Blog
Scaling Learner-Centered Innovation: It Takes a Community (of Practice)
The benefits of a Community of Practice last well past the collaborative time together. LeShae Daniel makes the case for why you should say “Yes!” to interactive, collaborative learning with colleagues.
Blog
Prioritizing Educator Belonging for Successful Learner-Centered Instruction
By Dr. Jennifer Karnopp, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, San Diego State University, and Dr. Peter Bjorklund Jr., Lecturer and Research Assistant, UC San Diego Within the education landscape, it is widely agreed upon that supporting student growth and well-being is at the heart of learner-centered instruction, yet we often overlook the well-being of…
Blog
5 Powerful Practices to Develop Learner-Centered School Leaders
On a sunny January “winter” day in Santa Ana, California, a group of Assistant Principals huddle around a case study that chronicles a common scenario in their (and many) school districts: a new teacher is struggling with reading instruction and classroom management, and her students report feeling bored and disengaged. The school leaders collaborate…
Blog
4 Practical Tips for Creating Coherence Within Your District
In any educational setting, clarity of vision, a well-understood mission, and a core set of operational values can fundamentally transform how initiatives are executed and objectives are met. I have come to understand this deeply through my experiences as an educational leader. The privilege of working with school and district leaders from a diversity…
Blog
Understanding and Influencing Collective Efficacy: The Key to Driving Transformative Change in Education
When reimagining education, collective efficacy isn’t just an advantage – it’s non-negotiable for district and school leaders committed to true organizational innovation. At its core, collective efficacy refers to the shared belief among team members that they can purposefully and effectively handle challenges and stressors to achieve desired results and prevent undesired outcomes. In…
Blog
Education Change Management: The Power of a Guiding Coalition
When I was a superintendent overseeing the implementation of learner-centered education across 30 schools, one of our biggest challenges wasn’t just the adoption of new practices—it was fundamentally transforming how we supported change. While I was initially resistant to adding more meetings to our already busy schedules, I could no longer deprioritize calls from…
Blog
Beyond Conventional Metrics: Telling a New Story Through Tiers of Data
School and district leaders are custodians of a future that demands diversity in our measures of success, mirroring our dedication to whole-learner outcomes and the unique visions that drive our schools and districts. Unfortunately, the school-centered system has narrowed the definition of success in such a way that innovative ideas struggle to get off…
Blog
Going Beyond Assumptions: The Journey to Policies that Enable Learner-Centered Transformation
Reflecting on my journey as Superintendent of Vista Unified School District, I learned the power of auditing and engaging in a collaborative process to update district policies. As critical as it is to establish a learner-centered Framework for the Future—vision, mission, values, goals, learning model, and accountability structure—all of it sits on shaky ground…
Blog
Updates from a Flourishing Research Collaborative
Learner Centered Collaborative (LCC) and the University of California San Diego (UCSD) recently hosted a second Research Partnership convening—this time focused on relational trust, belonging, and flourishing in educational ecosystems. The unique partnership, which applies research in practice to ensure findings translate seamlessly in the field, is also committed to timely dissemination of information…
Tools
Goal-Setting and Reflection Template
Goal-setting and reflecting is a part of a learner-centered practice and it can and should take place with our youngest of learners all the way through to our most senior administrators. This tool is intended to support educators and leaders to set meaningful and relevant goals that will support a growth mindset and continuous…
BlogWebinars
Leadership Forum: Igniting Limitless Potential for All Learners with Encinitas Union 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 second event in the series in December 2023, Encinitas Superintendent AndrĂ©e Grey and Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services…
Blog
Navigating Our Future: The Revised Big Questions Shaping Our Research Partnership with UCSD
In the ever-evolving landscape of education, the need for research and practices that are robust and reflective of contemporary challenges is imperative. Recognizing this need, Learner-Centered Collaborative, in partnership with UC San Diego, has embarked on a journey to foster innovation and advance knowledge in the field of education through collaborative research projects, shared…
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…
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.