Envision Learning Partners supports schools, districts, and state departments of education nationwide to improve student outcomes. Grounded in the success of Envision Schools, we bring over 20 years of experience preparing diverse learners—many first-generation college students—for success in college, career, and life.
Envision Learning Partners supports schools, districts, and state departments of education nationwide to improve student outcomes. Grounded in the success of Envision Schools, we bring over 20 years of experience preparing diverse learners—many first-generation college students—for success in college, career, and life.
By redefining assessment through authentic, performance‑based measures, we unlock deeper learning and drive more equitable outcomes.
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Insights, partner highlights, guest perspectives, and resources to support your work
A newly published case study from the Center for Innovation in Education (C!E), featuring Envision Learning Partners in Appendix C, highlights Allen County, Kentucky’s multi-year effort to redesign assessment and accountability through Inclusive Design. The report, Better Together, shows how the district co-created their graduation competencies called “Profile of A Patriot” and embedded project-based learning and performance assessments to place students’ passions and real-world skills at the center of learning.
Envision Learning Partners has been proud to support Allen County in this work, and we’re excited to share C!E’s new case study. We’ve partnered closely with C!E through the Assessment for Learning Project, working together to advance learner-centered assessment practices nationally.
A reflection on how the Linked Learning Conference renewed momentum for Envision’s college and career pathways, inspiring stronger partnerships and the return of Envision Academy’s job fair.
By Michael Viera, Envision Education’s College and Career Pathways Manager
Several years ago the city of Oakland came together to support college and career programming for high schoolers, by advancing and deepening career pathways in alignment with the Linked Learning Alliance standards and methodology. The Linked Learning Alliance hosts an annual conference where educators share best practices and takeaways from school sites around the state. Oakland schools always show out in big numbers at the conference, but this year it took place in downtown Oakland, so the presence was even greater.
I had been to the conference previously, but this time was different. Being my 3rd year at Envision in this role, I felt like I finally understood what it was all about. I had colleagues from Envision Learning Partners in attendance and collaborating with me. I got to connect with colleagues from other Oakland schools. I knew what to look for and who to listen to in order to improve our programming at Envision Academy and across the Envision network.
The conference was motivating, to say the least. It is a breath of fresh air being in rooms of educators who are excited and realistic about their work in schools, and who understand the skills students need to have success in their futures.
I came back from the conference and immediately organized Envision Academy’s first job fair since COVID. We had twelve community partners visit our campus to share information with students on internship opportunities, after school and summer programs, and community resources. Students seemed excited about these experiences that they can be a part of outside of their regular curriculum.
At the end of the event, two students stayed back and pulled me aside. I thought something bad had happened. Instead, one of them simply said, “Mr. Viera, we just wanted to thank you for putting together this event. It’s really inspiring to see all these opportunities we didn’t know about until now.”
After a couple of weeks of back and forth emails and phone calls with partners, planning meetings with administration, and quite literally running around setting up tables and chairs on the day of the event, those students made it all worth it. When students are able to take their learning outside of school walls and make connections with their community, they feel seen and they thrive.
Hear from Michael and ELP Assessment Design Partner, Josette Neal-De-Stanton on their takeaways from the Linked Learning Conference.
A reflection on how the Linked Learning Conference reinvigorated Envision’s college and career pathways work, leading to strengthened community partnerships and meaningful opportunities for students. Michael Viera shares how renewed insights and collaboration resulted in Envision Academy’s first post-COVID job fair—and the student impact that made it all worth it.
Envision Education is excited to share the culmination of its two-year research project, Pursuing Equity for Black & Latine Students with Learning Differences, which
documents and illustrates the systems, practices, cultures, and supports that are associated with the well being and success of Black and Latine students with learning differences – students with disabilities and multilingual students with disabilities.
In 2023, Envision Learning Partners (ELP) and Social Policy Research Associates (SPR) embarked on a research study to identify and learn from schools that demonstrated positive outcomes for Black and Latine students with learning differences (including students with disabilities and multilingual learners). After a review of data from secondary schools across the country, the study team identified two schools for a more in-depth study, which was conducted during the 2023–2024 school year.
The results of the research are shared through case studies of the two schools that were the focus of the research: 1) Crosstown High: Building a Culture of Inclusion; 2) Capital City: An Inclusive School Community Committed to Whole-Child Learning and Well Being; and 3) An Executive Summary/Synthesis of Findings.
