September 3, 2026

Dear Educator,

I recently recorded a podcast with Dr. Sarah Fine, and one idea from our conversation has stuck with me: symmetry always exists. The question is, what are we symmetrical to?

Every system has norms that shape how people behave. In some schools, relationships, learner agency, collaboration, and authentic, real-world learning are simply how things are done. Educators are surrounded by those expectations and experiences, and over time, their practices reinforce them.

In other systems, compliance, top-down decision-making, and traditional structures are the norm. Even when educators want to work differently, they are often pushing against deeply embedded ways of doing things.

That’s why becoming learner-centered isn’t simply about adding an advisory period, designing a project, or adopting a new instructional strategy. It requires paying attention to the culture and conditions that surround those practices. If we want educators to create engaging, collaborative, learner-centered experiences for young people, they need opportunities to experience learning that way themselves.

This week’s Bright Spot from Maple Continuation High School is a great example of what that symmetry can look like in practice.

With Gratitude,

Giving Educators Learner-Centered Experiences

Last week, educators at Maple Continuation High School in Lompoc Unified School District came together for their second day of Project-Based Learning professional learning, led by my colleague Danny Scuderi.

Principal Laurel Schroeder grounded the day in a simple but powerful idea: “Fun is a first point of data.” If we believe engagement matters for students, it should also matter for the adults who are learning.

Rather than simply learning about PBL, educators experienced it themselves. Teams took on an interdisciplinary design challenge to reimagine Maple High School’s Innovation Center. They visited the space, collaborated around authentic needs and possibilities, developed proposals, and shared their thinking through an exhibition of learning.

Then they turned that experience toward their own classrooms, using Inkwire to design community-centered Lompoc Projects that students will engage in this year.

This is symmetry in action. We can’t create learner-centered environments for students while maintaining adult learning environments rooted primarily in compliance and information delivery. When educators experience the agency, collaboration, relevance, joy, and reflection we want for young people, we begin to shift individual practices and the norms of the system itself.

That’s how a new way of learning becomes "how we do things here."

Learner-Centered Collaborative's 3-Day Project-Based Learning Deep Dive is an immersive professional learning experience that supports educators in designing PBL experiences that are Personalized, Authentic, and Competency-Based within a learner-centered community. If you'd like to bring this learning experience to your school or district, reach out to our team.

Digital Promise, in partnership with Learner-Centered Collaborative and SAP, has just published a new design guide for building and implementing alumni surveys. This in-depth resource offers school and district leaders a nine-step roadmap for building alumni surveys with students, families, teachers, and graduates, not just sending them out. If you've ever wondered what your graduates could teach you about the experience you gave them, this is worth your attention.

Resources to advance your learner-centered practice

📖 From Training to Professional Learning: Building a Learner-Centered Culture for Educators. "When we invest in educators as learners, we model the very principles we want for our students: agency, purpose, connection, and mastery." See what this kind of investment looks like.

💪 Creating a Districtwide Professional Learning Plan. "Developing a professional learning calendar and plan aligned with the Learning Model ensures that educators experience the agency, collaboration and authentic application they are fostering in their classrooms." Design your plan.

🎙️ Building Collective Efficacy and Insights on Transforming Education Systems with Dr. J. César Morales. "Dr. César Morales, Partner at Learner-Centered Collaborative, joins Katie Martin to share his journey from struggling high school student to transformative educational leader." Download this episode here.