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Welcome Deeper Learners!

This digital program is for all things DL2026! Session selection is LIVEOnly registered attendees will be able to select sessions starting March 3rd. Click this link to REGISTER.

You will need to select one Workshop Round 1 or Den Talk [for Day 1], one Deep Dive session [for Day 2], and one Workshop Round 2 or Den Talk [for Day 3]. These sessions have capacity limits and will fill up.

For an overview of the event and session types, campus map and frequently asked questions, check out the event info page here.

We can’t wait to see you!

Subject: Facilitating Adult Learning clear filter
Monday, March 30
 

4:30pm PDT

Ground Control to Major Tom: Modern Leadership
Monday March 30, 2026 4:30pm - 6:00pm PDT
In today’s world, what you plan for now may be upended by new forces tomorrow. Educational policies shift quickly, AI is transforming how learning happens, and geopolitical and environmental pressures are adding new layers of complexity. Your school community looks to you to lead through uncertainty with clarity and confidence.
In this interactive workshop, you will have dedicated time, tools, and opportunities for peer collaboration to help you navigate competing challenges with agility and purpose. Through case studies, real-time scenarios, and focused problem-solving conversations, you’ll explore practical frameworks for making high-stakes decisions, communicating clearly with your community, and keeping your school aligned with its mission—even when the road ahead is uncertain.
This highly relevant, active session designed to help future-ready leaders build resilient, responsive, and mission-driven schools in an era of uncertainty.

Note: This DL session also invites attendees from the National Summit on Improvement in Education to participate. Summit is a gathering and rallying point for a vibrant and diverse community of improvers who are working to create educational systems where all young people learn and thrive. In 2026, we're bringing together the powerful Deeper Learning and Improvement communities through select crossover sessions, culminating in a joint closing keynote. You are invited to dive deeper and make new connections at DL26. Check out our Summit and DL26 comparison to learn more.
Speakers
avatar for Leigh Fitzgerald

Leigh Fitzgerald

Chief Education Officer, Learnlife
Monday March 30, 2026 4:30pm - 6:00pm PDT
High Tech High 148

4:30pm PDT

Human Schools for Inhuman Times
Monday March 30, 2026 4:30pm - 6:00pm PDT
What does it mean to meet the human needs of students and educators? What choices can we make—as leaders, teachers, and people—to create deeper learning environments that meet this moment in history with respect for the humanity and intellect of our communities? In 2024, Libby Woodfin and Jal Mehta embarked on a research project to discover, describe, and share the qualities of human schools. Through stories and examples from schools across the U.S. involved in this research, participants will explore the impact that more (or less) human choices have on the experiences of students and adults in schools. Participants will leave with an understanding of the 10 Principles of Human Schools and practical steps they can take to bring these principles to life in their own settings. Note: Jal Mehta will attend and contribute to the session but is not a presenter.
Speakers
avatar for Libby Woodfin

Libby Woodfin

Director of Knowledge Exchange, Deeper Learning Institute
Monday March 30, 2026 4:30pm - 6:00pm PDT
High Tech High 158
 
Tuesday, March 31
 

9:30am PDT

Are Your Structures Sabotaging Your Mission?
Tuesday March 31, 2026 9:30am - 2:45pm PDT
What inherited structures does your school have in place? Are they serving the vision of your school or district?  Are your various structures competing with one another? “Form should follow function” is a valuable adage that can be taken one step further so that your forms are transformed to shape their functions in effective and positive ways. In this Deep Dive, you’ll assess your current structures to determine the ones that are serving you and the ones that you are serving. You’ll learn from examples of how schools and districts all over the world changed structures including master schedules, assessments, grading, lesson planning templates, staff meetings, and more, to transform their schools. You will leave with a plan for a structural change that you can implement at your own site.