In addition, we have authored four practice briefs based on the findings of the research that provide practical steps that schools can take to create more inclusive environments that support the success of Black and Latine students with learning differences.
This research was made possible through the generous support of New Profit, a venture philanthropic organization, and the Oak Foundation.
Envision Education is excited to share the culmination of its two-year research project, Pursuing Equity for Black & Latine Students with Learning Differences, which documents and illustrates the systems, practices, cultures, and supports that are associated with the well being and success of Black and Latine students with learning differences – students with disabilities and multilingual students with disabilities.
I began working at ELP in January 2018 as the Director of Research and Innovation. Since then, I’ve been working on the nationwide team providing direct service and technical consulting to client partners and creating assessment products, as well as directing ELP’s research projects.
I’m excited to share that in July 2025, I stepped into a new role: Senior Director of Assessment for Envision Education. This role encompasses responsibilities for the whole organization – Envision Schools and Envision Learning Partners. Envision Schools runs four charter schools in the Bay Area (in San Francisco, Oakland, and Hayward). My new responsibilities include overseeing the design and implementation of a comprehensive assessment system for the schools, ensuring the use of rigorous, standards-aligned assessment practices that demonstrate student achievement of core academic skills. At the same time, our system aims to provide regular opportunities for students to demonstrate ambitious learning outcomes aligned to Envision’s graduate profile competencies in real-world-relevant, meaningful, and culturally sustaining contexts. We seek to more systematically integrate authentic and high-quality project-based learning and student-led conferences at all grades 6-12, and portfolios + defenses at grades 8, 10, and 12. We want to develop our schools as models of a balanced and comprehensive assessment system that supports student achievement of both foundational academic skills and ambitious, authentic demonstrations of learning. This new assessment system is described more fully in our new Envision Way documents.
In my new role, I also continue to work with my ELP colleagues, supporting the learning and effectiveness of our national team of Assessment Design Partners, and developing new services aligned to the Envision Way as we seek to meet the evolving needs of both external district partners and our own schools. Our long-term strategy is to strengthen our own schools so they are clear models of the quality assessment systems that we are also seeking to strengthen in partnership with districts. We call this the “flywheel” because of the reciprocal nature of our learning and development work as we pilot new practices, collect data, and evaluate their effectiveness in our schools and in partnership with external districts.
I continue to also be involved in exploring ways for Envision Education to gather evidence of its effectiveness through systematic collection of evidence in our own schools (in partnership with John Ericson, our Director of Data & Assessments), and by initiating research projects to collect evidence of the impact of ELP’s work with districts. I am also continuing to coordinate the research project “Pursuing Equity for Black & Latine Students with Learning Differences”. We wrapped up two years of school case study work in July, and are preparing to launch a two-year professional-development pilot and evaluation phase of the project with a large school district. More news to come!
What do you enjoy most about working for Envision?
It’s definitely always been the people. I truly enjoy working alongside colleagues with a similar commitment to our most marginalized students and who are striving so hard to create supportive, inclusive learning environments that lead to equitable learning outcomes. I am learning so much from my ADP colleagues as well as my Academic Programs Team colleagues. They are all so incisive and brilliant and I have so much to learn from them. I truly feel blessed and lucky to have them as colleagues!
I’m also proud to be working in an organization with a commitment to its pro-Black, anti-racist stance, engaging us all in developing a self-awareness of our individual and collective contributions to our cultural norms, and providing the space to engage in productive struggle to begin changing those norms.
Last, I love that Envision honors hard work while also honoring our need for joy, self-care, and rest! The yoga and art breaks, retreats, sound baths, line dancing, karaoke nights, breaking bread together, and other opportunities to take mind breaks are all helpful reminders that we are whole people who also need laughter, rest, and nourishment to thrive. My family always gets a kick out of hearing about the latest fun things I get to do with my work friends!
I began working at ELP in January 2018 as the Director of Research and Innovation. Since then, I’ve been working on the nationwide team providing direct service and technical consulting to client partners and creating assessment products, as well as directing ELP’s research projects.
Earlier this spring, Assessment Design Partners Roilyn Graves and Soraya Ramos spent time in Roanoke County Public Schools in Virginia, collaborating with district and school leaders to refine and pilot a culminating performance assessment system aligned to the district’s Opportunity-Ready Skills.
