Facilitate Empathy Interviews and Focus Groups Tool

Our Empathy Interview and Focus Group Tool provides a comprehensive guide for conducting both one-on-one interviews and focus groups. It includes tips for building rapport, asking effective questions, and ensuring equity of voice. By using this resource, you’ll be able to uncover bright spots, key challenges, and surprising insights that can inform your planning for the upcoming school year.

We invite you to explore this tool and discover how it can help you create a more responsive, inclusive, and learner-centered environment.

Please complete the form below to access the resource.

Blog

Big Moves: How to Create a Strategic Plan That Leads to Real Change in Your District

One of the most inspiring aspects of working with school systems across the country is seeing how deeply educators care about their learners. In every community I visit, I encounter dedicated, well-intentioned people doing everything they can to help students succeed. Yet, too often, these efforts occur in isolation—teachers working within their classrooms, principals…

BlogImpact

Operationalizing the Vision in Escondido Union School District

See how Escondido USD is turning ideas into actions with student forums, a guiding coalition, and a Framework for the Future.

BlogImpact

Building Relational Trust: Our Journey with Lamont Elementary School District

Contributions from Catina Hancock, Learner-Centered Collaborative and Dr. Lori González, Lamont Elementary School District In California’s Central Valley, Lamont Elementary School District is redefining what’s possible in education. Serving over 3,000 students, many from low-income backgrounds and a high percentage of English Language Learners, Lamont faced unique challenges. But under Superintendent Dr. Lori Gonzalez’s…

BlogImpact

How Hawaiian Charter Schools Are Honoring Identity

Brought together by a shared vision to create a more expansive student transcript reflecting whole child learning, charter schools in Hawaii offer a glimpse into their process—from vision to implementation.

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BlogWebinars

Webinar Recording: Let’s Talk About Competency-Based Learning

In this webinar, three learner-centered leaders share their journeys implementing competency-based teaching, learning, and assessment in their unique school systems. Melissa Olson (Spring Lake Park Schools), Wendy Fairon (Chico Country Day School), and Sharon Stanley (Compass Academy) describe how they shifted from traditional grading and reporting toward systems that elevate clarity, student agency, meaningful…

Blog

This is Our Opportunity to Create A Learner-Centered Path for AI Integration in Education

In conversations across the country, I hear a growing mix of excitement and apprehension about the role of artificial intelligence in education. Many see the potential, yet most also sense a disconnect between what today’s AI tools produce and the kinds of learning experiences we want for young people. This tension is not incidental—it…

BlogWebinars

Webinar Recording: How Districts Are Making Big Moves to Create Learner-Centered Systems

In this webinar, Dr. Jackie Removcik from Hampton Township School District (PA) and Alison Fieberg from Del Mar Union School District (CA), share how their districts are making bold, learner-centered shifts through distributed leadership, clarity of vision, and intentional system redesign. Both districts highlight how whole-learner outcomes, strategic coherence, and empowered educators are helping…