Proven methods, hard-won lessons, and practical tools to create a better future of education
Extraordinary Learning for All: How Communities Design Schools Where Everyone Thrives delivers a hopeful, humane, realistic, and compelling portrait for how we must reinvent schooling for a new century, drawing on the voices and experiences of real school communities who are on that journey and illuminating the specific actions that school and system leaders can take to spark these journeys in their communities. The frameworks, concepts, and stories in this book, emanating from direct, in-the-trenches partnerships with innovators on the ground, show, in genuine detail, what makes this work hard-but also what makes it possible.
Written by the co-founders and Chief Learning Officer of Transcend, a leading nonprofit in school innovation, this book provides solutions to the major problems we face in education, including approaches that:
- Reverse declining enrollment rates and chronic truancy, especially in large urban districts, through better student engagement
- Mitigate our national mental health crisis through school designs that address higher-than-ever-rates of boredom, stress, and chronic anxiety
- Engage and collaborate with parents and communities to improve local schools
- Uplift the voices and expertise of teachers, 300,000 of whom left the profession between 2020-2022
For educational leaders in communities of all shapes and sizes, Extraordinary Learning for All: How Communities Design Schools Where Everyone Thrives is your blueprint to break free from the traditional model of schooling and build a better future for all.
Reimagine the future of schooling through community-based design
Extraordinary Learning for All lays out a powerful approach to transform education through community-based design. Written by the co-founders and chief learning officer of Transcend, a leading nonprofit in school innovation, this book imparts proven tools and hard-won lessons that inspire school systems to pursue their own journeys. The methods come to life through vivid stories of the design journeys that four school communities-from urban to rural-have undertaken to create extraordinary learning for all young people.
"I have witnessed firsthand the powerful impact of Transcend's work?. I am thrilled that their approach is now captured in this book. It's essential reading for leaders at every level of the system who care about ensuring that ALL young people thrive in the 21st century."
-SUSANA CÓRDOVA, Colorado Commissioner of Education
"Transcend has played a pivotal role for years as a key partner in our journey, and I'm thrilled that this book will enable far more communities to benefit from Transcend's insights and actionable tools. If you are a leader looking to put your learners first, this book is for you."
-TOM ROONEY, Superintendent, Lindsay Unified School District
"This book breaks through clichés and misconceptions about what it takes to create a meaningful learning environment ? the authors provide a smart mix of science- and professional-based practices we must consider to truly place a premium on supporting principals, teachers, students, and families."
-GERARD ROBINSON, Former Secretary of Education in Virginia and Florida Education Commissioner
Transcend supports communities to design extraordinary, 21st century learning environments where all young people thrive. Since 2015, Transcend has supported the journeys of hundreds of districts and schools-from district, to charter, to independent-throughout the United States. Tens of thousands more leaders and educators worldwide make use of Transcend's tools and network, reaching millions of students every year. Visit www.TranscendEducation.org for more information.
