August 6, 2026

Dear Educator,

If we’re honest, most teacher evaluation systems don’t do what they were intended to do.

A handful of scheduled classroom observations each year rarely capture the complexity of teaching. They often reflect a teacher’s “best performance” rather than their everyday practice, and too often the conversation ends with a rating instead of meaningful learning.

Teachers leave knowing where they scored, but not always with a deeper understanding of their strengths, clear goals for growth, or the support to get there.

If we believe that learning is continuous for students, shouldn’t the same be true for educators? This question was present for me as I learned about the work happening in Eastern Hancock Schools. More on that story in this week's Bright Spots!

With Gratitude,

What Asset-Based Teacher Evaluations Look Like 

I was inspired by the work happening at Eastern Hancock Schools in Indiana. Rather than centering evaluations on compliance and ratings, the district redesigned the process around growth.

Teachers complete regular self-reflections, engage in frequent classroom visits and coaching conversations, collect evidence of their practice over time, and meet with administrators to reflect on progress toward goals. The focus isn’t on catching teachers doing something wrong, it’s on helping great teachers become even better.

Teachers have greater ownership of their professional growth, administrators spend more time coaching than scoring, and accomplished educators have opportunities to lead professional learning and mentor colleagues. The result is a culture where feedback is continuous, strengths are celebrated, and improvement is everyone’s responsibility.

If we want classrooms where students receive ongoing feedback, set meaningful goals, reflect on their growth, and develop agency, then our systems for supporting educators should model those same principles.

The most learner-centered schools don’t just redesign learning for students. They redesign learning for the adults, too. And that’s a bright spot worth celebrating.

Professional development within a learner-centered setting requires a different design. With a 96% satisfaction rating, we've had the privilege of bringing that design to over 27,000 classroom teachers. If you're wondering how you can make a meaningful impact with your PD calendar this year, let's talk! Schedule a call here.

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

📖 What School Redesign Makes Possible When a District Says No to the Status Quo. "Inside Escondido Union School District’s multi-year effort to redesign school by turning a community-built vision into learner-centered experiences across every campus." Dive into this in-depth story

📖 Learning Is a Process, Not an Event. "Research shows that adult learners thrive in the very same learner-centered environments that best support our younger learners." Learn more about the five design elements for reimagined professional learning.

🎯 Library of Classroom Strategies. "It's a new academic year. Be sure to bookmark Learner-Centered Collaborative's library of classroom strategies for easy access throughout the year!" Explore new strategies today.