Our Approach

You deserve the best innovations.

We help teachers and leaders break away from conventional instruction to find new satisfaction in their work.

Educators who work with us gain confidence in four areas. They:

Find a WHY

Visualize a better teacher and student experience. Articulate your personal convictions that will motivate persistence as you innovate. Develop your growth mindset.

Set a goal

Look at where you are now and where you want to go. Decide what you and your students need most. Set a measurable goal based on changes within your circle of control.

Design

Use theories of innovation to design a better student and teacher experience—one in which everyone feels eager to show up and make progress in their lives each day.

Advance

Develop the professional competencies you need to make it easy and satisfying to implement your design. Demonstrate your skills. Get credit and advance professionally.

Everything we do aims to help you succeed in these four areas so you become the teacher or leader you are striving to become.

The saying "let a thousand flowers bloom" describes how some people think about school innovation. They think that innovation requires hundreds of random attempts until one proves successful.

But teachers and leaders do not have time for a scattered approach. Instead, when organizations partner with us, we help them plant with intention.

Although each school has unique circumstances, the steps for successful innovation follow a pattern. Our content guides educators through this pattern so that they know with confidence that their efforts will blossom and bring them lasting fulfillment as they see their students transform.

Our values

We believe in elevating teachers.

Computers cannot replace teachers. But they can provide options for how students access instruction. As these options expand, the opportunities for teachers do, too. Youth need caring, competent teachers in their lives now more than ever. Online learning gives teachers the option to continue to teach in the traditional way—or to blend learning modalities in ways that allow them to elevate their impact.

Students should find joy in learning.

As students discover that school is a place where they make meaningful progress every day and where they can depend on satisfying friendships, they feel intrinsically motivated to show up. We help teachers design student experiences that inspire students to cultivate a deep love for school.

All people are of equal worth.

Every person is of equal, extraordinary value and should be treated with love. Each child has special gifts and talents. Adults have a responsibility to love, protect, and nurture all children to the best of our abilities.

Theory +

Practice +

Passion

We believe in empowering students.

The post-industrial economy rewards people who are entrepreneurial, communicate effectively, work well in teams, self-manage, pick up new skills, and own their own missions. Yet many schools still rely on sit-and-get instruction. We should empower students now so that they are ready to thrive when they graduate. Otherwise, why have school?

We use theory to guide practice.

The principles of innovation we espouse are largely based on the work of Clayton M. Christensen, a former professor at Harvard Business School and the founder of the Christensen Institute, where Heather Clayton Staker worked for several years. We share his commitment to using theory to guide practice and we are indebted to him and his Institute for their radically effective ideas.