From Research to Development—Catalyzing Learner-Centered Ecosystems for Public Education

 

We stand at a pivotal moment in the history of education. This is our chance to create a world where education lays the foundation for vibrant, inclusive, and resilient communities.

Bobbi Macdonald

Senior Partner of Ecosystem Growth and Advancement

At the heart of human development lies a profound and well-researched truth: we learn through experience. Our understanding of the world—our skills, values, and sense of self—all emerge from the experiences we navigate, especially during childhood. Given that a significant portion of our formative years are spent in school, the design of these educational experiences profoundly shapes how we see the world and our place in it. Yet, our current educational models often reserve the idea of learning through enriching experiences and deeper learning as the work of out of school time partners or individual families.

Schools, once the heart of local life, have become isolated institutions, struggling to meet the diverse and dynamic needs of their students. Driven by a complex interplay of factors—economic pressures, digital disruption, and evolving societal expectations—our traditional educational models are increasingly out of sync with the needs of learners and communities. This disconnection undermines the potential of education to serve as a catalyst for personal and communal growth.

When we look through the lens of equity, inclusion, and love, it’s clear that school systems were designed with a different purpose: to align with a workforce from the industrial age. These systems, based on a standardized approach, often give people the experience of a system that prioritizes efficiency, averages, and test scores over individual growth. Not only that, but the racial and economic disparities reveal an even deeper failure by all of us—one that we all must change. The change begins with seeing each and every child as a powerful member of the community, a person who is capable, loving, and in the midst of developing and growing into their own unique person with gifts and ideas to contribute to the community.

Our current structures are struggling to keep up with the profound changes in how we live, work, and connect. The challenge before us is not just one of reforming educational practices, but of fundamentally rethinking how education can foster genuine, meaningful connections—connections that weave individuals into the fabric of their communities and equip them to thrive in an interconnected world. The challenge before us is not just to reform how we educate, but to transform the educational landscape entirely.

Transforming the Landscape

Education Reimagined was born from bringing together diverse voices—educators, learners, parents, policymakers, and community leaders—all committed to reimagining education. We sought to understand what it would take to create learning environments where every child is seen, valued, and supported. Early on, we looked for sites, and communities that were already practicing learner-centered education. These sites demonstrated the potential of personalized, relevant, and community-connected learning. However, they also revealed the systemic barriers that made it difficult to sustain these innovative approaches within a rigid, outdated educational framework.

Through years of collaboration and research, it became evident that the solution lay in creating learner-centered ecosystems—holistic environments where learning is not confined to a traditional classroom, but integrated into every aspect of community life. Learner-centered ecosystems leverage the principle that we learn best through meaningful, real-world experiences, and ecosystems offer us an opportunity to facilitate and nurture all five elements of learner-centered education: learner agency; socially embedded; personalized, relevant, and contextualized (PRC); open-walled; and competency-based.

The learning journey of each young person is at the heart of learner-centered ecosystems. Unlike other educational models that may offer a collection of isolated experiences, this approach is about creating an interconnected web of learning that deeply integrates young people into their communities. This journey is designed to achieve two critical objectives:

1. Create the Conditions for Being Known and for Thriving: The purpose of each young person’s learning journey is to work with an advisor and caring adults to create learning goals, plan learning experiences, gather and review feedback, demonstrate learning, achieve relevant credentials, and explicitly reflect both on what was learned and how that learning is relevant to one’s life and to the larger world. Learners build a portfolio of their work and growth that stays with them throughout their lives and can be used for career pathways, higher education, entrepreneurship opportunities, and any other pursuits relevant to the learner.

2. Contribute to and Help Shape Our Communities: Beyond individual growth, learner-centered ecosystems emphasize the integration of young people into the fabric of their communities. This approach recognizes their contributions as meaningful and essential to community well-being. By connecting learners with community members and encouraging collaboration on real-world projects and initiatives, ecosystems cultivate a sense of belonging and responsibility among young people, nurturing them to become active, engaged citizens committed to collective progress.

When we center the learning journey as the foundation of education, a transformational system emerges to support and nurture the journeys of each child. To center each child, we also need the strength of the community to ensure access and quality of the experiences within the system. What will it take for public education to deliver on a promise like this? We need demonstrations of learner-centered ecosystems.

 

At its core, a learner-centered ecosystem views education as the backbone of community development. It integrates academic learning with civic engagement, economic development, and social cohesion.

Bobbi Macdonald

Senior Partner of Ecosystem Growth and Advancement

Demonstrating What’s Possible

To achieve this transformative vision, Education Reimagined has set an ambitious goal: to establish five thriving learner-centered ecosystems in diverse communities across the country over the next five years. Our role is to catalyze this invention, helping to accelerate the work and spread of these innovative models.

Our intention is to identify and connect changemakers who are already working towards learner-centered ecosystem solutions. By supporting these sites, whether they are developing full pilots or focusing on specific areas of infrastructure, we aim to advance their work and help integrate these ecosystems into public education offerings.

We have found, working with communities where learner-centered ecosystems are emerging, that each community is on a developmental journey and thus has specific needs and supports they are seeking to grow their learner-centered ecosystem into a full pilot. Often the leaders of these efforts speak about their work in terms of learning, iterating, and weaving as they respond to the needs and aspirations of their learners, develop new systems and practices, and convene cross-sector partners to do this collective work. They need investment and time to pilot ideas and test solutions over time, and connect with other sites for ideas and inspiration. 

Our commitment is to support these pilots so that we can learn alongside them and share findings to accelerate the growth and development of learner-centered ecosystems. We will test, discover, and communicate to the field the most viable starting points, the levers that enable ecosystems to emerge, and the infrastructure solutions for ecosystems to be sustained.

Building Stronger Communities

At its core, a learner-centered ecosystem views education as the backbone of community development. It integrates academic learning with civic engagement, economic development, and social cohesion. This holistic approach supports the growth of well-rounded individuals who are not only knowledgeable, but also compassionate, engaged, and capable of making a difference. This is not a distant dream—it is happening now in communities across the country, supported by Education Reimagined and our many colleagues and partners in the field. The vision for learner-centered ecosystems is a collective one. We need a wide array of partners in the field working together to bring about this change. 

We stand at a pivotal moment in the history of education. This is our chance to create a world where education lays the foundation for vibrant, inclusive, and resilient communities. Collectively, we are learning the social, physical, and digital infrastructure needed to make this vision a reality. We know this isn’t just about technical solutions, this is about a shift in how we view learning and the potential of each and every child. Together, we can transform our educational system into dynamic, inclusive spaces where every learner can thrive.

In this moment of reflection and renewal, we have the opportunity to reconsider what shapes our educational institutions. We need to expand our view of leadership, and with courage and creativity, shape a future where education empowers every learner to fulfill their potential and contribute meaningfully to our shared world.

Bobbi Macdonald

Senior Partner of Ecosystem Growth and Advancement

Dr. Bobbi Macdonald is one of the 28 original signatories on Education Reimagined’s founding document, “A Transformational Vision for Education in the U.S.” Her previous work as Executive Director of City Neighbors Foundation sought to provide an answer to the question, “What would it take for every student to be Known, Loved, and Inspired?” That question remains at the heart of her work today. Bobbi most recently completed her Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Harvard University.