Creating the conditions, capacity, and collective will to build the schools students need
For over 20 years, Lead by Learning has partnered with educators and leaders across the Bay Area and nation to drive student-centered, inquiry-driven school improvement.
20+
Years of Impact
4,000+
Educators Supported
1.874M+
Students Impacted
200+
Partner Systems
Educators as Learners. Educators as Leaders.
Our approach recognizes that educators are leaders of learning and leaders themselves. Teachers, principals, district teams, and Expanded Learning departments achieve more when they work with a learning mindset. When these leaders are respected and supported as scholars, learners, and agents of real change, the result is innovation and improvement.
We put learning at the heart of teaching and leading so educators can continuously deliver on the promise of a quality education for all students. By serving as trusted advisors, we help partners design vibrant learning cultures so they evolve as leaders of systemic improvement—giving all students opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive.
"What we pay attention to grows."
— adrienne maree brown
Nurturing Root Systems to Grow Thriving Shoots
Theory of Change
Too often, schools set goals for student outcomes—the shoot system—without nurturing their root system: the collective, collaborative energy of the adults who support students daily. When root systems are healthy, educators sustain school communities by continuously scanning the health of their students, creatively utilizing resources, and working together to problem-solve. When they experience instability, educators burn out, instruction suffers, and students' opportunity to grow is restricted.
Lead by Learning vigilantly attends to these root systems—building the conditions, capacity, and collective will that enable educators to collaboratively attend to students and families, unearth problems of practice, distribute instructional leadership, and adapt instruction for equitable growth and improved student outcomes.
How We Build Adaptive Expertise
Core Practices
Our model is grounded in the spiral of inquiry (Kaser & Halbert, 2017)—a nonlinear, overlapping framework that emphasizes continuous professional investigation. Unlike models like Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA), the spiral explicitly elevates scanning: a deep examination of students' lived learning experiences that sparks curiosity, commitment, and care.
Through field testing, Lead by Learning observed that the quality of educators' conversations determines the depth and impact of their inquiry. In response, we developed anchor practices that counter what founding faculty member Anna Richert calls the "myth of certainty"—the assumption that school improvement is primarily a problem of knowing rather than learning.
From Compliance to Curiosity
The Inquiry Journey
Our partnerships support educators and leaders to move together through five stages of professional learning, accelerating progress toward their goals for students.
1
Align Around Shared Goals
2
Develop Shared Data Practices
3
Articulate Indicators of Success
4
Adapt Practice & Understand Impact
5
Synthesize & Leverage Learnings
This journey integrates inquiry into the fabric of schools and systems—rather than stacking on top of existing priorities—through strategic visioning, knowledge management, and ongoing alignment that keeps goals alive and actionable.
