We envision education ecosystems where all learners know who they are, thrive in community and actively engage in the world as their best selves.
“Learner-Centered Collaborative has created a learning environment for site leaders and their teams to plan with intent, focus keenly on how improvement efforts align and support instructional areas of focus, and find common points of interest with other sites to ensure quality collaboration.”
“Having a clear and aligned Framework for the Future has been so positive for our district—and the true payoff is walking through classes and seeing our learning model in action with students and teachers as we reimagine learning.”
“I used to think I had to design all of the instruction, but if it’s learner centered, there’s no reason why students cannot be part of that process as well.”
“Learner-Centered Collaborative has been instrumental in the transformative journey that we are on in Santa Ana Unified School District….We’ve taken a multi-pronged approach to the work, with Learner-Centered Collaborative serving as thought partners for district leadership, supporting and facilitating principals meetings as well as instructional learning walks at school sites across the district.”
“Materials provided were very engaging and relevant, and there were plenty of opportunities given to engage in meaningful ways, both alone and in small groups, to brainstorm and explore how they can be used in our own classroom environments.”
“I am really enjoying our sessions! You do a nice job of breaking things up so it moves quickly enough to keep everyone’s attention. You seem to be genuinely excited about the work, which is infectious.”
District teams will be admitted on a rolling basis. Join this unique opportunity.
Learner-centered is taking hold across the country. See who’s leading the way and how they’re doing it.
From whole-learner outcomes to the learning experiences that support them to the enabling conditions for success.
Our 5-minute diagnostic will help you choose the next chapter that’s right for your education journey.
💡“We’ll pay you to redesign it.”
That was the invitation to educators in Laguna Beach USD—and the start of a shift in how professional learning is done.
Through Unit Design Professional Development, teachers are redesigning learning experiences around curiosity, community impact, and the LBUSD Learner Profile, with over 200 units already reimagined.
In this blog, Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services at LBUSD, Chad Mabery, gives an in depth review of their new, innovative PD design.
This isn’t just PD. It’s a model for what happens when we see educators as designers and center the whole learner in every unit.
🔗 Read how LBUSD is evolving learning, one unit at a time: http://learnercentered.org/blog/how-unit-design-pd-brings-our-learner-profile-to-life
⚡️️BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! For school and district leadership teams that are ready to build learner-centered ecosystems in their communities.
We`re hosting FREE one-of-a-kind professional learning webinars in partnership with Learning Policy Institute and education leaders.
Starting July 21, you and your team (we recommend 3-7 team members) will embark on one of two learning paths:
1. School Design for Learner-Centered Ecosystems
🕑 Mondays, 9:00–10:30am PT | July 21–August 11
✏️ By the end of this four-part series, your team will have:
A documented vision of redesign priorities
An inventory of assets and strengths
Identified next steps for its redesign journey
🌟 Register at link in bio!
2. Distributed Leadership for Transformational Change
🕑 Mondays, 11:00am–12:30pm PT | July 21–August 11
✏️ By the end of this four-part series, your team will have:
A documented vision of redesign priorities
A list of key contributors
Concrete next steps to activate distributed leadership
🌟 Register at link in bio!
Register for one of the two paths above (or both if you`re wanting a full deep dive!) and send the link to your team members!
Questions? Reach out to collaborate@learnercentered.org
We can`t wait to see you there!
🌐 What happens when school districts, universities, and community partners come together to support the whole learner?
SoCal LiNK is a research-practice partnership that brings together K–12 school systems, universities, and nonprofits to co-create learning ecosystems that reflect shared values and center belonging.
Over the last year, SoCal LiNK partners have collaborated through convenings, empathy interviews, and shared problem-solving with the intention of aligning learner-centered education research and values with on-the-ground practices.
The result? A vibrant network of educators and leaders building conditions that support every learner’s growth.
It’s about “learning in community" with trust, reflection, and partnership at the heart.
📖 Read the recap of our first year at the link in our bio.
📩 Interested in joining the next SoCal LiNK cohort in the 2025-2026 school year? Let`s chat! collaborate@learnercentered.org
☀️ Sure, it`s summer break, but educators across the country are still hard at work transforming their schools for learners!
