Envision Learning Partners

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Curious about what performance assessment can look like in action? Join Envision Learning Partners for a free introductory webinar on Thursday, May 22nd from 12pm PT! We’ll share our mission, services, and impact—and you’ll get a firsthand look at how schools across the country are using graduate profile-aligned performance assessments to transform student learning. 🔗 Learn more and register today! eventbrite.com/e/intro-to-elp…

See a Student Defense in Action! Join us Thursday, May 29 in Oakland, CA for our Defense Design Studio — an opportunity to witness a full Portfolio Defense, the powerful capstone of Envision’s performance assessment model. 🗓 May 29 | 10am–3pm 📍 Envision Academy, 1515 Webster St, Oakland 💡 Watch a live student defense + join a debrief with Envision coaches and peers. Ready to be inspired by student voice, purpose, and rigor? Register now and learn how to bring this model to your school! envisionschools.org/defense-design…

Join Envision Learning Partners on May 29th in Oakland at Envision Academy for the upcoming Defense Design Studio (DDS), a unique opportunity to observe real student portfolio defenses and engage with fellow educators designing meaningful performance assessment systems. Learn more: envisionschools.org/defense-design…

#FridayPodcast: CNBC Why Schools Are Going Broke in the US U.S. public schools are facing a major budget crunch as federal pandemic relief money runs out and enrollment numbers continue to drop. Many districts added staff during the Covid era to address urgent needs, but with fewer students and no extra funding, those positions are no longer sustainable. Listen or watch the video above to learn why school systems are being forced to cut staff and what that means for students and communities. youtu.be/496k-GQqSfM?si…

Envision Learning Partners is bringing back the Defense Design Studio! Join us and watch a live student defense, then debrief with our team and other educators on bringing this powerful, proven assessment model to your own school or district. - May 29, 2025, 10am - 3pm - Envision Academy, 1515 Webster St, Oakland, CA Learn more: eventbrite.com/e/defense-desi…

Join us for the April Educators' Exchange! In celebration of Spring as defense season, Justin Wells will be hosting an open event with longtime ELP partner, Buffy Cushman-Patz of SEEQS in Hawaii. Join us for an insightful conversation as we explore the virtues, challenges, and best practices of portfolio defense, and how this powerful process can drive student growth and mastery. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from experienced educators and engage in a thought-provoking discussion! eventbrite.com/e/elp-educator…

#FridayPodcast: Free Range Humans: Challenging Injustice - The Role of Education in Strengthening Democracy Listen and explore how education shapes democratic and civic engagement with guests Julia Bott, Scott Seider, and Aaliyah El-Amin. They discuss the challenges of civic education today, the impact of inequality, and strategies for fostering informed and engaged citizens - all topics covered in their recent book, "Educating for Justice: Schoolwide Strategies to Prepare Students to Recognize, Analyze, and Challenge Inequity." free-range-humans.simplecast.com/episodes/69-bo…

ELP is at the Deeper Learning Conference and we hope to see you there! Learn more about the Envision facilitated sessions: envisionlearning.org/blog/deeper-le…

Every year, 11th grade students at Envision Academy (EA), Envision's Oakland 6-12 grade school, complete a week-long internship as part of their Work-Based Learning experience, known as World of Work ("WoW"). The Envision Learning Partners team recently used this as an opportunity to collaborate on a project that showcased the power of student voice with a group of three EA interns. This experience served as a powerful reminder of the impact student-driven initiatives have on everyone involved. Click the link to learn more, including inspiring quotes from the student interns, a video of the EA culminating internship exhibition, and resources that might spark you to implement this program at your own school or district. envisionlearning.org/blog/resource-…

Portfolio-defense season is here at ELP! As students reflect on their growth and embrace new challenges, we're gearing up for exciting events. Check out what ELP has coming up and hear from longtime partners and students in this edition of our newsletter: conta.cc/4j8e3zv

#FridayPodcast: NPR It's Been a Minute: How "race-neutral" can universities really be? After the Supreme Court's ban on affirmative action, many feared Black and Hispanic students would be shut out of college admissions. However, enrollment data shows that in some cases, their numbers stayed the same or even increased. NPR's Elissa Nadworny and economist Zach Bleemer discuss what this means for college admissions and diversity efforts in a changing landscape. npr.org/2025/03/19/126…

In celebration of Spring as defense season, Justin Wells will be hosting an open event with longtime ELP partner, Buffy Cushman-Patz of SEEQS in Hawaii. Join us for an insightful conversation as we explore the virtues, challenges, and best practices of portfolio defense, and how this powerful process can drive student growth and mastery. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from experienced educators and engage in a thought-provoking discussion! eventbrite.com/e/elp-educator…

#FridayPodcast: Street Data Pod Navigating the “Groan Zone” of Pedagogical Transformation Get to know transformational teacher leaders Marlo Bagsik and Nina Finci in this beautiful conversation and new episode! Shane and Alcine explore with their guests what it means to “choose the margins” of our classrooms as they hear about Marlo and Nina’s development of a districtwide Humanizing instructional framework. Together, they unpack how to create the conditions for belonging as a core domain of Student Agency for students at the margins. streetdata.podbean.com/e/ep-32-with-m…

Recently, ADPs, Roilyn Graves & Soraya Ramos were providing service to Glenvar High School in Roanoke County Public Schools. While there, they were introduced to the amazing student-led organization, the G-Bees! The G-Bees group is doing incredible work by diving into the world of beekeeping. They use the honey from their hives to create awesome products, such as the chapstick and honey stick they handed out! Not only are they gaining hands-on entrepreneurship experience, but they're also raising funds for outdoor education and scholarships! This is what real-world learning and performance assessments look like in action! roanoke.makerfaire.com/maker/entry/71

ELP hopes to see you at the @hthgse Deeper Learning Conference in sunny San Diego this April 2-4, 2025! Learn more about our Den Talk, Deep Dive, and Workshop opportunities! envisionlearning.org/blog/deeper-le…

Last week we shared the DJUSD Partner Profile that brought to light Envision Learning Partners's work with DJUSD through the 2024-25 Scaling Student Success community of practice (CoP), which focuses on the implementation of Graduate Profiles. In this collaboration, ELP is supporting the DJUSD team—Tyler Millsap and Nikole Reina-Guerra—as they work with a group of 6th grade teachers to design high-quality performance assessments aligned with the competencies outlined in the Graduate Profile. In addition to their work on performance assessments- the DJUSD team has created a Bright Spots webpage to highlight the inspiring efforts that are bringing the Graduate Profile to life in the classroom. We encourage you to take a look and let us know if you have anything similar to share! djusd.net/instruction/gr…

#FridayPodcast: Getting Smart Podcast: Aylon Samouha on How Communities Can Design Extraordinary Learning for All Listen as host, Rebecca Midles, sits down with Aylon Samouha, the CEO of Transcend and a visionary in education reform. They delve into the concept of The Third Way, an approach that blends community insights with proven educational practices to create lasting change in schools. Aylon shares his insights from years of experience in the field, discussing the limitations of traditional top-down reforms and the challenges faced by grassroots efforts. Together, they explore the importance of truly listening to students and communities to design learning environments that meet today’s needs. The conversation is a thoughtful journey through the complexities and possibilities of transforming education, emphasizing the power of student-centered learning and community-based design. gettingsmart.com/podcast/aylon-…

Envision Learning Partners (ELP) is delighted to share the current work being done with Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD). Hear from Tyler Millsap, DJUSD Administrator on Special Assignment, about their Graduate Profile Journey. DJUSD landed on a strategy that fits its context as a traditionally decentralized and high achieving district. The approach is to anchor each of the six graduate profile outcomes at strategic grade levels so that when students leave DJUSD they will have had robust experiences with all six during their career. envisionlearning.org/blog/partner-p…

AFL Stories from Oakland: As and Ls: Chapter II Hear from Teresa Marie Sena, a Teacher Effectiveness Coach in Tucson, AZ, about her experience at a student defense and what wonderings she walked away with. assessment4learning.org/post/oakland-a…