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

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

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…

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Blog

Why Community Schools and Secondary Redesign Belong Together

California has made an unprecedented investment in community schools, which often include four evidence-informed programmatic features that are aligned and integrated into high-quality, rigorous teaching and learning practices and environments: Integrated support services; Family and community engagement; Collaborative leadership and practices for educators and administrators; and Extended learning time and opportunities. Since 2021, the…

Blog

Ambidextrous Leadership: Running the Present While Building the Future

I swing a bat left-handed. I throw right-handed. When I bowl, I try each hand a couple of times and go with whatever feels good that day, which is usually a sign that neither hand is particularly good at bowling. But when I eat, my fork only goes in my left hand. If I…

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…