Lunch is included in the deep dive.
LUNCH MENU
Greek Salad (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Cannelini Bean & Pasta Salad (Vegan)
Lemon Basmati Rice (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Mediterranean Spiced Chicken (Gluten-Free)
Tahini Dressing
Falafel (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Roasted Vegetables   Lemon Bars & Baklava
Speakers
AP

Aziza Purser

student, Asia Pacific International School
avatar for Laura Flaxman

Laura Flaxman

Author, Educator, Consultant, Asia Pacific International School



Tuesday March 31, 2026 9:30am - 2:45pm PDT
High Tech Middle 102

9:30am PDT

Experience as Text
Tuesday March 31, 2026 9:30am - 2:45pm PDT
Come learn about standards aligned, data driven teaching and learning through the experience of making chocolate. In this Deep Dive, participants will have the chance to make chocolate in a couple of different ways while learning about the history of this extraordinary food. Throughout the experience, participants will have time to understand the importance of real experience toward Deeper Learning in the classroom. We will unpack the experience for connections to all of the traditional content buckets, and use that understanding to inform the work we will do back home after the conference.

Lunch is included in each deep dive.
LUNCH MENU
Greek Salad (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Cannelini Bean & Pasta Salad (Vegan)
Lemon Basmati Rice (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Mediterranean Spiced Chicken (Gluten-Free)
Tahini Dressing
Falafel (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Roasted Vegetables   Lemon Bars & Baklava
Speakers
avatar for Brian Delgado

Brian Delgado

Community Based Learning Coach, Blue Dot Education; Center for Love & Justice
Social & Environmental Justice
Equity in Education
PBL
Learn by doing

avatar for Andrew Lerario

Andrew Lerario

Co-Founder + Designer, Blue Dot Education
How many ways do you know how to cook a hot dog? I bet you could think of a bunch. A room full of people could probably think of over a hundred ways to cook a hot dog, and it would be an exciting conversation.

But, what if I told you there was only 1 way to properly cook a hot dog... Read More →
avatar for Mike Strong

Mike Strong

Executive Leadership Team/HTHGSE Faculty, Blue Dot Education; High Tech High Graduate School of Education
Tuesday March 31, 2026 9:30am - 2:45pm PDT
High Tech High 141

9:30am PDT

Leading PBL Through Workforce Transformation
Tuesday March 31, 2026 9:30am - 2:45pm PDT
School and district leaders today are navigating constant change—staff turnover, shifting roles, and a multigenerational workforce. Sustaining high-quality Project Based Learning requires systems that support the work regardless of who comes and goes.  This session is for leaders who want to build durable PBL systems that create stability in changing environments. Participants will explore strategies for building shared vision, designing effective onboarding and just-in-time supports, and leveraging the strengths of the adults in their system. Participants will leave with concrete action steps and greater confidence to lead PBL through change.

Lunch is included in each deep dive.
LUNCH MENU
Greek Salad (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Cannelini Bean & Pasta Salad (Vegan)
Lemon Basmati Rice (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Mediterranean Spiced Chicken (Gluten-Free)
Tahini Dressing
Falafel (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Roasted Vegetables   Lemon Bars & Baklava


Speakers
avatar for James Campbell

James Campbell

Director of District & School Leadership, PBLWorks

TT

Taya Tselolikhina

Sr. Director of District Sales & Partnerships, PBLWorks

TT

Taya Tselolikhina

Director of District & School Leadership, PBLWorks

Tuesday March 31, 2026 9:30am - 2:45pm PDT
High Tech Middle 117

9:30am PDT

Let's Design Tomorrow’s Schools: AI, Equity, and Collaboration
Tuesday March 31, 2026 9:30am - 2:45pm PDT
This full-day session invites educators and school leaders to collaboratively reimagine what equitable and future-ready schools can be in an age shaped by AI. Through dialogue and collaboration, we will disuss the possibilities and tensions of AI in education. We will also design individual action plans to bring back to your schools to make equitable use of AI in your schools. This session is ideal for teacher leaders, instructional coaches, and school or district leaders who are thinking strategically about how to engage teams and communities in shaping responsible and human-centered uses of AI.

