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A Center of Mills College at Northeastern University

Blog

The start of the 2024-25 school year is particularly energizing for Lead by Learning because we are now a Center of Mills College at Northeastern University! 

Twenty-five years ago, Lead by Learning began as Mills Teacher Scholars. Born from the commitment and scholarship of Professor Emerita Dr. Anna Richert of the School of Education, Mills Teacher Scholars enabled graduates to convene and continue their inquiry into student learning as in-service educators in Bay Area schools. Starting with a group of 15 teachers, the group met monthly to engage in collaborative inquiry to improve their teaching.

In 2008, inspired to bring this work to more educators in the community, Carrie Wilson, herself a graduate of the Mills College School of Education and later Lead by Learning’s founding Executive Director, partnered with then Creative Director Claire Bove to design what we now know as Lead by Learning. The work began by convening teachers from across various schools at the Mills College campus. Over the next 16 years, Lead by Learning grew into a program that supports teams of teacher leaders, district leaders, and other educators from across school systems to improve their practice in service of equitable outcomes for students.  

Today, as the newest Center of Mills College at Northeastern University, Lead by Learning continues to improve students’ day-to-day experiences in the classroom by building the capacity of those best positioned to improve student learning experiences – the educators and leaders on the ground. Grounded in the tenets of collaborative inquiry, Lead by Learning now partners with over 600 educators including teachers, site leaders, school psychologists, librarians, and district administrators, at over 120 schools across 12 districts, impacting the learning of over 500,000 students.  

As we enter this new chapter as a center, Lead by Learning will continue the legacy of Mills College by delivering community-centered, social justice-oriented services to our partners and leveraging the opportunities within Northeastern’s Global Network. In doing so, we continue to stay dedicated to our mission of cultivating communities of adult learners who work toward educational equity through collaborative inquiry, collective efficacy, and shared action while keeping students at the heart of teaching and leading. 

For our partners on the ground, becoming a center will not change the way we partner or our day-to-day services. This transition is designed to enhance what is possible through our work together.