Posts by Rebecca Midles

Leadership

Coalition Before Consensus: How Trust and Shared Ownership Sustain Transformation

Jun 29, 2026

System transformation rarely fails because of a bad strategy. It fails because the relationships needed to sustain it were never built. In this piece, Rebecca Midles and Nate McClennen draw on real district leaders to show what coalition-building actually looks like when the messy middle arrives. From a rural Michigan superintendent who started with the willing to a Kansas City microschool that put students in the design seat, this is a practical and deeply human look at what makes change last.

SEL & Mindset

Running Your Own Race: Why Agency Begins in the Interior Life

Rebecca Midles

Jun 5, 2026

Why boredom, quiet, and reflection matter for teen identity, agency, and imagination in a world shaped by constant screens.

Future of Learning

Designing for Belonging: Lessons from Districts Building What Technology Can’t Replace

Rebecca Midles, Tom Vander Ark

Apr 6, 2026

Discover how districts are wrestling with what AI can't replace, prioritizing human skills like belonging, judgment, and connection through systemic redesign.

How We Thrive" book cover with illustrated children celebrating, dancing, and playing music on a teal background.

Personalized Learning

Book Review: How We Thrive

Rebecca Midles

Mar 17, 2026

Rehumaning in schools: redesign schedules, grading, and culture to support belonging, regulation, and sustainable adult capacity.

Blueprint architectural diagram merging a graduate's portrait with labeled school design elements: flexible learning pods, R&D lab, community hub.

Leadership

So, Your District Wants Personalized Learning… Where Do You Start?

Rebecca Midles

Mar 2, 2026

Explore how to do personalized learning effectively. Transform your educational system into one that truly values student outcomes.

Career & Technical Ed

How to Leverage CTE for Durable, Personalized Pathways

Mason Pashia, Rebecca Midles

Feb 24, 2026

The rise and spread of CTE is an education success story. With 98% of school districts offering some kind of CTE programs and over 11.2 million students enrolled across the country, these programs are exposing learners to new careers, skills and possibilities at a remarkable scale. States…

Competency-Based Education

What if Proficiency is not Proficient? The Case for Calibration

Rebecca Midles, Nate McClennen

Jan 20, 2026

Calibration ensures consistent, equitable assessments in CBE. Learn why shared judgment is essential for personalized, competency-based systems.

Multiple hands collaboratively weaving a intricate rope and yarn textile on a wooden loom outdoors

EdTech

Braided Learning: How AI Can Enhance What Educators Already Do Well

Rebecca Midles

Jan 5, 2026

Braided learning combines educator expertise, AI tools, and their synergy to enhance personalized teaching and empower transformational learning.

A student wearing safety goggles and an instructor collaborate on a gear-and-belt mechanism in a makerspace classroom.

Future of Learning

A Graduate Portrait Names What We Value. Our Learning System Shows That We Mean It.

Rebecca Midles

Dec 8, 2025

Aligning a Portrait of a Graduate with daily practices transforms vision into a lived culture, fostering coherence across education systems.

Strategic Direction workshop at Michigan ISD-Saginaw summit.

Leadership

How Can We Build Strategic Learning Organizations? The Power of ‘When’

Nate McClennen, Rebecca Midles

Nov 6, 2025

Learn how to become a strategic learning organization and align your educational initiatives for better outcomes.

	Beginning	Piloting	Implementing
From Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery	BeginningFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Beginning	PilotingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Piloting	ImplementingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Implementing
From One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning	BeginningFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Implementing
From Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry	BeginningFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Beginning	PilotingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Piloting	ImplementingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Implementing
From Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning	BeginningFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Implementing
From Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities	BeginningFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Beginning	PilotingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Piloting	ImplementingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Implementing
From Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment	BeginningFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Beginning	PilotingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Piloting	ImplementingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Implementing
From Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets	BeginningFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Beginning	PilotingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Piloting	ImplementingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Implementing

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Posts by Rebecca Midles