During their visit, they had the opportunity to tour Glenvar High School—and were inspired by an incredible student-led initiative: the G-Bees. This club involves students in every aspect of beekeeping, from hive maintenance to harvesting honey, and even crafting a range of products like lip balm, soap, candles, hot honey, and more.
Through this hands-on work, students are not only gaining valuable entrepreneurial experience, but also raising funds for outdoor education and scholarships. It’s a powerful example of student-centered, purpose-driven learning at its best.
The G-Bees program is truly performance assessment in action—students applying their knowledge and skills in meaningful, real-world ways. While online sales aren’t available, we’re excited to share their story as a model of what authentic, engaged learning can look like.
Learn more about the program through this link.
Earlier this spring, Assessment Design Partners Roilyn Graves and Soraya Ramos spent time in Roanoke County Public Schools in Virginia, collaborating with district and school leaders to refine and pilot a culminating performance assessment system aligned to the district’s Opportunity-Ready Skills.
Impact Academy alum, Kina Evans, shares how her time at Impact shaped her path from student to educator and now CEO. Walking the halls of Impact Academy, Kina learned not just academics, but how to find her voice, lead with confidence, and envision a future bigger than herself. After earning her master’s degree and teaching for six years, she founded Bully Talk Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to empowering youth and transforming school culture. In her ELP Guest Blog, Kina reflects on how Impact Academy’s lessons continue to guide her work as a leader, advocate, and change maker.
Walking through the halls of Impact Academy in Hayward, CA was where my journey truly began. As a student, I didn’t just learn academics—I learned how to find my voice, lead with confidence, and envision a future bigger than myself. Those experiences planted the seeds for everything that would come after graduation.
After Impact, I pursued higher education and proudly earned my master’s degree. One of my proudest moments came when I was invited to appear on The Jennifer Hudson Show, where I was able to share my story and the mission behind my work. It was a reminder that the impact of our voices can carry far beyond the classroom.
For six years, I poured my heart into teaching, working directly with students and families every day. Teaching was more than a job—it was a calling, and it gave me the foundation to see where my true purpose was leading me. Eventually, I made the decision to transition into substitute teaching so I could dedicate more of my time and energy to building Bully Talk Inc., the nonprofit I founded to empower
youth, transform school culture, and create safe spaces for students everywhere.
Looking back, I can see just how much Impact Academy changed my life. From the lessons I learned as a teenager to the resilience and drive I carry today, Impact has been a thread running through every step of my journey. It helped shape not just who I was then, but who I am now—a leader, an advocate, and someone committed to making a difference in the lives of others.
Walking through the halls of Impact Academy in Hayward, CA was where my journey truly began. As a student, I didn’t just learn academics—I learned how to find my voice, lead with confidence, and envision a future bigger than myself. Those experiences planted the seeds for everything that would come after graduation.
Happy New Year! As we dip our toes into the sea of 2024 and all that will come with it, we should take advantage of embracing the opportunities that come from the question “What will we do next?”.
As soon as I dipped my toes into this year, I came across an article in Ed Week titled “What 2024 Will Bring for K-12 Policy: 5 Issues to Watch.” To stretch the metaphor one final time, I feared the article would make me want to tear my feet from the water before sharks arrived. (Huge “Jaws” fan here)
Then I came to Issue #5, and the seas calmed.
Sitting at the end of an expansive policy list spanning everything from private school vouchers to AI came five words that sparked immense optimism in me: “Rethinking measures of student success.” The work that we have dedicated ourselves to is one of the country’s top policy priorities this year! Many of us have been advocating for more equitable approaches to assessing students and transforming schools for decades. For the first time in a long time, our national moment may have arrived.
With our work being recognized on a national level, I suggest it is time for us to consider what we will do next at the local level. For example, California districts should consider writing Graduate Profiles and performance assessments into your LCAP plans. If you need support or thought partnership around how to plan and implement this work, Envision Learning Partners stands ready to support you at whatever point you are in your journey.
Welcome to 2024, and we wish you a joyful year of celebrating the achievements of our schools and students!
Happy New Year! As we dip our toes into the sea of 2024 and all that will come with it, we should take advantage of embracing the opportunities that come from the question “What will we do next?”.
Still hot from the forgery, ELP’s Virtual Portfolio Defense Toolkit is hereby released to the world. Click the button below to download the toolkit. Use it and share it widely. We hope that it inspires action, saves you time, and helps you find opportunity within this crisis to put students at the center of their learning.
