Dear Pioneers,

The Education Reimagined team has had an incredibly energizing week. Working off the momentum we gained last week at a team strategy meeting and a visit to Avalon School, we redrafted our mission statement. Although we’re still making some tweaks, I want to share the changes we have made:

Education Reimagined exists to accelerate the shift to learner-centered education in the U.S. such that it is inevitable and irreversible.

Inevitable and irreversible. These two words have transformed our mission from an ambiguous need to accelerate to one that identifies the pace and depth at which we strive to do so. We think the movement has come upon a unique moment in history where the window of opportunity to cause a tipping point is here.

Throughout the last century—and probably long before that—learner-centered environments have been launching and closing across the country without much fanfare. As pioneers embarked on transformational journeys, their learning environments struggled to persist through leadership and policy transitions. A shift in school board, a new superintendent, or a new political agenda had the power to send everything back to the standardized system.

At first glance, today might not look that much different. There is another generation of leaders across the nation working to create a learner-centered education system that continues putting learning, learners, and the community at the center. But, this time, people across sectors and ideological divides are seeing that what we are up to is not about implementing a new program or modifying the system but is about fundamentally transforming the system of education. There is new space in the conversation to actually design the new systems and structures that will have the “neutral point” be learner-centered, not school-centered.

So, what if we decided history wasn’t going to repeat itself? This is no small commitment to make, but if we harness this moment, a new story can be written. And, you all are the ones to do it.

To hear some of that collective voice, check out our latest issue of Pioneering. Together, we can create a system that unleashes the limitless potential in ALL learners.

Warm wishes,

Kelly