Hello Friends,

What an incredible couple of weeks! The excitement around the learner-centered movement seems to grow by the day.

I just spent two fabulous days at the Texas Association of School Administrators’ Midwinter Conference, which hosted thousands of district leaders from across Texas. TASA is leading the way in learner-centered education with their own transformational vision—created by a cohort of Texas superintendents eight years ago. Their network of transformational Texas schools and districts continues to grow and gain momentum every year. It was an honor to meet many of these school and district leaders—and to hear about their remarkable journeys toward learner-centered education.

And, before flying to Texas, I spent two days in Albuquerque, NM with over 200 amazing Fellows from the Pahara Institute, as they continued their work to create a vision for the future of education.

It is clear to me that something big is happening all over the country. In widely different circles, pioneers in the learner-centered space are sharing and learning together from the results they are getting and the challenges they are facing. They are inviting more and more people to explore what transformation, rather than reform, could mean for all children.

To top it off, one of the most amazing books I’ve ever read came out last week—The End of Average: How We Succeed in a World That Values Sameness by Todd Rose. It is a MUST READ! And, I don’t say that lightly. The End of Average exposes how the last two hundred years gave us not only our Industrial-era systems but also a very limited view of humans. Todd definitively shows that there is no such thing as an average (or above- or below-average) person. Freeing ourselves and our systems from this concept of the average, we can see an entirely new world.

Could the implications for learner-centered education be any more dramatic? With this new viewpoint, the possibilities for creating learning experiences that adjust and adapt to the learner’s unique needs and circumstances are even more present. Thank you, Todd.

Please read the book, share it, and discuss it! This is a game changer.

Warm wishes,
Kelly