Reimagining Education: Transforming High School for Powerful Learning

Most schools are not designed to educate today’s students to face the challenges of our time. Too many young people still experience the factory-style model of learning prevalent in U.S. high schools, which emphasizes uniformity, efficiency, and rote learning. There are schools that have been successfully redesigned to prepare students for a global workforce, and they offer a powerful blueprint for creating learning environments that are more humane, enriching, and productive than our current models. 

This webinar series, based on the recent report Redesigning High School: 10 Features for Success, surfaces the key features of such schools, using examples from California, and includes speakers who have put these approaches into practice and are at the forefront of research-based school transformation initiatives.

In addition to the main webinar series, LPI is offering three professional learning deep dives into specific topic areas. These four-series sessions are designed for teams; attendees are expected to commit to all four sessions in the series. For more information, please see details in the box, below.

Systemic Implementation of the 10 Features

November 20, 2024 | How can educators, families, and communities transform factory-model high schools into schools where students feel safe, belong, engage in meaningful learning, and thrive physically and emotionally? An overview of the 10 features that lead to whole school transformation will be followed by a discussion of practices and strategies for effective teaching, learning, and student support. Watch video recording >

Relationship-Centered Approaches That Matter

December 12, 2024 | This session introduces structures and practices that support positive relationships and create caring learning communities. Presenters highlight how redesigning high schools to be relationship-centered enables academic learning, social and emotional development, and adolescent well-being. Participants consider how these approaches might be enacted in their educational settings. Register

Student-Centered and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

January 14, 2025 | Effective schools create an environment that is identity-safe—where all students feel welcomed and included, where their identities and cultures are not a cause for exclusion but a strength to be valued and celebrated. Presenters will highlight how to design instructional strategies that build on students’ knowledge, identities, and interests using culturally responsive practices and Universal Design for Learning as interrelated frameworks. Register

Authentic Curriculum and Assessment

February 11, 2025 | This session will highlight examples of schools that have designed curriculum and assessment connected to authentic inquiry. Learn how educators create engaging, well-scaffolded experiences for their students and the structures and feedback they offer to support learners. Participants will draw connections between the practices featured and their educational context. Register

Centering Students and Families

March 13, 2025 | The ongoing success of a redesigned school depends on centering the perspectives and voices of students and families. Experts will discuss their experiences in building systems, structures, and environments that nurture the inclusion of students and families in decision-making and leadership roles. Register

Preparing Educators and Ensuring Essential Supports

April 10, 2025 | Effective teaching requires a deep understanding of how students learn and develop and the ability to connect with each student. Speakers will discuss how redesigned high schools invest in preparing and supporting their teachers by providing opportunities for them to create a coherent set of practices and develop expertise. Creating regular time for embedded collaboration and professional learning is essential, but it can be challenging to create. Speakers will share how this can be accomplished as well as how to build connections between teacher preparation programs to support the learning of students and preservice educators simultaneously. Register

Authentic Strategies for Engaging Communities

May 8, 2025 | In this session, community schools in neighborhoods experiencing rapid demographic changes and high concentrations of poverty will share how they redesigned the high school experience to be student-centered, asset-based, and culturally responsive. Register

Photo by Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages