Learner-Centered
Student-authored pieces, learner storytelling, student voice.
The Microschool Mindset: Why Small Thinking Is the Biggest Shift in Education
What if the most transformative idea in education right now has nothing to do with how big your school is? In this piece, George Philhower, superintendent at Eastern Hancock Schools and co-founder of the Indiana Microschool Collaborative, makes the case that the microschool mindset is a philosophy any school can adopt. From grading practices to flexible pathways to joy as a design principle, this is a grounded, visionary read for every leader asking what school could look like if we built it around learners instead of legacy systems.
Schools Are Testing the Past: How Assessment Must Evolve for Writing, Speaking, and Listening in the AI Age
When a student completes a writing test in a locked browser, we learn what they can do alone. But the world asks something harder: can they use AI without being used by it? In this sharp and timely essay, Eric Tucker argues that assessment for writing, speaking, and listening has not kept pace with how communication actually works, and maps a practical path forward. Education leaders navigating AI policy, curriculum design, and high-stakes testing will find both a diagnostic and a blueprint here.
Coalition Before Consensus: How Trust and Shared Ownership Sustain Transformation
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.
A Hopeful Vision For Better-Designed Schools
By Danish Kurani This article is an adapted excerpt from the book The Spaces That Make Us: Why Design Is Broken and How We Can Create a Happier, Healthier World. From the first day of kindergarten to the day students complete high school, they spend approximately…
Educational fMRIs: Dynamic Pedagogy and Pedagogical Analysis in the Multimodal AI Era
Explore how education fMRI can enhance understanding of student assessment beyond mere scores and classifications.
Blueprints Are Not Enough: Building Balanced Assessment Systems for Science of Reading 2.0
Ms. Rivera has done everything right: she attended the state-mandated Science of Reading (SoR) training and internalized the new, evidence-based curriculum. She is teaching phonics and phonemic awareness. Yet, as October settles in, she feels a familiar anxiety. She is teaching the “what” of the new laws, but…
In Ukiah, Eternal Truths Are Saving Young Lives
Big Picture South Valley High empowers struggling teens with personalized, learner-centered education, fostering community, healing, and purpose.
Learning to Let Go (and Stay Connected): A Parent’s View from 2040
A future parent reflects on how connected, unbundled, and learner-centered systems empower students to thrive in a reimagined learning ecosystem.
Grounding Assessment in the Service of Learning
Assessment can be made more effective, personalized, and educative if we intentionally design and deploy AI in alignment with these principles of fairness, validity, and human development.
In North Carolina, a Sea of Oxygen Bubbles — Spreading Across the State’s School Districts
SparkNC is transforming education in North Carolina by creating learner-centered, tech-focused environments that empower students to explore and innovate.