ELP was galvanized by what we are hearing from our partner schools and districts: Rather than backing off from your performance assessment systems, most of you are leaning into them, understanding that students need this now more than ever. This toolkit is ELP’s first answer to your call for help. It is designed for learning communities at all levels of experience, whether you’ve had kids defending their learning for years or see this as your first opportunity to try.
Prototype Level 2: Virtual Defense of Learning
Prototype Level 3: ‘Live Stream’ Rite of Passage
We are excited to populate this section with all of the amazing things you envision and create. Take inspiration from some of the folks who have been innovating and reimagining how to do their work in the time of COVID-19.
Click the images below for more information on these tools and download them for free!
Now that Defenses have become virtual, what has changed with how you feel about Defenses, and how you are approaching Defenses? What is hard about that change? What is exciting about that change?
In this first in a series of vlogs we are releasing, a high school senior talks about how she is adapting her defense for a virtual space and how she is feeling about it.
Still hot from the forgery, ELP’s Virtual Portfolio Defense Toolkit is hereby released to the world. Click the button below to download the toolkit. Use it
ELP hopes to see you at the Deeper Learning Conference in San Diego this March! Learn more about our Deep Dive and Workshop opportunities!
Click the images below to sign up!
Find the rest of the DL2024 sessions on Sched
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Heading: Learn about Kala Stepter
Paragraph: Kala is an educator, cultural strategist, and systems thinker, always rooting her practice in community. For over a decade, she has developed her pedagogy for teaching liberation, justice, and joy. With a dual masters in multi-subject and special education, Kala invites all learners – kids and adults of all backgrounds and abilities – to learn, be curious, and think critically about the ways we show up for one another. From her start in DC Public Schools as a STEM educator to working in DEIB strategy work in Oakland, Kala guides and supports institutions and its leaders to rebuild more just educational systems and practices. Today, she designs and supports the transformation of science and math instruction at Envision Education, a charter school network in the Bay Area. As their Director of STEM instruction, Kala develops structures to ensure that STEM is accessible and joyous for Black and Brown kids. She is most excited and energized seeing our youth innovate to shape our future, and is proud to contribute in achieving sustainable change.
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Kala is an educator, cultural strategist, and systems thinker, always rooting her practice in community. For over a decade, she has developed her pedagogy for teaching liberation, justice, and joy. With a dual masters in multi-subject and special education, Kala invites all learners – kids and adults of all backgrounds and abilities – to learn, be curious, and think critically about the ways we show up for one another. From her start in DC Public Schools as a STEM educator to working in DEIB strategy work in Oakland, Kala guides and supports institutions and its leaders to rebuild more just educational systems and practices. Today, she designs and supports the transformation of science and math instruction at Envision Education, a charter school network in the Bay Area. As their Director of STEM instruction, Kala develops structures to ensure that STEM is accessible and joyous for Black and Brown kids. She is most excited and energized seeing our youth innovate to shape our future, and is proud to contribute in achieving sustainable change.
Learn about Josette Neal-De-Stanton
Josette is currently an Assessment Design Partner at ELP, Josette has 15 years of experience in education. She has started teaching life science at Elmhurst Community Prep in Oakland, and then spent 6 years teaching, coaching, and leading at ARISE High School in Oakland as well. A highlight, as well as a shift in her career gears came while working at ARISE, as Josette became a Career Technical Education (CTE) Pathway Coordinator and then Coach. With these positions, Josette led the charge to create ARISE’s first Linked Learning Pathway in Public and Community Health. After leaving ARISE, she continued her work in CTE with the West Contra Costa Unified School District, as their District Work Based Learning Liaison. COVID saw Josette transitioning out of the traditional school setting, and needing to feel her work impact a larger audience, which essentially led her to ELP. As a former client of ELP, Josette saw the importance of the work being done, and really wanted to bring her science/CTE background to the organization. Josette is also a part time adjunct professor at Mills College, where she works in the Department of Education, in the teacher credential program as the Math & Science Curriculum and Instruction professor.
Alcine is a dedicated educator who has spent that last 25 years teaching and leading traditional and charter public K-12 schools all over the country. She currently supports and coaches district and school leaders to develop high-quality performance assessment systems that center student-led demonstrations of learning and metacognition. Prior to coaching Alcine taught Humanities at one of the first small schools in the Bronx where project-based learning and portfolio defenses served as the foundation of instruction. Afterward Alcine became a founding principal of Envision Academy in Oakland an administrator in several small middle and high schools in Atlanta and DC and a leadership coach in DC Charlotte & Philadelphia. Alcine earned her BA in English Education from NYU and a Master’s in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education from Stanford University.
