Del Lago Academy Series

This is a four-part series of articles featuring Del Lago Academy Campus of Applied Science, which was created by community members and staff in Escondido, California to offer a more student-centered learning option to the district’s high school students. The school focuses on competency-based practices, personalization, and authentic interdisciplinary learning projects. Articles in the series… Read More ›

Making Powerful Educational Choices for our Children

This article calls on parents to advocate for student-centered learning. Written by a fellow parent, it outlines the advantages of learner-centered education. It could be used as a source of inspiration for any group of parents interested in advocating for changes in the education system. Source Organization: Today Parenting Visit the Resource

From the Pueblo to College: The Journey of Two Rural Students

This series of three videos documents the personal and academic stories of two students from the Pueblo of Jemez in New Mexico. Temeya Gachupin from Walatowa High Charter School, run by the Pueblo of Jemez, and Justin Madalena from Jemez Valley High School, a traditional district school, discuss the challenges they faced in high school… Read More ›

Involving Families: A Relationship-Centered Approach

This article describes the efforts to more fully include Latino parents at a school in Boulder Valley School District. While the featured school is an elementary school, the ideas in this article can be applied when working with families with students of any age. School leaders, community outreach specialists/parent coordinators, and teachers will all get… Read More ›

Ready for Take Off: Youth Action Researchers at the Intersection (YARI)

At the YARI Kick-Off Event last week, we welcomed into the Student-Centered Learning Research Collaborative family ten youth researchers who are “twice exceptional” — they possess both a learning difference and face marginalization connected to race, language, sexuality, and/or income. KnowledgeWorks is leading the project with our partners from the Center for Youth and Community… Read More ›

Black Girls CODE

Since 2011, Black Girls CODE has been empowering young women of color to learn the technology and computer science skills needed to become leaders in the field. Girls age 7-17 learn coding skills at workshops and after school programs. Black Girls CODE’s is committed to providing African-American youth with the skills to occupy some of… Read More ›

Teaching Tolerance

This website is full of resources to promote diversity and inclusion, including classroom activities and lesson plans, as well as professional development activities and readings. The well organized site includes a section on classroom resources which are aligned with common core standards as well as Teaching Tolerance’s Social Justice Standards. This section includes a large database… Read More ›

Advancing Equity by Building Development Relationships

This story looks at the importance of building developmental relationships in which adults and youth share power, especially for students from traditionally underserved communities. Developmental relationships are are purposeful relationships built on trust, designed to help young people: Discover who they are Cultivate the abilities needed for them to shape their own lives Learn how… Read More ›

Pittsburgh-Area Students Tackle Community Challenges in Learn and Earn Program

This article describes a summer learning program in the Pittsburg, PA area. Through the Learn and Earn Program, students conducted research projects in about 15 neighborhoods across the city. They surveyed residents on issues of importance to the community, such as factors contributing to crime rate, feelings about local businesses, and trash problems. Students had… Read More ›

Hearing Youth Voices

This group is a youth-led, action research group where students learn about the different oppressions they face every day and find out why things happen the way they do. Students are free to express themselves; they can sing, rap, do spoken word, dance, draw, and make skits. Hearing Youth Voices creates workshops for youth to… Read More ›

Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)

CAST is a nonprofit research and development organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals, especially those with disabilities, through Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Developed by CAST, UDL is a widely recognized framework to guide the design of learning experiences to proactively meet the needs of all learners. The organization conducts research… Read More ›

Building Support for Student-Centered Learning: A Toolkit

This toolkit provides strategies, resources, and tools for those who would like to build public understanding and engagement around student-centered learning or other education reform efforts. The toolkit is organized around a theory of change that includes three elements: a compelling public story, deep dialogue and conversation, and real youth engagement. The toolkit draws on… Read More ›