Transformation at the School and District Level

Learning Culture Transformed at OUSD's Life Academy High School

Through their partnership with Mills Teacher Scholars, Oakland Unified's Life Academy teachers gained tools, support, and structure to engage in collaborative inquiry to improve their teaching for long-term English Learners. The teachers learned to see problems in their classrooms as opportunities for research, deepening their understanding of the teaching profession and empowering them to want to stay in the classroom and continue to build their inquiry community.

Teachers Own Their Own Learning at SLZUSD's Colonial Acres Elementary School

With the support of Mills Teacher Scholars, San Lorenzo Unified's Colonial Acres teachers built agency and ownership over their learning. Through regular collaborative conversations with colleagues, they learned to surface the uncertainties that are inherent in teaching in confident, professional ways. Their focus on student data helped them deepen each other's thinking about student learning and implement effective changes to their teaching.

Read More Impact Stories

Our work has an ongoing impact on adult learning culture and student learning outcomes at our partner sites. From boosting teacher retention to supporting students' progress toward learning objectives, collaborative inquiry is helping to bring about transformational change.