Leading with Symmetry: How to Transform Systems, Empower Educators, and Reimagine Schools

By Libby Woodfin, Alisa Berger, Jal Mehta

A transformative roadmap for moving away from rigid, bureaucratic hierarchies toward relational, equity-minded systems

How can we engage students in meaningful learning experiences? In Leading with Symmetry, Jal Mehta, Alisa Berger, and Libby Woodfin tackle this question by presenting a novel vision for human-centered school design, grounded in principles of deeper learning, equity, and collaboration.

In many schools today, we can find pockets of deeper learning--a classroom or, occasionally, a school where teachers reliably provide inspiring and rigorous learning--but rarely do such deeper learning efforts translate to entire school systems. Low level cognitive tasks, teaching to the test, and passive learning remain far too common across school systems, resulting in low student engagement and low teacher morale. To turn the tide, this book argues that we must implement strategies that are humanistic and democratic. Drawing upon years of work with the Deeper Learning Dozen--a collaborative of school districts across the US and Canada where deeper learning is embedded in all aspects of schooling structures and culture--the authors offer a novel framework centered around symmetry. For students to engage in creative, meaningful learning, we must offer symmetrical opportunities for teachers to explore and create; for leaders to model collaboration and caring, we must create systems that foster open commutation and relational organization. Featuring vivid examples of successes and challenges from the Deeper Learning Dozen and beyond, the book presents actionable tools and resources for long-term, sustainable change.

Leading with Symmetry is an essential go-to resource for district and school leaders, educational policymakers, professors, and researchers committed to a vision of schooling where everyone--students, educators, and community members--can thrive.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HK6XL6V3
• ISBN13: 9798895571637
• Release Date: April 2027
• Publisher: Harvard Education Press
• Length: 232 Pages
• Dimensions: 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary