Photos by Wyatt Kostygan. Above: Newgate School's Ben Bogard attends SB2. Top: Mireya Eavey, Jennifer Vigne, SRQ's Wes Roberts, Larry Thompson and Mary Chance.

As technology and new instruction techniques morph modern classrooms, schools and educators are reevaluating the way information gets conveyed. “We’re moving from the sage on the stage to the guide on the side,” explains Mary Chance, president of the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations. The philanthropic leader gave a keynote address Thursday at the most recent installment of the SB2 series, Good Education: Learning for a Lifetime. Local leaders in education and workforce development also discussed the ways learning must evolve to deal with the job needs of today, and especially the unpredictable market of tomorrow.

In addition to regular SB2 event goers, SRQ Media Group also hosted students from area schools, and panelists kept the needs of those pupils in mind as they discussed the roadmap for education. “We have to prepare students for change,” says Larry Thompson, president of Ringling College of Art and Design. “For the students out there, you will have at least eight different careers in your lifetime—not jobs, careers. Of those, four do not exist yet.”

Mireya Eavey, executive director of CareerEdge Funders, says that the traditional path of students to higher education maybe changing, but that continued education remains vital. The technical track could be an entryway into higher education. Students learn that when they go to get certificates, they move up and can make some more money. Then they think, now we can get a two-year degree.”

Jennifer Vigne, president of the Education Foundation of Sarasota County, says outside philanthropy can help educators experiment with ideas inside and outside the classroom. “We believe we have a lot of opportunity and hope for our future,” she says. “We also know we are sitting locally in one of the highest performing school districts in the state of Florida, but we know good schools are not good enough for where we are moving in a world that is changing at a rapid rate.”

The next SB2 event, Good Culture: Burgeoning Arts, will be held March 30.

Photos by Wyatt Kostygan. Above: Newgate School's Ben Bogard attends SB2. Top: Mireya Eavey, Jennifer Vigne, SRQ's Wes Roberts, Larry Thompson and Mary Chance.