Lunch is included in each deep dive.
LUNCH MENU
Greek Salad (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Cannelini Bean & Pasta Salad (Vegan)
Lemon Basmati Rice (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Mediterranean Spiced Chicken (Gluten-Free)
Tahini Dressing
Falafel (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Roasted Vegetables   Lemon Bars & Baklava



Speakers
AC

Alejandro Contreras

Head of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Colegio Los Nogales
Tuesday March 31, 2026 9:30am - 2:45pm PDT
High Tech Middle 106

9:30am PDT

Negotiation for Education Leaders
Tuesday March 31, 2026 9:30am - 2:45pm PDT
Negotiation is the process through which people come together to make sense of problems and build sustainable solutions. In that sense, we as educators are negotiating all day, every day. We are negotiating with students, colleagues, caregivers, community members, and political leaders. Some of our negotiations are formal - such as a contract negotiation. But most of our negotiations are informal, such as when we deliberate on how to address a pressing challenge or resolve a conflict within our school or community. In this session, we will explore foundational negotiation principles and strategies through experiential learning, giving us the opportunity to experience the Deeper Learning competencies firsthand. In doing so, we’ll pursue two main goals: 1) learn more about the theory and practice of negotiation, and 2) explore how to design and facilitate high-impact experiential learning experiences that are rich in the Deeper Learning competencies.

Lunch is included in each deep dive.
LUNCH MENU
Greek Salad (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Cannelini Bean & Pasta Salad (Vegan)
Lemon Basmati Rice (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Mediterranean Spiced Chicken (Gluten-Free)
Tahini Dressing
Falafel (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Roasted Vegetables   Lemon Bars & Baklava
Speakers
avatar for Zachary Herrmann

Zachary Herrmann

Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
Dr. Zachary Herrmann designs, leads, and researches interdisciplinary teams committed to tackling some of the world’s toughest challenges, including climate change, complex negotiations, and collaborative problem-solving across disciplinary, political, and geographical boundaries... Read More →
Tuesday March 31, 2026 9:30am - 2:45pm PDT
High Tech High 158

9:30am PDT

Play More Attention: The Magic of Crafting Engaging Experiences
Tuesday March 31, 2026 9:30am - 2:45pm PDT
When given the gift of someone's attention, what do you choose to do with it? Join Magician Sky King (www.SkyKingMagic.com) and educator Carolene King for a deep dive on attention where you will craft the scripting for and confidently perform a magic illusion for an audience by the end of your experience. Learn about a framework on crafting engaging experiences and put it into practice through this magic show experience. Reflect on how you will apply this framework in your work, whether you are teaching leadership skills to your staff, or science principles to middle schoolers, or creative writing to high schoolers. Use the magic of crafting engaging experiences to playfully engage your participants' attention to effectively deliver your content.

Lunch is included in each deep dive.
LUNCH MENU
Greek Salad (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Cannelini Bean & Pasta Salad (Vegan)
Lemon Basmati Rice (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Mediterranean Spiced Chicken (Gluten-Free)
Tahini Dressing
Falafel (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Roasted Vegetables   Lemon Bars & Baklava
Speakers
avatar for Carolene King

Carolene King

Group Learning Lead & CORE Coach, Los Angeles Education Partnership
SK

Skyler King

Close Up Magician, Sky King Magic


Tuesday March 31, 2026 9:30am - 2:45pm PDT
High Tech High 117
 
Wednesday, April 1
 

10:00am PDT

Becoming a DL Teacher: Feedback That Matters
Wednesday April 1, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am PDT
What does it mean to be a deeper learning teacher—and how can we support each other in that journey? Participants will use our Deeper Learning Teaching & Classroom Framework—anchored in the domains of Conditions, Connection, and Pedagogy, along with the Growth Arcs (Sprouting → Rooted → Thriving)—to practice giving and receiving feedback that deepens practice rather than merely checking boxes.
Participants will analyze what deeper learning looks like across contexts and practice structured protocols for feedback. Whether newer to deeper learning or more advanced, participants will have differentiated entry points to explore and calibrate.
Takeaways include:
A set of feedback stems aligned to the framework.
An adaptable observation lens using Growth Arcs.
A feedback protocol to apply in their own school.

Our Framework draws on research and practitioners including Hammond, Immordino-Yang, Bransford, Hewlett Foundation, Ritchart, Berger, McTigue/Wiggins.
Speakers
avatar for Kaile Berlenbach

Kaile Berlenbach

Program Manager, Kupu Hou Academy @ Mid-Pacific Institute
avatar for Mark Hines

Mark Hines

Director, Kupu Hou Academy @ Mid-Pacific Institute
On the professional side, topics around school change and transformation, math, science, and STEM education on authentic work and modeling, and building communities of practice are sure fire ways to get me started talking! On the personal side I have a love of space science and astronomy... Read More →
Wednesday April 1, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am PDT
High Tech High 158