1.San Diego North County schools and district leaders collaborated with representatives from Cal State San Marcos at Vista Film Hub for their "Designing the Future of the High School Transcript" session.
2. The Mamaroneck USD team engaged in high levels of collaboration and pushed each other’s thinking on how to operationalize the vision in the MAMAROnext Framework via a co-constructed scorecard.
Wanna collaborate with us too? Reach out here!
Last weekend, Katie Martin and Devin Vodicka of LCC spoke at the "Uncovering the Hidden Gems: A State and Regional Deep Dive into R&D" session at ISTELive + ASCD Annual 2025 Conference in San Antonio.
This session wasn`t just a talk; it was an invitation to join a movement. A movement to break down silos, prioritize real-world problems, and build an education system where research and development are deeply intertwined with the expertise and lived experiences of students and teachers.
"It was an honor to highlight bright spots in district-level R&D—from report card redesign to local accountability and school redesign efforts in districts like Encinitas, Logan County, and Escondido—and to invite leaders to consider how we can evolve from hierarchical systems to learner-centered ecosystems," said Devin.
As an organization, we look forward to continuing to work alongside Advanced Education Research and Development Fund (AERDF), LeanLab Education, Alliance for Learning Innovation, and InnovateEDU to continue to evolve education systems.
🎓 What is school for, really?
In his latest Catalyst blog, LCC Co-Ceo Devin Vodicka explores why it`s time to rethink the purpose of school—not as a place to prepare learners for tests or college, but to support the development of whole humans.
Academic growth matters, but so does purpose, agency, and belonging. It’s time to align our systems with outcomes that reflect the full potential of every learner.
📖 Read the full blog and start your community`s shift toward whole-learner outcomes at the link in our bio.
This month, we are proud to recognize Javier Guzman, CEO @4PowerfulEdOrg, as our Catalyzer of the Month for July.
Javier exemplifies learner-centered leadership through his deep commitment to elevating the voices and experiences of students who are often overlooked—particularly those in California’s continuation high schools.
His work reflects a steadfast belief in the power of empathy, storytelling, and systems change to create more just and responsive learning environments.
Our recent collaboration with Javier and the Center has centered on an impactful listening project with continuation high school students across the state.
Through structured empathy interviews and reflection, students are sharing what they need to thrive—and their insights will shape how school systems define success and design support structures.
Javier’s leadership in this work is catalytic: he creates space for young people to be heard, for educators to reflect, and for systems to evolve. We’re grateful for his partnership and honored to learn alongside him.
🏫 The traditional education system emphasizes efficiency, standardization, compliance, ranking, sorting, and task completion.
For over a century, it has achieved its intended goals by prioritizing operational and logistical efficiency through teacher-directed learning, fixed course offerings, set curricula, predetermined schedules, and seat time as a prerequisite for grade advancement.
This model, rooted in the needs of a bygone era, is outdated. Today’s society demands a learner-centered approach that works for all learners.
Let`s design education in a way that works for ALL learners. Download our newest resource, "A Learner-Centered Ecosystem," for FREE to create a learner-centered environment at the link in our bio.
Love competency-based education? Want to see our Co-CEOs live? Heading to ISTE this weekend?
We`d love to be a part of your ISTE plans and chat with you!
Register here at the link in our bio!
👩🏫 NEW PUBLICATION: A Learner-Centered Ecosystem by Katie Martin
This is THE resource for assessing your opportunities for the 2025-2026 school year.
Learn how you and your community can design learner-centered ecosystems and unlock deeper engagement, cultivate lifelong skills, and ensure students are ready for whatever future they choose to pursue.
It’s time to move beyond outdated systems and design ones that are based on the science of learning, human development, and aligned with the world we live in.
🌐 This free download will help you make that change in your learning community. See link in bio!
Summer is officially here and our partners continue putting in amazing work to center learners and learning by design!
The highlight of the week was Hampton Township School District`s Leadership Retreat facilitated by LCC`s Brittany Griffin:
"Dr Loughead kicked off a packed house at the HTSD leadership retreat, where district and school leaders have invited teachers to provide input to shape the SY 25-26 goals and the design team work across the district this year! Six Design Teams emerged (with a seventh in the works), each with a draft goal, a plan for an empathy phase to gather stakeholder input, draft success criteria, and clear roles and responsibilities for the work ahead. It is so exciting to see the HTSD team bring so many voices into this work!"
