *Optimized available State and Federal funding for student, staff, and facility needs*Active participant in grants: K-3, SEED, STEM, DTL, UCA, CEIS, USTAR, CCGP*Bolstered proactive stakeholder communication with additions of an interactive chatbot (Atlas RTX), official social media channels (FB, Insta, Twitter), a school app (BlueTree), a digital newsletter (Smore), & a digital monument*Resolved escalated stakeholder/customer service concerns

South Jordan, Ut

Worked side-by-side the Executive Director, taking on additional responsibilities and duties on an ongoing basis to facilitate the success of the school, exceeding expectations on all assigned tasks:*Mentored and evaluated JH teachers; Continued to lead JH meetings*Enhanced JH culture, academics, student behavior/discipline, conflict resolution; Established L.E.A.F. protocol to solve customer problems*Acquired grants for ed tech and curriculum *Started attending off campus and out of state professional development/trainings*Evaluated data to determine biggest needs/opportunities*Spearheaded inaugural accreditation audit, resulting in the maximum term granted*Initiated surveys and formed committees to support strategic execution of school improvement goals/initiatives*Established a positive and collaborative school culture

South Jordan, Ut

JH Team Lead and Integrated Science Teacher for 7th & 8th grade during inaugural start-up phase of new, independent charter school:*Shaped school culture and traditions in the early years, including serving on the Leadership Team and several committees: Safety, Curriculum, Hiring, and Scheduling. *Utilized exceptional customer service skills to attract and retain students and parents to the first charter school in the neighborhood*Unified a new team of diverse individuals while leading weekly team meetings to inspire, train, and align colleagues to the mission and vision of the school*Quickly assimilated to new classroom technology and curriculum*Acclimated and unified students from 12 different schools while bringing science to life and creating a supportive, inclusive classroom learning environment*Demonstrated consistent attention to detail, excellent organization, proactivity, preparation, natural leadership, initiative, style, support, adaptability, and humor*Enthusiastically took on additional responsibilities and duties throughout the year*Earned "Excellence" rating on both Praxis educator exams (top 15% in nation)*Added two endorsements to existing teaching license: Middle Level Science, Integrated Science

South Jordan, Ut

Initially hired as a part-time employee (10 hours/week)Within a month promoted to Child Center Department Head (full-time, club leadership team)*Ongoing hiring, training, managing, evaluating, supporting, and leading a team of 70 staff responsible for up to 700 children, ages 6 weeks to 12 years old, daily*Facilitated a department culture of teamwork while building a dedicated work family from what started off as a large group of strangers in a brand new facility*Served on leadership team; Collaborated across departments with other DH's on a daily basis regarding club revenue and non-revenue goals and initiatives; Manager on Duty (MOD) as needed *Instructed and certified all club employees in CPR and First Aid*Exceeded expectations for corporate trainings and certifications*Embraced the art of customer service and the value of measuring NPS. *Creatively found ways to use traditional resources to solve unique, complex problems.

Women'S Leadership Certificate, Executive Education

Anticipated completion: January 25th Participating in this program has strengthened foundational business and leadership skills.

Ms, Botany: Biological Science Education

Activities and Societies: Dean’s list; TA for Biology, Plant Taxonomy, SEMMaster's Thesis & Field Study: A Scanning Electron Microscopy.

Bs, Conservation Biology; Biology Composite Teaching

Activities and Societies: Dean’s ListStudent teaching: Orem High School (Orem, UT) AP Biology & Biology