September 17, 2026

Dear Educator,

One of the most useful distinctions when leading meaningful change is understanding the difference between technical and adaptive change.

Technical changes are the tangible things we can build, implement, and organize, like a new schedule, framework, evaluation form, curriculum, policy, or process. They matter and, often, they are essential.

But the bigger the change, the less likely it is that a new process alone will produce a new experience.

Adaptive change is about the human side of the work—how people think, interact, make decisions, navigate uncertainty, and ultimately change their behaviors. It requires us to develop new skills, challenge assumptions, build trust, and learn our way forward.

Meaningful change is rarely either/or. Technical changes create new structures and possibilities; adaptive changes build the capacity to use them differently. Without the technical, we can have great conversations without changing the system. Without the adaptive, we can implement new systems while people continue operating in old ways.

This week, I want to provide a real example of how both changes are showing up in our work with Hawaii Technology Academy.

With Gratitude,

Balancing Adaptive and Technical Changes

Hawaii Technology Academy is redesigning its educator evaluation process to create more personalized goals and meaningful coaching from school leaders.

The new evaluation form and process are the technical changes. But HTA leaders recognize that changing the form won’t automatically change the experience.
So, rather than simply training leaders on how to implement the new system, we spent our kickoff digging into the adaptive work required to lead it well.

Leaders explored their strengths and how those strengths shape the way they lead, coach, support, and evaluate others. Leadership empathy interviews helped them deepen relationships and be more transparent about their own goals, recognizing that the path to getting there looks different for different leaders.

They also practiced coaching conversations and wrestled with an important tension in their new system: educators have significant freedom to choose their goals, but what does success look like? What evidence matters? How do leaders coach toward meaningful growth while also fulfilling their responsibility to evaluate?

Those questions don’t have answers you can write into a form. They require learning, practice, reflection, and calibration together—and that is exactly where we will focus next.

Changing the system matters. Building people’s capacity to work differently within it is what brings the change to life.

Striking a balance between adaptive and technical changes can be challenging. From master schedule redesign to teacher evaluation processes to student assessment practices, our team has worked with schools and districts through it all. Learn more about our approach and why we always focus on the whole picture rather than isolated parts.

This October, Katie Martin will moderate a main-stage conversation at the FullScale Symposium in Indianapolis titled "What Schools Are For: Communities, Quality, and the Future of Public Education." As families gain access to a growing range of educational options, Katie will bring together leaders from districts, charter networks, state systems, and community-rooted schools to explore what it could mean for learning to stay public in a moment of greater choice and flexibility.

Resources to advance your learner-centered practice

📖 How Teachers at One California District are Bringing Their Portrait of a Learner to Life. "Graduate Profile competencies become most powerful when teachers translate them into concrete, age-appropriate experiences students can practice in authentic contexts throughout the year." Explore the lessons they built

👷‍♂️ Design Competency-Based Professional Learning Structures. "To create learning experiences that meet the needs of all learners in the modern world, it’s essential to establish clear expectations for learning and teaching based on a shared vision. This involves creating educator competencies that determine what teachers need to know and do to create your community's desired learning experiences." Start designing.

🔎 Support Learners in Understanding Themselves. "For learners to make high-quality decisions about their learning and truly be in community, they need to develop a strong sense of self. Who am I? How would I describe myself? What are my strengths? How do I learn best? As educators, we can support this self-discovery through the use of frameworks, tools, and time for self-reflection and exploration." Create your plan today.