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School Design

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Podcasts
Episode 54: Creating Symmetry: Designing Systems for the Learning We Want
By loading this video, you agree to the privacy policy of Youtube.Always load Youtube videos on this site.Load VideoListen on SpotifyListen on Apple PodcastsWatch on YouTube Episode Summary: In this episode, Katie sits down with Dr. Sarah Fine, an educator, researcher, and author whose work focuses on creating more powerful and humanizing learning experiences…
Press
Learner-Centered Collaborative Selected as a Lead Partner for Next Phase of California’s Secondary School Redesign Pilot Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 21, 2026 Contact: Devin Vodicka & Katie Martin, Co-CEOs Learner-Centered Collaborative press@learnercentered.org Learner-Centered Collaborative Selected as a Lead Partner for Next Phase of California’s Secondary School Redesign Pilot Program SAN DIEGO, CA — Learner-Centered Collaborative (LCC), a national nonprofit education organization, has been selected by California Collaborative for Educational Excellence…
Blog
Knowing What to Measure and When During Your Redesign Journey
Nine marathons, an Adidas sponsorship, and torchbearer for the 2012 Summer Olympics. That’s Fauja Singh’s story, and none of it occurred before his 89th birthday.  Five years earlier, at 84 years old, Singh was in deep grief, processing the losses of his wife and two of his children over the span of just a…
Blog
A New Bill in California Could Expand Career Pathways for Thousands of Students. The Bigger Opportunity Is What It Invites Us to Rethink.
Co-authored by Dr. J. CĂ©sar Morales (Partner, Learner-Centered Collaborative) and Javier Guzman (CEO, Center for Powerful Public Schools) California’s AB 542 gives continuation high schools more scheduling room for workforce learning. The deeper question it raises is what we choose to count as learning in the first place. What actually counts as learning? Not…
Blog
Meaningful Learning Is Not a Race: Lessons From the Slow Food Movement
When fast food first arrived in Italy promising a burger in two minutes, a countermovement for “slow food” quickly grew. The movement’s founder, Carlo Petrini, believed food should be “good, clean and fair.” He believed good food takes the time it takes, and that making a meal faster doesn’t automatically make it better. The…
Tools
Liftoff Models Reflection Tool
In December 2025, a group of young people, school leaders, technologists, researchers, and nonprofit leaders came together to explore what new learning models for ages 13–22 could look like at the Liftoff Design Sprint (read more about the gathering here). This tool is designed for you to explore the 10 innovative models that came…
Blog
Our Mission: Redesign the Future of Public Education
Five years ago, Learner-Centered Collaborative was founded on a simple but ambitious vision for all learners to know who they are, thrive in community, and actively engage in the world as their best selves.  Today, that vision remains unchanged. However, to honor the moment we find ourselves in—where the world is being reshaped by…
Blog
This Regional Network is Putting Learner-Centered Practice in Motion
This reflection emerges from a collaborative effort between Learner-Centered Collaborative and the University of California, San Diego Department of Education Studies. I am especially grateful to Dr. Dave Trautman, Dr. Mimi Lockton, and Dr. Alan J. Daly, whose incredible vision, design, and facilitation played a central role in bringing this work to life. What…
Publications
What School Redesign Makes Possible When a District Says No to the Status Quo
Inside Escondido Union School District’s multi-year effort to redesign school by turning a community-built vision into learner-centered experiences across every campus. Story at a Glance A quick look at the partnership, strategy, scale, and early signals behind Escondido Union School District’s School Redesign journey. Partner Escondido Union School DistrictFocus Districtwide School RedesignScale 23 schools…
Podcasts
Episode 53: Redesigning High School Through Trust, Voice, and Opportunity (with Fred Hilgers)
By loading this video, you agree to the privacy policy of Youtube.Always load Youtube videos on this site.Load VideoListen on SpotifyListen on Apple PodcastsWatch on YouTube Episode Summary: Fred Hilgers, principal of Madison High School and lifelong member of the San Diego Unified community, joins Katie Martin to discuss how listening—to students, teachers, and…
BlogWebinars
Webinar Recording: A National Student Exhibition Experience
In this one-of-a-kind webinar, learners from across the Learner-Centered Collaborative national partner network took center stage to share authentic exhibitions of learning—offering educators and leaders a rare, firsthand view of what purposeful, learner-centered education can look and feel like in practice. Rather than hearing about student exhibitions in theory, participants experienced them directly: engaging…
Press
Learner-Centered Collaborative Launches Southern California Microschool Network with Support from Silicon Schools Fund
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 9, 2026 Contact: Devin Vodicka & Katie Martin, Co-CEOs Learner-Centered Collaborative press@learnercentered.org Learner-Centered Collaborative Launches Southern California Microschool Network with Support from Silicon Schools Fund SAN DIEGO, CA — Learner-Centered Collaborative, a national nonprofit organization, is leading the launch of the Southern California Microschool Network, a groundbreaking regional initiative supporting…
Blog
Public Microschools as an On-Ramp to Systemic School Redesign
The idea of microschools is generating growing interest across the education landscape. They’re showing up more frequently in philanthropic conversations, conference sessions, and learner-centered education spaces as leaders look for new ways to respond to longstanding challenges and emerging opportunities. For school and district leaders, this rising interest can feel irrelevant to their local…
Press
Learner-Centered Collaborative Awarded $750K by the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 15, 2025 Contact: Devin Vodicka & Katie Martin, Co-CEOs Learner-Centered Collaborative press@learnercentered.org Learner-Centered Collaborative Awarded $750K by the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence SAN DIEGO, CA — Learner-Centered Collaborative (LCC), a national nonprofit organization, has been awarded $750K over the next two years to support the California Collaborative for Educational…
Publications
School Redesign Playbook
For more than a century, schools have been shaped by an industrial-era model built for efficiency, standardization, and compliance. While that design achieved many of its original aims, it has not met the needs of all learners, and it no longer prepares young people for a rapidly changing world. In addition to content knowledge,…
Blog
Big Moves at West Pk-8: The Power of Distributed Leadership in the School Redesign Process
Colorado Springs is changing fast. Like many communities across the country, it is being shaped by new demographics, emerging opportunities, and the need for creativity and critical thinking like never before. District 11 knew that West PK–8 Campus, one of its oldest schools, couldn’t simply layer new programs on top of old structures to…
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