Blog
What It Means to Center Learners By Design
What does learner-centered education have to do with design? A lot, actually. At the core, both design and learner-centered education are human-centered. Contrary to what one might think, they don’t require a blank canvas or a sleek modern building, but rather a story, assets to build upon, challenges to address, and a deep understanding…
Blog
Growth Through Connections
By: Dr. Leighangela Brady, Superintendent, National School District (CA) Dr. Brady shares a first-hand perspective from the Fall 2023 Learner-Centered Connections in-person convening in San Diego, CA where the cohort visited four innovative public schools and Illumina, a biotech company. Hearing directly from a student ambassador panel at Bostonia Global High School in the…
Blog
All Goals Are Not Created Equal
Guest blog post by Erik Burmeister Erik Burmeister is the Founder and Principal of Solutionary Advisors, a member of the Learner-Centered Collaborative Advisory Council, and the former Superintendent of Menlo Park City School District in California. Take any course. Ask any expert. Read any book. When it comes to curating a portrait…
BlogWebinars
Leadership Forum: Reimagining the Learner Experience with Santa Ana Unified School District
Our Learner-Centered Leadership Forum series is an opportunity to gain timely, first-hand insights, examples, ideas, and lessons learned from learner-centered district leaders doing the work in the field with their teams, community, and learners. In this first event in the series in September 2023, Santa Ana Unified School District leaders, Superintendent Jerry Almendarez and…
Blog
Scorecards: How Might We Measure What Matters In Schools?
Identifying strengths and possible Scorecard metrics with Hawaii Public Charter School Commission. There are many good reasons to have ways to determine if a school or school system is effective. For one, our schools are preparing our young people to be productive contributing citizens and (hopefully) thriving adults, so best to measure efficacy before…
Blog
Getting from School-Centered to Learner-Centered
Photo by Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages Some say “schools are broken.” We say schools are doing exactly what they were designed to do 150 years ago–but the needs have drastically changed and it is time to build newer and better systems that support every learner to achieve their goals and engage in…
Press
Introducing the 2023-24 Learner-Centered Connections Cohort: Changemakers Leading Educational Innovation Nationwide
August 14, 2023—San Francisco, CA—Learner-Centered Collaborative is thrilled to announce its 2023-24 Learner-Centered Connections inaugural cohort, a pioneering group of school district teams built to improve the learner experience and advance learner-centered education in school communities across the country. This year’s cohort of 5 district teams so far hailing from 4 states—California, New Mexico,…
Blog
4 Ways to Increase Inclusion and Engagement When Allocating Resources
If allocating resources is part of your job, keep these 4 learner-centered ways to increase inclusion and engagement in the process handy.
Blog
How to Get Started Developing a Learner Profile
Learning communities across the country are asking an important question right now: what does success look like for our learners? Educational leaders are recognizing that clarity of desired outcomes is an important element in promoting coherence and connectedness. As a result, there is an increasing interest in the development of learner profiles that define…
BlogWebinars
Webinar Recording: Flex This Superpower- A Learner-Centered Approach to Engaging Stakeholders
Devin Vodicka and Marlon Styles, both learner-centered leaders and former Superintendents, share 8 superpowers for engaging stakeholders as empowered agents of change.
Blog
The Power of Networks
Learning is social. We are all learners and adults need social learning experiences as well. We know that relational trust is foundational for meaningful growth and change in learning communities and that communities with strong connections and social capital are more likely to be effective. Unfortunately, the prevailing Industrial model of education promotes…
Blog
Building a Guiding Coalition for School Innovation
Monrovia Unified School District Guiding Coalition comprised of the superintendent, school & district leaders, educators, staff, students, parents, board members, and community members. “Invite everyone who cares to work on what’s possible.” – Margaret Wheatley As a former school leader, this concept was always front and center as we worked to innovate and…
Blog
Framework for the Future: A Catalyst for Coherence and Collective Efficacy
At the core of learner-centered leadership is the ambition to empower all learners to know who they are, thrive in community, and actively engage in the world as their best selves. Using Simon Sinek’s (2011) “Start With Why,“ Golden Circle Theory, the following paragraphs detail the “why”, as well as the “how” and “what”…
Tools
Catalyst Collection
Catalyst is a monthly newsletter from Devin Vodicka featuring learner-centered insights and resources for educators, leadership teams, and change-makers. In each edition of Catalyst, Devin shares insights, learnings, and resources about the learner-centered education movement. Browse this collection to read past editions of Catalyst and explore what you missed! Join the conversation! Get the…
Press
Superintendent Marlon Styles and High Tech High GSE Leader Katie Weisberg to Join Learner-Centered Collaborative’s Growing Team of Educational Leaders
January 9, 2023—San Francisco, CA—Superintendent Marlon Styles, widely recognized for notable academic improvements and the positive #MiddieRising culture at Middletown City School District, and Katie Weisberg, a leader at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education, will be joining the education non-profit Learner-Centered Collaborative. Styles has served as Superintendent of Middletown City School…
Blog
Unlocking Leadership Potential with Coaching
Dr. Bryanna Norton has been an educator for the last 19 years and is currently a Middle School Principal at Hidden Valley Middle School located in Escondido, California. Prior to her principal position she worked for the San Diego County Office of Education as a Coordinator of Human Resources coaching and mentoring administrators, and…
BlogWebinars
Webinar Recording: Framework for the Future, Don’t Try Leading Without One
The secret behind many schools and districts making progress toward clear, shared, and aligned learner-centered outcomes is a Framework for the Future that actively guides a learning community’s decisions, experiences, and resources. In this webinar, school and district leaders will discover: Why a Graduate Profile isn’t enough What exactly is a Framework for the…
Listening to Learners to Drive Districtwide Learner-Centered Innovation
Santa Ana Unified School District Listening to Learners to Drive Districtwide Learner-Centered Innovation Urban/Suburban public school district Second largest school district in Orange County, CA serving 45,000 students from early childhood through high school OUR SERVICES Framework for the Future, Guiding Coalition, Learning Walks, Student Forums, Personalized Learning Pathway, Leadership Coaching, Enabling Conditions GOAL…