Bright Spots Newsletter

Bright Spots is a weekly newsletter from Katie Martin featuring learner-centered inspiration and examples from the field. Each week, subscribers can expect to receive:

A bright spot. Change can be challenging, but it gets easier when we look to one another to see what’s working and what’s possible. Each week, Katie shares a proven practice or example from the field in an effort to make learner-centered practices both visible and actionable.
A resource roundup. Katie features a small selection of articles, blog posts, and other resources that have inspired her and pushed her thinking about learner-centered education, in the hopes that they do the same for you!

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Big Moves

Reframe Discipline

School-Centered discipline systems often prioritize control and compliance over connection and development. In learner-centered environments, we see every behavior as an opportunity for deeper learning– about self, others and community. Discipline isn’t about punishment, it’s about repairing harm, restoring relationships and building the skills learners need to thrive both inside and outside of school.…

BlogWebinars & Podcasts

Webinar Recording: Bridging Systems to Transform Student Learning: Lessons From SoCal LiNK

In this webinar, five education leaders share lessons from their experience with SoCal LiNK, a Southern California regional network focused on advancing learner-centered education through collaboration, research, and community building. The webinar panel includes representatives from K–12 schools, higher education, and learner-centered organizations, specifically: Devin Vodicka (LCC Co-CEO), Dr. Alan J. Daly and David…

Blog

Leading Through Transition: Leadership Lessons for Summer and Beyond

In education, the rhythm of the year is deeply cyclical. Each year forms a distinct cohort experience for learners, educators, and families alike. When the cohort concludes, there is a natural transition into the unknown. Students move to new grade levels, teachers adapt to new assignments or even new campuses, and leadership teams lay…

BlogWebinars & Podcasts

Webinar Recording: Learner-Centered Bright Spots: Making Learning Public and Closing the Year Strong

In this webinar, three members of the Learner-Centered Collaborative team—Katie Martin, Kate Weisberg, and Danny Scuderi—highlight practical strategies for closing the school year by celebrating learning and cultivating learner-centered mindsets. Drawing from their work in classrooms and systems nationwide, they offer tangible examples of how schools and educators can use reflection, celebration, and community-building…

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Blog

The Learning Experience Design Cycle: A Compass for Designing Deeper Learning

As an English teacher co-leading an interdisciplinary project with a science teacher, I had the privilege of working alongside high school seniors as they explored what it truly means to survive. We called it the Science of Survival. Over the course of the project, learners read stories of survival in fiction and nonfiction, interviewed…

Blog

Reading, Writing, and Rising: Centering Literacy in Learner-Centered Education

By Stephanie Buelow and Charlotte Frambaugh Kritzer, Professors of Literacy at the University of Hawaii at Manoa Literacy is the cornerstone of a learner-centered education—it unlocks the ability to think critically, communicate effectively, and engage meaningfully in a rapidly changing world. Few leaders embody this understanding as powerfully as Dr. Lori Gonzalez. A visionary…

Blog

Debunking the Math Myth: How Learner-Centered Classrooms Deepen Understanding

In a learner-centered classroom, math is about more than numbers and formulas—it’s about curiosity, exploration, and making sense of the world. Picture this: It’s 10:00am in Ms. Kim’s 3rd grade classroom and students are gathered on the rug around a chart. Two students have just finished sharing their strategies with the whole class on…