Mission
The Deeper Learning Dozen, a project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education works with schools, districts, states, provinces, and educators around the world who are working to transform their systems from industrial era schools to modern learning organizations with passion, purpose, and thriving for all students and adults.
Overview
The Deeper Learning Dozen is our attempt to address the new opportunities and demands districts and schools face as they seek to create more access to deeper learning experiences for all young people and adults. It is both an action project and an effort to learn and share what we are learning with the field. It is first and foremost a design for a community of practice of twelve school districts. A community of practice is anchored by common values and aspirations, and ours are to give all students access to deeper learning. In other words, we are aiming for all students to have experiences that develop their mastery, identity, and creativity. We are not precious about these particular descriptors but we do find that they capture what others describe as important in contemporary education. We say more about what they mean to us in our white paper.
In that paper, we have also laid out our initial thinking of the changes that we think districts will need to undertake to move towards a goal of wall-to-wall systemic, equitable, deeper learning for both students and adults. We also lay out three overarching principles that we believe are at the heart of the needed changes: (In)Equity is Structural, Adult Learning and Student Learning are Symmetrical, and Leadership Accelerates Emergence. Over the next three years, we will be working with our districts to try to enact these ideas and also to refine and revise them in light of their experiences. For this community to sustain and grow, however, it needs allies beyond the founding twelve. If you would like to be part of this work in any way, we would love to hear from you.
Our Team
Jal Mehta, Co-Founder & Principal Investigator
Jal Mehta is a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His research explores the role of different forms of knowledge in tackling major social and political problems, particularly problems of human improvement. He has also written extensively on what it would take to improve American education, with a particular focus on the professionalization of teaching.
Jal is the author of The Allure of Order: High Hopes, Dashed Expectations and the Troubled Quest to Remake American Schooling (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013) and the co-editor of The Futures of School Reform (Cambridge: Harvard Education Press, 2012). He is currently working on two projects: In Search of Deeper Learning, a contemporary study of schools, systems, and nations that are seeking to produce ambitious instruction; and The Chastened Dream, a history of the effort to link social science with social policy to achieve social progress. He is co-editor of the Learning Deeply blog at Education Week, and in 2014 was the top-ranked junior faculty scholar in the Rick Hess Education Week rankings. He is also the winner of the Morningstar Teaching Award at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He was recently awarded a Radcliffe Fellowship and will be on sabbatical for the 2016-17 academic year.
Alisa Berger, Executive Director
Alisa Berger teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in the Professional Education Program. She co-facilitates the Deeper Learning for All course which runs each summer. She also served as an adjunct lecture teaching the Deeper Learning course within the graduate programs at the school. Alisa is an independent consultant working with schools, districts and networks who are looking to design and implement innovative programs that better meet the needs of students and works to create a 21st century system that would support deeper and more engaging instruction for all students. Alisa is the co-author of the book How to Innovate: The Essential Guide for the Fearless School Leader, published April 2014. She was the founding co-principal at the NYC iSchool, a New York City public high school committed to rethinking high school for the 21st century. Previously, she has worked in the New York City central offices as a Director of Leadership and Organizational Learning, overseeing 250 schools in achieving their goal of increased student achievement by developing, aligning, and delivering cutting edge training and professional development. She was part of the design team for the Children First Intensive (CFI), a city-wide action research initiative designed to help build schools’ capacity to use accountability tools to differentiate, individualize, and improve instruction; as well as problem solving around school-based and systemic DOE issues to ensure that they do not interfere with schools’ effective operations. Alisa began her career in school administration as the founding leader of the Mott Hall II school, a small, progressive NYC public middle school. Alisa received her undergraduate degree from Barnard College, her MA in curriculum design from Teachers College, Columbia University and her MBA from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.
Michele Shannon, DLD Director
Michele comes to the DLD with deep knowledge in adult learning, systems-thinking, data-driven leadership, and district transformation. Most recently, Michele was a National Designer and Facilitator for the Leadership Academy, where she built the capacity of educational leaders through leadership training to confront inequities & create conditions for students to thrive. Previously, she was Chief of Schools for Boston Public Schools, where she led a team of eight Instructional Superintendents focused on eliminating the opportunity and achievement gaps in the system. Based on Fullan’s “Right Drivers,” BPS designed a school support structure grounded in a system of teams that focused on group capacity building of school and teacher leaders. Michele and her team developed a coherent system of professional learning in the district, creating a culture of collaboration and thought partnership and ensuring better support for school leaders, whom she believes are the lead drivers of instructional improvement.
Michele has been a teacher, school social worker, assistant principal, and principal in the New York City Department of Education. She also led the leadership development and evaluation team in the Los Angeles Unified School District. A product of New York City public schools, Michele graduated from John Adams High School in Ozone Park, NY. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from Baruch College, a Master of Social Work from Hunter College, School District Leadership certification from Queens College and a Doctorate in Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Rod Allen, Senior Advisor
Rod Allen, recently retired Superintendent for the Prince George School District and the Cowichan Valley School District and formerly the Assistant Deputy Minister / Chief Superintendent with the BC Ministry of Education was the architect of British Columbia’s transformation to personalized learning and lead the development of the transformed BC curriculum. Under Allen’s leadership, BC became a major contributor to global transformation efforts and within BC he set a clear path for education transformation – ensuring students have the opportunity to explore their passions and take ownership for their learning. He established and is currently the Chair of the Innovation Partnership in BC and is actively involved in the Global Education Leadership Program. Rod is a highly sought after speaker on education transformation and is an instructor at Vancouver Island University on Transformational Leadership. He has recently worked with the Aspen Institute, the World Bank, and the Canadian School Board Association. Rod leads the Knowledge and Skills team at the OECD as they develop the Education 2030 Framework. He is a member of the SET Advisory Board at Royal Roads University and an advisor to the Vancouver Foundation. Rod is president of Nourish Cowichan, a non-profit that provides school meals for children in the Cowichan Valley. Prior to joining government he was Superintendent for School District 54 (Bulkley Valley). Rod has taught at most grade levels in British Columbia, where he advanced through school and district leadership positions. Rod is married, with two grown children.
