Dear Learner-Centered Leaders,

On January 1st, Education Reimagined officially became an independent non-profit organization—launching an exciting new chapter of our work. Although our technical status has changed, our commitment to making learner-centered education available to every child, regardless of background or circumstance, has not.

In honor of that commitment, the Education Reimagined team hosted a celebration last Thursday at our 2019 Symposium in Washington, DC. With over 200 learner-centered leaders in attendance and many more supporting from afar, the momentum behind this movement feels more palpable than at any other time in history.

Now more than ever, we believe it’s time to take a stand that every young person be seen as unique and passionate about learning, and ready to co-create their own education.

It is no longer acceptable for our education system to structurally reinforce social inequities, including disparities in access to opportunity based on factors such as race, economic status, identity, language, culture, geography, or neurodiversity.

It’s time to understand success to be living out a meaningful and fulfilling life, with each of us finding the intersection between our passions and talents and what our society needs.

The world economy is changing in ways that require everyone’s contributions and that require each of us to be self-directed, creative, collaborative, and adaptable problem solvers. Trailblazing learner-centered environments have been successfully developing young people who are ready for what the world now demands and have been doing so for pockets of young people for over a century.

It is time to declare a commitment to a future in which every child has access to a learner-centered education where they are valued as unique individuals, their agency and passions are cultivated, and their learning is nurtured in caring communities. And, a future in which every educator, family, and community is supported and empowered to make the difference they are committed to making for young people.

This is the declaration for the future that is guiding our work as we move forward in 2019. The Education Reimagined team invites you to make a similar declaration in service of your community, so together we can lead this learner-centered work in new and powerful ways.

Enjoy,
Kelly Young