2025 Inquiry in Action Forum: Cultivating Hope, Building the Schools Kids Need
Since our founding, Lead by Learning has held this belief: If we want to transform schools to be more efficacious and equity-driven, we need to invest in the educators who work with students daily.
On October 24, 2025, educators gathered at Northeastern University, Oakland campus for our 2025 Inquiry in Action Forum, Cultivating Hope: Building the Schools Kids Need. This year’s event brought together a diverse community of practitioners, leaders, and innovators committed to transforming education through inquiry-based approaches. The event featured 12 flash talks from partners in the field on three topics:
- Partnership in Action: The Power of Youth Voice
- Designing for Equity: Structure that Sustain Change
- Hope in Practice: Retaining Strong, Fulfilled Educators and Leaders
While the theme of the evening was hope, Lead by Learning Executive Director Jennifer Ahn, reminded us about the importance of not “blind hope” but “eyes-open hope.” She kicked off the night by asking, “How does one stay hopeful? And by hopeful, we’re not talking about blind hope. We’re talking about eyes-open hope. Hope that sees the uncertainties that exist, and still believes that change is possible. Hope that compels us to act, even when it is challenging to do so.” The evening’s guiding questions, designed to help us all lean into “eyes-open hope” asked:
- What does a hopeful school look and feel like for students from marginalized communities?
- How do we cultivate hope while working within systems that often feel resistant to change?
- In what ways can we center student identity, voice, and agency in building the schools students deserve?
- How can hope be a form of resistance and a driver of educational justice?
The mic was then passed to our keynote speaker, Rubén Aurelio, Superintendent of Vallejo City Unified School District. Aurelio has transformed schools through his commitment to centering students and building community partnerships. Grounded in his steadfast belief that “our kids deserve better.” Aurelio shared how in Vallejo City Unified School District, through deep listening and partnering with students, hope has become a plan and a strategy to do better.
Infused with hope, the room came to life as 12 flash talk presentations, by 19 educators began. Talks featured a range of speakers from classroom educators to teacher leaders to school principals, district leaders, and Expanded Learning leaders representing eight Bay Area districts. While their roles and contexts are unique, each presenter improved their students’ learning experiences by asking a question about their work. We invite you to watch five featured flash talks.
As the flash talks came to a close, the room took time to think alone and think together and answer the prompt “Hope grows when…” to build our collective vision for the future.
To close, Lead by Learning awarded the Anna Richert Legacy Award in Education Leadership to the Oakland Unified School District Expanded Learning Team. The award honors leaders who empower their colleagues to consistently examine how their teaching and leadership affect student learning and make daily adjustments to address students’ immediate needs. A Lead by Learning partner since 2017, the OUSD Expanded Learning Team has continuously adapted to meet the needs of over 33,000 students district-wide by centering curiosity, hope, and joy.
We look forward to our 2026 Inquiry in Action Forum and are thankful to all our partners and sponsors for their support, including the Skyline Foundation, Sown to Grow, Bay Area Teacher Training Institute, Northeastern University, and Rainbow Grocers, as well as countless individual donors.
Thank you to all our presenters:
Allegra Mitchell, Newcomer Middle School science teacher, Oakland Unified School District
John Henry Evans, School Librarian, West Contra Costa Unified School District
Ginny Geoghegan, Art Teacher and Teacher on Special Assignment, Shoreline Unified School District
Jared Crayton-Thomas, Physical Education Teacher, Oakland Unified School District
Brenda Garcia, Expanded Learning Site Coordinator, and Joey Sutherland, Expanded Learning Assistant Manager, Vallejo City Unified School District
Laurie Benway, Teacher Leader, Anh Reyes, Teacher Leader, and Paulette Smith, Principal, San Leandro Unified School District.
Jeannette McNeil, Principal, and Virginia Quock, Transitional Kindergarten Teacher and Former Principal, San Leandro Unified School District
Deja Escalera, Teacher Leader, and Ashley Thomsak, Teacher Leader, San Lorenzo Unified School District
Jacob Gran, Principal, and Kelly Lara, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, Tamalpais Union High School District
Robert Hand, Expanded Learning Program Manager, and Priscilla Parchia, Expanded Learning Program Manager, Summer Learning, Oakland Unified School District
Abel Guzman, English Language Specialist, Oakland Unified School District
Kirstin Snyder, Principal, Alameda Unified School District
Photos by Eddie Baragan
