Continuous Improvement Leads To Great Thinking In Chaotic Times

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Continuous improvement leads to great thinking in chaotic times

By Brandi Nicole Hinnant-Crawford and Stacey Caillier

Categories: Continuous improvement, Implementation, Reaching all students

August 2025

Ding! Email Subject: Grant terminated. Ding! Email Subject: Jason Reynolds books can no longer be taught in our district. Ding! Email Subject: Remove all identity-affirming flags. Ding! Email Subject: Review professional development schedules for references to socio-emotional learning. The messages we are receiving these days are confusing and dismaying. It seems to us like one moment the nation was rallying to support the most vulnerable among us, and the next we are responding to mandates that we not call out or focus on those communities. It can feel as if our landscape and infrastructure are shifting beneath our feet, which can lead us to feel paralyzed. We have been here before, however. These times are not as unprecedented as we may think. We are therefore

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References

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Hinnant-Crawford, B. (2025). Improvement science in education: A primer (2nd ed.). Myers Education Press.

Hinnant-Crawford, B., Caillier, S., & Taylor, C. (2024 October 2). What improvers can learn from civil rights organizers [Audio podcast episode]. In High Tech High Unboxed.

Hinnant-Crawford, B., Lett, E.L., & Cromartie, S. (2023). ImproveCrit: Using critical race theory to guide continuous improvement. In E. Anderson & S.D. Hayes (Eds.), Continuous improvement: A leadership process for school improvement (pp.105-124). Information Age Press.

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Brandi Nicole Hinnant-Crawford

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Brandi Hinnant-Crawford, PhD (she/her) is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Clemson University. Her scholarship focuses on equity and inclusion for marginalized students across the P-20 pipeline as well as how research, particularly improvement science, can be leveraged as methodological tools to catalyze justice. From teaching in the rural south, to working in central office in the urban northeast, to conducting research across the county, she remains committed to providing equitable opportunities to learn for all children.

Stacey Caillier

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Stacey Caillier is Director of the National Coalition for Improvement in Education (NCIE) at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education. She is passionate about continuous improvement as a methodology for transforming school systems and empowering educators, students and families to work together toward more engaging learning experiences and equitable outcomes. She also interviews people who inspire her for the UnBoxed podcast.