Building on decades of experience leading learner-centered change in the education system, the educator-run organization supports educators, schools, districts, and states to realize learner-centered outcomes.

July 20, 2021—SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Recognizing the promise of learner-centered education and driven by the urgency to improve outcomes for today’s learners, education leaders and practitioners have teamed up as the Learner-Centered Collaborative (LCC), a comprehensive professional learning organization with decades of experience supporting schools, districts, and states in their shift to learner-centered models of education.

Learner-Centered Collaborative—led by Dr. Devin Vodicka, Chief Executive Officer, author, and former Superintendent, and Dr. Katie Martin, Chief Impact Officer, author, speaker, educator, and coach—partners with educators to define whole-learner outcomes, design meaningful learning experiences, and create the enabling conditions on their unique journey to inclusive and equitable learner-centered education. Joining Drs. Vodicka and Martin at the helm is a team of all female vice-presidents with deep education practice and leadership experience.

“At Learner-Centered Collaborative, we envision education ecosystems that empower all learners to know who they are, thrive in community, and actively engage in the world as their best selves,” said CEO Dr. Devin Vodicka. “We believe in the promise of learner-centered education to build a brighter future. Our team works hand-in-hand with educators, schools, districts, and states to realize their vision for learners in their unique contexts.”

Leveraging its change-management model and learner-centered framework, the organization works with over 125 partners spanning 30 states and serving more than one million learners. Their proven five-step model for change brings to life the vision, mission, and values of a learning community and sees it through to implementation and scale. The learner-centered framework, along with an expansive set of tools, informs partners’ pedagogical work and helps them reach their desired whole-child outcomes by creating authentic, personalized, competency-based learning experiences within inclusive and equitable learning environments.

To support the unique needs, strengths, and goals of each learning community and the complexity of implementing meaningful change in education, Learner-Centered Collaborative’s offerings span every level of the education system:

• Educator Collaborations support individual educators and small teams to develop and deepen learner-centered practices through self-paced and synchronous courses. Learn more
  
  Recognizing that powerful learning is experiential, educators are invited to sample a free mini workshop, a back-to-school edition of Cultivating a Sense of Belonging, on August 5 from 9 – 10:30 am PT. Learn more and register here.
  

• School Collaborations range from designing a learner-centered ecosystem from the ground up to site-based courses that build educator capacity in specific areas of learner-centered practice aligned to a school’s needs and goals. Learn more
  
  Partnerships with Embark Education (CO), Odyssey STEM Academy (CA), The WIDE School (TX) and Design 39 Campus (CA) have supported an increase in student agency throughout the schools and a shift to competency-based learning models.

• District Collaborations are customized to meet districts where they are on their learner-centered journey, gain alignment through a guiding coalition, and ultimately propel desired methodologies and outcomes across an entire community. Learn more
  
  Leveraging a variety of stakeholders across their communities, Logan County (KY), Menlo Park (CA), El Segundo (CA), and South Kitsap (WA) school districts have identified the essential elements of their learner-centered systems, and aligned professional development to enable staff to “rethink” what’s possible and put it into practice.
  

• State Collaborations include strategic consulting to define exemplar learning models, curate and share Open Education Resources, and build capacity across school networks to accelerate change. Learn more
  
  As part of the Texas Learning Exchange (TxLx), team members supported the development of innovative pre-K-12 learning resources, solutions and models focused on equity, access and overall enhancement of teaching and learning. LCC is also working alongside the Hawai’i State Public Charter School Commission to form an action group to support the design and delivery of a learner-centered professional development program for its network of 37 charter schools.

“There is broad consensus in education that we want all students to develop knowledge, skill and dispositions to thrive in our evolving world and learned centered models can help align our aspirations and our practices,” said CIO Dr. Katie Martin. “Our team partners with educators to define whole-learner outcomes, design meaningful learning experiences, and create the enabling conditions for their unique journey to inclusive and equitable learner-centered education.

This 2021-22 school year, Learner-Centered Collaborative has already added several new partners, including the Hawaii Department of Education, Santa Ana Unified School District, and Portfolio School to its existing and growing learner-centered network.

“Learner-Centered Collaborative serves as an extension of your own team, helping to guide you, move your work forward, and build internal capacity, ” said Erik Burmeister, Superintendent of Menlo Park City School District. “I am excited to continue our district partnership and am optimistic that we are trending toward more wide-scale adoption of learner-centered models for students nationwide.”

In addition to its school, district, and state partnerships, Learner-Centered Collaborative is part of a growing cohort of organizations working together to expand the reach of learner-centered education, including: A New Way Forward, Moving Forward Together, the Texas Learning Exchange, and more.

ABOUT LEARNER-CENTERED COLLABORATIVE

Learner-Centered Collaborative is an educator-run organization built on decades of experiencing first-hand what works, what’s challenging, and what’s possible in education. Guided by the enduring truth that a learner-centered approach is the foundation for a successful, thriving learning community, Learner-Centered Collaborative partners with educators, schools, districts, and states to define whole-learner outcomes, design meaningful learning experiences, and create the enabling conditions for success on their unique journey to inclusive and equitable learner-centered education. Learn more

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CONTACT

Devin Vodicka

press@learnercentered.org