Episode 31: Aligning Your District’s Initiatives: How to Achieve Coherence and Impact with Dr. Rebekah Kim

By loading this video, you agree to the privacy policy of Youtube.

Episode Summary:

Dr. Rebekah Kim, Associate Superintendent of Teaching and Learning in Kent School District, discusses her journey as an educator and leader committed to advancing equitable practices in education. She shares how her background as a second-generation immigrant from South Korea shaped her understanding of equity and informed her dedication to learner-centered, inclusive practices.

Rebekah reflects on her experiences as a classroom teacher in a diverse school district and her time as an elementary principal, which reinforced her belief in the importance of seeing students’ strengths beyond traditional academic measures. As a district leader and parent, she strives to ensure schools focus on the whole child, valuing socioeconomic, gender, and linguistic diversity as assets in learning.

Key topics covered include:

🌍 Co-constructing a shared definition of global citizenship with district stakeholders
💬 Emphasizing the importance of student voice in shaping educational experiences
🤝 The role of collaboration and distributed leadership in developing equitable student profiles
🧠 Shifting from deficit-focused education to strength-based, equity-driven approaches
🔍 The need for systems that measure success beyond GPA, incorporating social-emotional, leadership, and extracurricular skills

Related Resources:

  • Blog: 4 Practical Tips for Creating Coherence Within Your District
    Coherence throughout the system—namely, the individual internalization of the district’s vision, mission, and values—is essential to achieving transformational change. Read more about coherence from Devin Vodicka.
  • Course: Cultivate a Sense of Belonging
    This course dives into creating a sense of belonging for all learners, ensuring their cultures, identities, and experiences are represented and honored.
  • Tool: Enabling Conditions and Culture Self-Study
    This comprehensive resource is designed to help educational systems assess and improve their foundational elements for success. This self-paced assessment covers six crucial areas: Coherence, Communication, Aligned Systems, Growth & Development, Partnerships, and Culture.

How About Another?

It’s Your Journey

Explore More Topics

BlogWebinars
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
Can Regional Innovation Hubs Create a More Promising Future for K-12 Education?
Written in collaboration with leaders from AERDF, ALI, InnovateEDU, Leanlab Education, and Learner-Centered Collaborative Throughout history, moments have invited us to rethink how learning happens, who it serves, and what it could become. And yet, many of these opportunities have come and gone without the lasting change they promised. The COVID-19 pandemic is one…