Webinar Recording: Reimagining Education Through Innovative School Design

In this webinar, Learner-Centered Collaborative’s Jesse Ross hosts a conversation with three educators from Escondido Union School District—Dr. Bryanna Norton, Principal of Hidden Valley Middle School, and North Broadway Elementary teachers, Gina Matthew and Katie Taylor. They share the transformative process of school redesign to foster learner-centered practices. The discussion highlights how strategic design choices, distributed leadership, and project-based learning can reshape educational ecosystems, emphasizing real-world engagement and student agency.

Questions explored include:

  • Why is school redesign critical, and what conditions signal that the time is right for change?
  • What strategies did the panelists use to involve teachers, students, and families in shaping the redesign process?
  • How do microschools, student portfolios, and competency-based assessments fit into a broader learner-centered vision?
  • What early impacts have the redesign efforts had on student engagement, attendance, and teacher collaboration?

Watch now to discover how innovative school designs can empower students and educators, creating dynamic environments where students not only learn but thrive.

Resources Shared During the Webinar:

More From Learner-Centered Collaborative:

It’s Your Journey

Explore More Topics

Blog
This Regional Network is Putting Learner-Centered Practice in Motion
This reflection emerges from a collaborative effort between Learner-Centered Collaborative and the University of California, San Diego Department of Education Studies. I am especially grateful to Dr. Dave Trautman, Dr. Mimi Lockton, and Dr. Alan J. Daly, whose incredible vision, design, and facilitation played a central role in bringing this work to life. What…
Blog
Why School Systems Need Embedded R&D to Evolve
Across the country, we’re confronting a reality we can no longer ignore: our current education system isn’t meeting the needs of today’s learners—or the expectations of their families, communities, or future employers. Disengagement is rising. Teachers feel increasingly constrained by mandates that don’t reflect the day-to-day realities of their classrooms. And despite unprecedented effort,…
Blog
Design the Learning First. The Structures Will Follow
Ask most educators what the basic unit of learning is at a high school, and they’ll most likely say a course, subject, or period. Forty-five minutes with one teacher, one group of students, one set of standards to cover. We’ve organized schools around this container for so long that it no longer feels like…