How is your team gearing up for the 2025-26 academic year?
From casting a community-crafted vision, mission, and values to school (re)design to teacher professional development cohorts, if the goal is learner-centered transformation, Learner-Centered Collaborative is ready to partner with you!
Reach out at collaborate@learnercentered.org
💡"Bright Spots are authentic, learner-centered stories, strategies, or practices that illuminate what’s possible when learners and learning are placed at the center—offering inspiration and practical insight for others on the journey."
Our Co-CEO, Katie Martin shares some of her favorites this school year. Read on at the link in our bio.
👋 We`re going to San Antonio, and we hope to see you there! If you`ll be at ISTE, the largest EdTech conference in the country, be sure to come say hi. More info about our sessions in the pictures!
Here`s what we learned from this year`s Competency-Based Community of Practice, a virtual group is made up of 45 teachers and leaders from nine schools and districts across the country who are currently implementing competency-based assessment and reporting practices.
1️⃣ Coherence and Documentation are Essential
2️⃣ Tech Tools Help, But There is Work To Be Done
3️⃣ Voice, Choice, and Time for Educators Make the Shift Possible
4️⃣ Doing the Work in Community Changes Everything
How we did it ➡️ link in bio!
Our Innovation Cohorts are yearlong professional development exercises, consisting of of learner-centered educators from one or multiple districts who collaborate, insights and challenges, and collectively improve their classroom practices.
One of our 2024 Learner-Centered Assessment Fellows, Anna Yinqi Zhang, Ph.D. Candidate at Pennsylvania State University took a deep five into our Innovation Cohorts.
Here are her top five takeaways:
💪Innovation Cohorts Enhance Educator Confidence.
Participation in Innovation Cohorts led to significant increases in educators` self-assessed confidence, particularly in developing learner agency and amplifying learner voice. The average confidence in developing learner agency rose from 5.5 to 8.4, and in amplifying learner voice from 5.2 to 8.4 on a 10-point scale.
🙋♀️ Innovation Cohorts Provide Personalized Professional Development.
Educators selected self-paced online courses aligned with their individual growth areas, allowing for tailored learning experiences that addressed specific classroom needs.
🤝 Innovation Cohorts Create Collaborative Learning Communities.
The cohorts fostered communities of practice through in-person workshops and virtual meetings, providing platforms for educators to share insights, reflect on practices, and build supportive networks.
👨🏫 Innovation Cohorts Help Educators Apply Learner-Centered Strategies.
Educators applied their learning by implementing strategies such as choice boards and integrating AI tools to enhance student engagement and personalize learning experiences.
❤️ Innovation Cohorts Foster Positive Feedback and Recommendations.
Participants reported overall positive experiences with the Innovation Cohorts, highlighting the value of reflective practices and exposure to new resources, while also providing suggestions for future improvements.
Read the full article at the link in our bio!
👀 Want to join a future Innovation Cohort!? That link is in our bio too.
Check out last week`s dose of learner-centered change... in action! This week, our team was on the ground with #EducationLeaders in Colorado and California. Here`s what we saw:
1. Education leaders from accross the country gathered at LCC’s Lone Rock Leadership Summit in the mountains in Colorado. This isn`t another professional development event—it`s an intentionally designed leadership experience where Superintendents and Executive Leaders can reconnect with their purpose, reimagine their impact, and find sustainable ways to lead with clarity and conviction.
2. Day 2 of Salinas Union High School District`s Leadership Institute hosted leadership teams to engage in 25-26 PD planning. The team made alignment between the Framework and their existing priorities explicit and practiced compelling storytelling to lead the shift at sites and across the system.
3. South San Francisco site leaders met for their final meeting of the 24-25 academic year to celebrate and carry key learnings forward. They went on a “reflective road trip” to revisit their journey over the course of the year.
4. A team of educators from Del Mar Union School District met for two days to launch their Assessment Philosophy and Reporting project. Full of positive energy, deep curiosity, and mutual respect, the team began drafting a philosophy statement that will shape the future of assessment, grading and reporting in DMUSD.
