A Support System for Uncertain Times

An update on this newsletter

During the book study, I took devoted time to reflect on and examine this space.

• What is it that I am trying to accomplish?

• Why is this work important? What is the purpose?

• How is it serving people’s needs?

One thing I realized is, while I do consider my audience (you), this space may still not be serving others to its full potential.

What people seem to need right now is a support system for professional learning and growth. This would be beyond the Friday round-up and 2-3 posts per week of whatever I am thinking about, studying, or experiencing.

A system would be more intentional and purposeful, predictable and anticipated. People would come to not only expect what’s posted next, but look forward to future entries on this space around literacy and leadership. Routines and something to look forward to: in an uncertain world, that sounds kind of nice right now!

With that, here is a summary of what to expect on this newsletter going forward (and always subject to change, as I am a learner):

Less Posts

Instead of two posts per week plus a weekly discussion thread, I will be publishing once a week. The Friday round-up will still exist based on feedback from readers.

I plan to post on Mondays per advice from other writers. I’ll utilize the blog to recap what was posted here, similar to social media. What’s published will still vary:

• A traditional article/essay

• A series of video tutorials or a visual demonstration

• A summary of a research study

• A podcast interview with an author/thought leader

• A discussion thread

Less posts means I can slow down a little, especially considering the unpredictability of the coming school year. Less posts also means for you less trying to keep up with what’s going on here, as well as…

Better Content

I don’t believe previous articles or other posts were poor. Yet what’s shared here can improve by publishing less frequently and devoting more attention to writing/creating great content for you.

Improvement doesn’t happen by magic. During the book study break, I conferred with a representative of this newsletter tool (Substack) on ideas for the future. I have also studied resources for strategies on simply writing/creating content for online spaces.

Rethinking Paid Subscriptions

During my conversation with the Substack representative, it was suggested that I return to every post being free - nothing behind a paywall. The purpose would be to increase total sign ups (currently at 715) to a goal of 2,000, and then return to some posts for paid subscribers only.

To be clear, the hardest decision here was to charge anything at all. My initial goals for turning on subscriptions was to add value to my writing, as well as to garner financial support for some of the technologies leveraged for this work. Yet to go back to a free-for-everyone model didn’t seem fair to current paid subscribers.

So the current plan is:

• Monday posts and Friday round-ups will be free.

• Once a quarter, I will publish subscriber-only content for multiple weeks in a row, a series focused on a process or strategy related to literacy and/or leadership.

For example, one idea I am working on right now is to post four tutorials this fall on how to create a more responsive and permeable curriculum. This need came out of a discussion during the book study (here). The tutorials would wrap up with a Zoom chat. Once completed, the content would be available on the blog as an e-course.

Look for more information on this professional learning opportunity in future posts.

Super Short Summary

Going forward, expect the following:

• Two posts per week: A Monday publication and a Friday round-up

• Less posts, improve content

• Once a quarter: Paid subscribers-only content around a specific strategy/process

My hope and goal with this change is a more predictable and improved experience here for everyone, especially you. If you have feedback on how this space might continue to evolve, please share in the comments.