SIX-SESSION IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE FOR
DISTRICT LEADERS
Bring Your Portrait of a Learner to Life
California’s Portrait of a Learner defines the competencies students need to thrive in the future. Human-Centered Leadership (HCL) empowers district and site leaders to transform that vision into meaningful action—creating thriving classrooms, empowering educators, and building coherent systems that support success for every learner.
BOLD LEADERSHIP. REAL CHALLENGES. HUMAN-CENTERED SOLUTIONS.
THE FUTURE OF LEARNING IS HUMAN
LEADERSHIP BUILDS THE SYSTEM THAT MAKES A PORTRAIT OF A LEARNER POSSIBLE
California's Portrait of a Learner defines the human skills students need to thrive in an AI-powered world:
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Be a person of character
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Create
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Collaborate
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Communicate
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Be a community contribution
How do we create the conditions for people and the ideas they bring to flourish?
You walk away equipped to turn your Portrait of a Learner into a living framework for how your district leads, learns, and makes decisions.
WHO SHOULD JOIN?
THERE'S A PLACE FOR YOU IN THE COHORT IF YOU ARE...
A DISTRICT VISIONARY
Superintendents, Cabinet Members, and District Leaders
You’re responsible for seeing the big picture and moving your district’s most important priorities forward.
You’re ready to rethink how your organization can build the human skills needed to flourish in an AI-driven future.
A SCHOOL-BASED CHANGEMAKER
School-Site and District Administrators
You’re close to the day-to-day experiences of students, educators, and families.
You want practical tools to turn big ideas into meaningful change that works where it matters most.
A COLLABORATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVER
District Coaches, TOSA, and Teacher Leaders
You know the best solutions come from bringing different perspectives together.
You’re ready to tackle a real district challenge, learn alongside other education leaders, and turn ideas into action.
Bring your team.
Cohorts of 3–4 participants per district are encouraged so you can bring different perspectives, work together on a real district priority, and carry your learning back to your school community.
What participants walk away with:
HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN THINKING
A ROAD MAP FOR PORTRAIT OF A LEARNER
AI WORK FLOWS FOR IMMEDIATE APPLICATION
Solve a real district challenge
Design thinking learning systems
Leverage AI for strategic leadership
THE PASSION PROJECT
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Bring a real district challenge.
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Your team will use that challenge as the focus of your learning throughout the six experiences.
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Apply Human-Centered Design Thinking, AI, and the collective expertise of the cohort to:
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Understand the challenge
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Explore and test new ideas
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Develop a solution designed for your district
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Build a roadmap for meaningful action
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No hypothetical case studies. No projects created just for the program. You’re advancing work that already matters.
The passion project: YOUR CHALLENGE. YOUR TEAM. REAL CHANGE.
TEMPLE CITY
Designed a districtwide plan to bring AI into classrooms in a way that strengthens critical thinking rather than replaces it, built on empathy interviews with students and teachers, and rolled out through small, practical training sessions.
MANHATTAN BEACH
Built a clear, human AI policy with staff, students, and families at the table, replacing fear and blanket bans with guidance people actually use.
WALNUT VALLEY
Took on joy and emotional security across TK through 12, grounded in students' own words, and moved toward a consistent approach to wellness and phone use.
SAN GABRIEL
Designed a new dual-pathway elementary school built around project-based learning and tied directly to the district's Portrait of a Graduate.
PROGRAM AT A GLANCE
6 IMMERSIVE SESSIONS
Six full-day experiences across the year.
Come as a district team of 4–6 and stay together throughout the journey—building leadership capacity while advancing a real district priority from idea to impact.
$600 PER PERSON
One investment. A year of learning.
$600 per participant for the complete six-session series. District teams of 4–6 are encouraged.
THE HCL EXPERIENCE
Every session is designed for learning and doing.
Connect with leaders. Explore a human-centered leadership move.
Learn from an innovative organization. Then put it into practice through guided work on your Passion Project with AI as a thinking partner throughout.
INNOVATIVE HOSTS
Get outside the system to rethink the system.
HCL takes learning into innovative spaces where participants experience new approaches to culture, creativity, technology, and human potential.
Past hosts include Google, Amazon, LG, Extron, and the ASU California Center for Creativity.
Roberto Pineda, Rosemead School District
"The process is just as important, if not more important, than the product."
Lourdes Flores, Temple City Unified
"I have always doubted AI, but now I see it as an asset."
Patti McCullum, Manhattan Beach Unified
"The design thinking process, and networking with other districts."