Laura Hecht Colletta, Project Manager
Laura Hecht Colletta draws on her experience with school counseling and youth development to support schools and districts in preparing all students for success. Previously, Laura was the Assistant Director of College & Career Readiness at The Urban Assembly School for Law & Justice (SLJ) in Brooklyn, NY. Prior to working in college access, Laura oversaw out-of-school time programming at SLJ. She developed partnerships with community organizations to ensure students had access to after-school and summer enrichment opportunities that supported their academic and social-emotional development. Most recently, Laura worked as a Research Manager at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, leading a national research project focused on how schools can leverage counseling systems to improve student outcomes. Laura holds a B.A. in Political Science from Haverford College and an Ed.M. in Education Policy & Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Kim Frumin, Research Director
Kim Frumin is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she earned her doctorate in Education Policy, Leadership, and Instructional Practice. Her research interests include teacher professional learning, design-based research-practice partnerships, and collaborative curriculum development. Her research has been published in the International Journal of Science Education, Teaching and Teacher Education, Urban Education, and Review of Research in Education. She is co-editor of Teacher Learning in the Digital Age: Online Professional Development in STEM Education (Harvard Education Press, 2016), and was named a National Science Foundation CADRE Fellow in 2018. Previously, Kim served as a founding director of the New York City Department of Education’s Office of Innovation (NYCiZone); a Fulbright Scholar in Israel, teaching writing and photography to Bedouin youth; an educational research, content, and outreach specialist for international Sesame Street co-productions; and a staff developer with Teaching Matters in New York City public schools.
Kevin Godden, District Advisor
Kevin is the recently retired Superintendent of Schools for the Abbotsford School District. He began his service as Superintendent in July 2011, overseeing some 19,200 students and 2,500 employees. Kevin is committed to student success in all forms and envisions a school district that can nimbly respond to the ever changing needs and interests of its students. Kevin is committed to team work, working collaboratively with District staff and community partners to make the school district the best it can be. He still considers himself a teacher at heart, and believes, like Nelson Mandela, that the “keenest revelation into the soul of any society is manifested in the manner in which they treat their children".
Jason Glass, District Advisor
Jason E. Glass is the Associate Vice President of Teaching and Learning at Western Michigan University. Most recently, he was the commissioner and chief learner at the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) since September 2020.Glass, a native Kentuckian, previously served as superintendent and chief learner of Jeffco Public Schools in Colorado and was superintendent of Eagle County Schools in Colorado from 2013 to 2017. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science, master’s degree in education and a master’s in political science – all from the University of Kentucky. He received his doctorate in education leadership from Seton Hall University and a certificate in advanced education leadership from Harvard University. Glass began his career as a high school social studies teacher in Hazard, Ky. While a graduate student, he served as an instructor at UK and Georgetown College. He previously held senior positions with the Colorado Department of Education, then worked as vice president of quality ratings for Qualistar Early Learning. He later served as Iowa’s chief state school officer from 2010 to 2013
Christina Jenkins, Convening Designer
I am a queer Chinese biracial facilitator, neighbor and artist in Sacramento. I taught in middle and high school classrooms for a decade, mostly in NYC public schools. Today, I create opportunities for young people and adults to experiment with ideas and practice new ways of being.
My current practice is focused on designing field trips for adults. I’m interested in the ways that unfamiliar environments can jumpstart joy and creativity, rattle our worldview, and get folks unstuck. I organize convenings, workshops for teachers, externships, city tours for children, and other experiences that explore the “outside.”
Maddie Kinker, Operations Associate
Maddie Kinker is currently a school counselor at Wilson Middle School in Natick, MA. She received her post-masters Certificate of Advanced Studies in the Prevention Science and Practice School Counseling Program at Harvard Graduate School of Education. After receiving a psychology and education bachelor's degree from Middlebury College, Maddie spent time working in client success and operations roles for a small education marketing company, connecting students, parents, and educators to experiential learning opportunities. Additionally, Maddie has been active in coaching Cambridge Youth Lacrosse and working with the city of Cambridge, MA to increase recruitment, retention, and inclusivity of local girlx sports. In her various roles, Maddie has become passionate about improving educational inequities from a systemic level. As a school counselor, Maddie wants to improve inequities impacting students and families by making systemic changes so that stakeholders' voices are included, creating a safe and loving space for all students to succeed.
This project was co-founded and co-developed in its first five years by John Watkins, a longtime educator, coach, facilitator, designer, and scholar-practitioner based in Oakland. Many of the ideas you will find here, as well as much of the work with our first cohort of districts, were heavily influenced by John’s thinking and the warm relationships that he built with those districts. Our community of practice continues to be grounded in the values he championed and exemplified.
Contact Us
We would love to hear from you!