August 13, 2026

Dear Educator,

As our family settles into another school year, I find myself looking at school through a different lens.

This week Abby started her senior year, and Zack began his junior year. As we talked through schedules, classes, and opportunities, I was struck by how many of these decisions will shape not only where they go after high school, but who they become.

As we near the end of our family’s K–12 journey, I am reflecting on the 13 years we have, while kids are in school, to help them choose and navigate the path best for them as they enter adulthood.

Too often, the experiences that create this understanding are treated as competing priorities with rigorous academics. We frame it as AP courses OR career exploration. College preparation OR authentic learning. Academic excellence OR real-world experiences.

I don’t believe it has to be that way.

The best schools are showing us that learners don’t have to choose between preparing for college or preparing for life. They can—and should—experience learning that develops deep academic knowledge while also helping them discover who they are and where they can contribute. A philosophy that is taking shape at this week's Bright Spot, San Marcos High School.

With Gratitude,

Exploring the "Three-For-One" Opportunity in Education

Education researcher Rebecca Winthrop recently described what she calls a “three-for-one” opportunity in education: learning experiences that simultaneously build academic knowledge, career readiness, and the durable human skills students will need in an AI-powered world.

Rather than treating these as separate goals competing for time, the most powerful learning experiences accomplish all three at once.

At San Marcos High School, where the team has been thinking about these questions and how to redesign high school as part of California's Secondary School Redesign Pilot, learners are designing a solution to a community problem, applying mathematics, science, and literacy in authentic ways while collaborating with peers, communicating with community partners, learning how professionals approach complex work, and using AI as a tool to deepen—not replace—their thinking.

None of this is “extra.” It’s rigorous academics with purpose.

San Marcos High School learners in the Pre-Apprenticeship Construction pathway.

As AI continues to transform the future of work, our challenge isn’t simply to help students earn more credits or higher GPAs. It’s to create learning experiences where young people develop the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and sense of self that will allow them to thrive as a unique human, especially in an uncertain future.

That’s the bright spot I see emerging across schools around the country. More educators are asking, “How do we design learning so academics, career exploration, and human development happen together?”

When we do that, students don’t have to choose between preparing for college, career, or life. They leave school ready for all of them.

The "three-for-one" opportunity in education aligns with Learner-Centered Collaborative's focus on developing whole-learner outcomes. When working with our school and district partners, we co-create these outcomes in community through our Framework for the Future process. For support bringing this Framework to life in your community, reach out to our team here.

This October 8–10 in Indianapolis, Learner-Centered Collaborative is proud to lead a Learning Lab at the FullScale Symposium — a facilitated working session helping district teams turn conference inspiration into an actual implementation roadmap.

Co-CEO Katie Martin will serve as the expert partner for the strand Making Personalized, Competency-Based, Holistic Learning a Reality for All Students, guiding teams as they align around a shared vision for learner-centered practice.

We are going all in on School Redesign for SXSW EDU 2027, and we need your support! With over 1,500 sessions hoping to land a spot at next year's conference, every vote counts. Voting is easy:

1. Log in or create a new account for SXSW EDU's PanelPicker here.

2. Click each of the three buttons below and click the heart icon to the right of the session title.
3. BONUS: Share the links with your colleagues (or share our LinkedIn post)!

Resources to advance your learner-centered practice

📖 A New Bill in California Could Expand Career Pathways for Thousands of Students. The Bigger Opportunity Is What It Invites Us to Rethink. "The future of education isn’t solely about asking where students spend their time. It’s about recognizing where, how, why, and with whom meaningful learning happens, then redesigning assessment systems and learning models that support deep, place-based learning and “count” learning wherever it occurs." Discover the new opportunity California just opened up.

📖 Connect Learners to Mentors. "While your school might not yet have a formal internship or mentorship program, there are still many ways to ensure learners get connected with local community members and with work-based learning experiences to expose them to the ever-evolving world of work, and to support them in building essential skills for success in college, career, and civic life." Explore what those opportunities might look like in your community.

🗺️ Community Asset Mapping Tool. "The Community Asset Map is a tool that helps educators identify and leverage local resources, skills, and networks to enhance their teaching practice." Create your map.