Dear Friends,

We have so much to be thankful for this year, but most importantly we are thankful for all of you. As we near the year end, we are present to the incredible impact learner-centered leaders like you are having on pockets of young people across the country. Your efforts are steadily increasing the possibility of making this life-changing movement inevitable and irreversible—reaching every single child, regardless of background or circumstance.

We are incredibly grateful for the communities that have embraced learner-centered education for their young people. These communities see young people as whole human beings who have just as much to offer today as they do in the future. They see learning as being as natural as breathing when curiosities, interests, passions, and aspirations are ignited. And, they see unfurling young people’s unique potential as the work of education.

We have the privilege of observing all this from a national perspective, which is why we work so hard in amplifying the stories of local efforts. When we all have the opportunity to hear stories from young learners like Alex, Colby, and Keyonna, we prove, as one learner stated last January, “When educators talk about learner-centered education people ask, ‘Where’s the evidence of this working?’ but when learners talk about learner-centered education, they are the evidence. It is working.”

The work ahead is to move from pockets of learner-centered environments around the country to real systemic change that makes learner-centered education available to each and every young person. This is what we’ve been striving for from the beginning, and it is what we will be diving into on January 17th at our one-day Symposium.

The Symposium will be one-part celebration and one-part taking a stand for this future to be made available to every young person. If you would like to attend the event, you can register here. Whether you can come or not, we are constantly inspired by your courage, commitment, and passion.

We are honored to be partners with you in this and the amazing work of education transformation. As always, thank you for your support.

We wish you the most wonderful holiday season!

With gratitude,
Kelly Young