Community of National Education Leaders Convenes on January 17 to Transform Education in the United States

Washington, DC, Jan. 10, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Education Reimagined has a new vision for America’s education system; one that ignites the potential of all young people and the adults who support them. On January 17, the organization will host a special, one-day symposium at Washington, D.C.’s Eaton Hotel to spread the reach of this vision, convening education innovators who are already building learner-centered models in their communities, young leaders who have experienced the impact of learner-centered education, and national leaders committed to supporting these innovators to thrive.

“Rather than rely on the educational experience created over 100 years ago, we have an opportunity to transform our education system so it is structured to support learning experiences that celebrate all youths’ innate creativity, wonder, and imagination,” said Kelly Young, President of Education Reimagined, the host of the symposium.

“Our symposium will elevate examples of how learner-centered experiences, both in and out of school, are already transforming the lives of young people across the country—enabling young people of all backgrounds to realize their unique potential.

Learner-centered experiences, uniquely tailored to the interests, passions, and needs of each young learner, provide tangible opportunities for all young people to realize their emerging sense of self, tackle real-world problems, and uncover a sense of purpose and fulfillement. In the process, all youth can develop collaboration, relational, creativity, and critical thinking skills needed to excel in tomorrow’s workplace.

The January 17 symposium will bring together 200 learner-centered leaders of all ages and feature keynote speakers that include Carlos Moreno, co-executive director of Big Picture Learning, and Todd Rose, nationally renowned author and professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Education Reimagined will highlight examples of learner-centered innovation that are already making a difference for young people across the country. Iowa BIG in Cedar Rapids, for example, presents students with unique opportunities to take on projects that are of interest to them and that directly impact their community. Supervised by community members and facilitated by educators, young people work with teams of adults and peers to solve local issues and gain competencies that they need to succeed in the real world.

During the symposium, practitioners, policy advocates, network leaders, and youth will come together to discuss how to re-shape education—and make use of shared language to advance their learner-centered work together. As a result, attendees will partner with Education Reimagined and each other to deepen and spread the reach of learner-centered innovation across the country, making transformative learning experiences like the one at Iowa BIG available to all children within the next generation.

“Our communities and workplaces are facing an increasing array of complex, technological challenges, requiring the next generation to bring creativity, compassion, and critical thinking to the workplace,” said Todd Rose, one of the Symposium’s keynote speakers and best-selling author of The End of Average and Dark Horse. “Therefore, learner-centered experiences that position each and every child to pursue their individual dreams is actually critical to our future success.”

Following the Symposium, Education Reimagined will continue to showcase promising examples of learner-centered innovation and to bring diverse stakeholders together to push for systems-level change and grapple with the challenges most critical to advancing the learner-centered education movement.

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About Education Reimagined

Education Reimagined is a community of learner-centered leaders seeking to transform education for all children in the United States. Created by a group of 28 education leaders that include the two presidents of the national teacher unions and charter school leaders, as well as equity, personalized learning, and social-emotional learning advocates, Education Reimagined strives to ensure that children of all backgrounds can realize their unique potential and become lifelong learners.

To realize this vision, Education Reimagined partners with a continually growing network of over 500 learner-centered leaders to unite and ignite the individuals and organizations already creating and supporting learner-centered models across the country. Alongside practitioners, young people, policy advocates, and other visionary leaders, the organization aims aims to deepen and spread the presence of learner-centered innovation across the country such that it becomes available to each and every child in the U.S.