10:00am PDT

Beyond the One-and-Done: Adult Learning for Impact
Wednesday April 1, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am PDT
This is for leaders who want to design adult learning experiences that are authentic and rigorous. Just as we strive to design student learning that is engaging and purposeful, we must approach adult learning with the same intentionality - ensuring it is active, relevant, and connected to real-world practice. Professional learning shouldn’t be a one-time event. It should be a strategic process that fosters growth. In this workshop, leaders will explore how to meet the diverse needs of adults in their organizations. Through the study of an exemplar, participants will design a cohesive arc of learning that drives long-term impact. Leaders will then zoom in to a single day of adult learning grounded in cognitive neuroscience. With planning time, peer collaboration, reflection, and practical tools, participants will leave with a plan for structuring adult learning experiences that move beyond the one-and-done model and fosters deep, sustained growth.

Note: This DL session also invites attendees from the National Summit on Improvement in Education to participate. Summit is a gathering and rallying point for a vibrant and diverse community of improvers who are working to create educational systems where all young people learn and thrive. In 2026, we're bringing together the powerful Deeper Learning and Improvement communities through select crossover sessions, culminating in a joint closing keynote. You are invited to dive deeper and make new connections at DL26. Check out our Summit and DL26 comparison to learn more.
Speakers
avatar for Christina Aries

Christina Aries

Director of Adult Development, Citizens of the World Charter Schools
Christina is the director of adult development at Citizens of the World Schools. Previously, Christina served as a middle school leader at Citizens of the World Silver Lake where she focused on equitable outcomes for all students through the implementation of constructivist learning... Read More →
Wednesday April 1, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am PDT
High Tech High 150

10:00am PDT

Building Student Centered Culture by Developing Teacher Leaders
Wednesday April 1, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am PDT
Moving beyond the rhetoric of "student-centered learning," this interactive workshop provides participants with concrete strategies and frameworks for building sustainable teacher leadership systems that genuinely transform classroom instruction. Through a combination of collaborative reflection, authentic teacher testimonials, School District of South Milwaukee Principal led practical planning sessions, and expert consultation from Brian Delgado of Blue Dot Education, attendees will leave with actionable steps to create learning environments where students consistently engage in problem-solving, collaboration, and communication while mastering both academic and social-emotional learning competencies.

Note: This DL session also invites attendees from the National Summit on Improvement in Education to participate. Summit is a gathering and rallying point for a vibrant and diverse community of improvers who are working to create educational systems where all young people learn and thrive. In 2026, we're bringing together the powerful Deeper Learning and Improvement communities through select crossover sessions, culminating in a joint closing keynote. You are invited to dive deeper and make new connections at DL26. Check out our Summit and DL26 comparison to learn more.
Speakers
avatar for Brian Delgado

Brian Delgado

Community Based Learning Coach, Blue Dot Education; Center for Love & Justice
Social & Environmental Justice
Equity in Education
PBL
Learn by doing

avatar for Deidre Roemer

Deidre Roemer

Superintendent, School District of South Milwaukee
Deidre Roemer is the Superintendent for the School District of South Milwaukee.   Prior to that role she served as the Assistant Superintendent, Director of Leadership and Learning, Coordinator of Special Education, instructional coach, and  classroom teacher.  Her philosophy of... Read More →
avatar for Julie Weber

Julie Weber

Reading Specialist / Coach, School District of South Milwaukee
avatar for Lee Waechter

Lee Waechter

Principal, School District of South Milwaukee
Wednesday April 1, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am PDT
High Tech High 148

10:00am PDT

Design for Deeper Learning with the AI Kaleidoscope
Wednesday April 1, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am PDT
High Tech High GSE’s Kaleidoscope framework supports educators in designing transformative learning experiences. However, designing for and with learners takes a lot of time and creative energy. This workshop introduces collaborative protocols for community-oriented projects and strategies for using the AI-companion to High Tech High’s Kaleidoscope Framework as a resource for lifting some of the cognitive weight of design.
Speakers
avatar for Rosemarie Biocarles-Rydeen

Rosemarie Biocarles-Rydeen

Professional Learning Designer, High Tech High Graduate School of Education
Wednesday April 1, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am PDT
High Tech High 107
 

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