In this webinar, Carmen Sanders (Executive Director of Instructional Support, Alexandria City Public Schools) and Michael Anderson (Principal, West Campus, Colorado Springs School District 11) join Jesse Ross of Learner-Centered Collaborative to share how they are leading learner-centered school redesign within very different contexts—one a large, diverse comprehensive high school system and the other a PK–8 campus working to transform its culture and reputation.

Together, they reflect on what it takes to move from vision to implementation: clarifying identity, aligning redesign to strategy, restructuring schedules and systems, and building the enabling conditions that support lasting change.

Carmen shares how Alexandria City Public Schools launched an Academies and Pathways model grounded in equity, real-world learning, and a clearly defined learner profile aligned to the district’s 2030 Strategic Plan. Michael describes West Campus’s journey to unify two schools under one mission, strengthen belonging through small learning communities and “Habits of a Learner,” and use distributed leadership to drive culture change. Both leaders emphasize that redesign is not a program but a sustained cultural shift—requiring coherence, focus, and a commitment to keeping learners at the center of every decision.

Questions explored include:

• How can districts and schools clarify their identity and align redesign efforts to a strategic plan or mission?

• What enabling conditions are essential to sustain learner-centered transformation?

• How can large systems create smaller learning communities without creating inequitable silos of opportunity?

• What role does distributed leadership play in sustaining change amid staff and leadership turnover?

• How can leaders combat initiative fatigue and maintain focus on a few high-impact priorities?

• What early indicators signal that learner-centered redesign is positively impacting student engagement, teacher retention, and school culture?

Watch now to hear how two leaders are balancing urgency with patience, navigating operational barriers, and building cultures where learner-centered practices move from vision to reality.

Resources Shared During the Webinar:

• 📖 School Redesign Playbook
• 🌍 A Learner-Centered Ecosystem
• 👷 System-Wide Big Moves
• 🏫 Academies at Alexandria City
• 🎥 Cora Kelly Elementary School Learning Stories
• 🧑‍🏫 Presentation Slides

Ready to Bring Competency-Based Learning and Assessment to Your School or District?

Learner-Centered Collaborative works with schools and districts across the country that are redesigning their schools to align with their learner-centered visions and missions. Connect with us here to learn how we can support your learning community.