Blog
The Impact of Innovation Cohorts: A Research-Based Perspective on Educator Growth
Written by Anna Yinqi Zhang, Ph.D. Candidate at Pennsylvania State University. Through the inaugural Learner-Centered Assessment Fellowship, Digital Promise and Learner-Centered Collaborative brought together early-career scholars, education partners, and mentors to explore the potential of collaboration and culturally responsive approaches to educational assessment. As a final reflection and celebration of their work, each of…
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This is What Happens When Every Learner Can Confidently Talk About Their Learning
Shifting to learner-centered education is both an iterative process and a collective effort. Our Connections Leadership Cohort recently got an opportunity to see a learner-centered ecosystem firsthand in New York, at Mineola Public Schools, while building stronger bonds within their own teams and across schools. Beginning with 3rd and 4th grade students greeting us…
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Purpose, Participation, and Feedback: What it Takes to be a Learner-Centered Leader
Too often, leadership is viewed as a position rather than a practice—something tied to a title rather than a way of engaging with others to drive meaningful change. In today’s rapidly shifting educational landscape, that perspective is proving insufficient. With rising rates of superintendent and principal turnover, teacher burnout, and declining enrollment, it’s clear…
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Harnessing the Power of AI to Co-Create New Knowledge With Learners
I look forward to Super Bowl Sunday each year. While my family would say they enjoy watching the actual game, for me it’s all about the advertisements. They often push the boundaries of creativity and cause me to laugh, cry, and sometimes even create lessons for my students. Last year’s Despicable Me 4 Trailer…
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From Data to Storytelling: How Scorecards are Transforming School Accountability in Hawai’i
Written by Nicolas Mireles, Ph.D. Candidate at James Madison University. Through the inaugural Learner-Centered Assessment Fellowship, Digital Promise and Learner-Centered Collaborative brought together early-career scholars, education partners, and mentors to explore the potential of collaboration and culturally responsive approaches to educational assessment. As a final reflection and celebration of their work, each of the…
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From Kickflips to Critical Thinking: Designing Learning That Sticks
Learning is hard. As a middle school English teacher, I would often tell students that learning is the space between knowing and not knowing. At any age, but especially in middle school, that liminal space is a challenging place to be. Inevitably, there would come a point where we were all stuck, and no…
BlogWebinars
Webinar Recording: Leadership Matters: Effective Techniques to be a Learner-Centered Leader
In this webinar, four members of the Learner-Centered Collaborative team discuss the importance of leadership in driving effective, learner-centered transformation. With 75+ years of education experience spanning the classroom to district administration, this all-star group highlights the practices and strategies they used to lead school and district systems. They also showcase learner-centered leaders and…
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Family Partnerships: A Key Strategy for Supporting Whole-Learner Outcomes
The Mindset That Makes Family Partnerships Possible If we view school as a one-dimensional institution with a narrow purpose—primarily focused on delivering content and measuring student proficiency aligned to narrow metrics—then the idea of partnering with families may seem like an unnecessary distraction. But if we believe learning happens within a larger ecosystem, where…
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How One District is Leading a Bold School (Re)Design Effort
As Escondido Unified School District began developing a Blueprint, or a Strategic Plan, to enact the vision they set out in their Framework for the Future, they realized significant work would need to be done at each school site. Specifically, they needed to reimagine what school looks like to focus on the whole-learner outcomes…
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3 Leadership Building Blocks for Meaningful Change in Education
Schools have operated like factories for too long, with top-down control and rigid structures. Real change happens when leaders embrace relationships, shared purpose, and deep collaboration, creating schools that function as dynamic, interconnected communities. When educators work together, trust each other, and share responsibility, small actions can lead to big, lasting improvements. If we…
BlogWebinars
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…
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Rethinking Time in Schools: From Rigid Blocks to Meaningful Learning
I recently visited two different schools on back-to-back days, and I was struck by the stark contrast in the schedules and the impact on the learning environment. In the first school, the day was broken up into short blocks of reading, math, intervention, recess, lunch, and science. This type of schedule is often…
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Why Stepping Outside Your School Could Be Key to Learner-Centered Change
Culture is the foundation of any learner-centered ecosystem. The big blue outer circle, illustrated in Learner-Centered Collaborative’s Ecosystem model, is representative of a big blue body of water we are all swimming in—in our classrooms, schools, and districts. Culture is something we always feel but might not always recognize while we’re in it. We…
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6 School Design Elements That Will Bring Your Learner-Centered Vision to Life
The school you walked into today does not have to be the school you walk into tomorrow. If we allow ourselves to believe this idea, so much becomes possible. We can begin imagining places of learning that adapt, evolve, and respond to the advancements of the modern world and the unique needs and aspirations…
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Reflecting on 2024: A Year of Partnership, Progress, and Possibility
As 2024 draws to a close, we find ourselves reflecting on a year defined by collaboration, growth, and meaningful impact. At Learner-Centered Collaborative, our vision is to create education ecosystems where all learners know who they are, thrive in community, and actively engage in the world as their best selves. Together with our growing…
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Distributed Leadership in Schools: Students as Ambassadors
Written by Dr. Leighangela Brady, Superintendent, National School District. Dr. Brady is also a member of the Learner-Centered Collaborative Advisory Council. Distributed leadership offers a way to harness the collective strengths of all members of an educational ecosystem, including school staff, parents, community partners, and most importantly, students. While adults often take center stage…
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In a Learner-Centered Community, We Are All Communicators
Creating a learner-centered community requires clear, transparent communication that puts students at the center. Through transparency, feedback loops, and storytelling, we can amplify student voice and build shared vision. Through Muhlenberg’s digital spaces, Mentor’s Guiding Coalition meetings, and Hampton’s multimedia storytelling, we see how intentional communication creates environments where everyone—learners, educators, administrators, and families—contributes…
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Operationalizing the Vision in Escondido Union School District
See how Escondido USD is turning ideas into actions with student forums, a guiding coalition, and a Framework for the Future.