Learn about Sabring "Bri" Moore
Bri currently works for Alameda County Office of Education as a Program Director of Systemic Instructional Review supporting and monitoring the SIR Report for Oakland Unified School District. Sabrina is an Oakland native, and has served as Principal/Instructional Leader for TK-5 in the Oakland Unified School District and is a former teacher. She has a strong desire to lead high-impact initiatives benefiting youth across Oakland, starting in the Sobrante Park community. Her mission is to transform outcomes one neighborhood at a time. She blazed a trail by founding and leading 3Ls Academy. As Executive Director for The 3Ls Academy, she blazed a trail, designing program solutions that focus on technical, relational, social and cultural aspects of complex change efforts focused on educational equity.
Roilyn is a trailblazing advocate for inclusive education and has been in this work for the last 20 years. With an unwavering commitment to equality and empowerment, she has dedicated the past two decades to transforming the educational landscape for marginalized students. Roilyn began her career as a special education teacher for the School District of Philadelphia. After teaching for 10 years, Roilyn transitioned into special education administration and served in schools on the east and west coast in similar capacities. Currently Roilyn works as an Assessment Design Partner and is a course lecturer in the graduate school of education at Stanford University. In her spare time she enjoys cuddles with her dog Sully, chatting with her nieces and nephew, and karaoke (mostly at home).
Learn about Soraya Ramos
Soraya joined the ELP team as an Assessment Design Partner in 2021. With nearly a decade of experience in education, Soraya has worked to promote and support anti-racist teaching and learning practices through her roles as a teacher and as an assessment designer. Before joining Envision, Soraya served as a Senior Associate at the Center for Collaborative Education (CCE). There she worked in partnership with schools and districts in New England and nationally to design high quality assessments systems that promote equity and engagement. In addition to professional learning and coaching, she led a consortium of districts in Massachusetts in their pursuit of designing an alternative assessment and accountability system. Soraya believes that lasting assessment systems need to be in alignment with a community’s vision and coherent to a district and school’s priorities. Soraya holds an Ed.M. in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in Chicana/o Studies and Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles.
ELP hopes to see you at the Deeper Learning Conference in San Diego this March! Learn more about our Deep Dive and Workshop opportunities!
ELP hopes to see you at the Deeper Learning Conference in San Diego this March! Learn more about our Deep Dive and Workshop opportunities!
Click the images below to sign up!
Find the rest of the DL2024 sessions on Sched
[[accordion]]
Heading: Learn about Kala Stepter
Paragraph: Kala is an educator, cultural strategist, and systems thinker, always rooting her practice in community. For over a decade, she has developed her pedagogy for teaching liberation, justice, and joy. With a dual masters in multi-subject and special education, Kala invites all learners – kids and adults of all backgrounds and abilities – to learn, be curious, and think critically about the ways we show up for one another. From her start in DC Public Schools as a STEM educator to working in DEIB strategy work in Oakland, Kala guides and supports institutions and its leaders to rebuild more just educational systems and practices. Today, she designs and supports the transformation of science and math instruction at Envision Education, a charter school network in the Bay Area. As their Director of STEM instruction, Kala develops structures to ensure that STEM is accessible and joyous for Black and Brown kids. She is most excited and energized seeing our youth innovate to shape our future, and is proud to contribute in achieving sustainable change.
[[/accordion]]
[[accordion]]
Heading: Learn about Josette Neal-De-Stanton
Paragraph: Josette is currently an Assessment Design Partner at ELP, Josette has 15 years of experience in education. She has started teaching life science at Elmhurst Community Prep in Oakland, and then spent 6 years teaching, coaching, and leading at ARISE High School in Oakland as well. A highlight, as well as a shift in her career gears came while working at ARISE, as Josette became a Career Technical Education (CTE) Pathway Coordinator and then Coach. With these positions, Josette led the charge to create ARISE’s first Linked Learning Pathway in Public and Community Health. After leaving ARISE, she continued her work in CTE with the West Contra Costa Unified School District, as their District Work Based Learning Liaison. COVID saw Josette transitioning out of the traditional school setting, and needing to feel her work impact a larger audience, which essentially led her to ELP. As a former client of ELP, Josette saw the importance of the work being done, and really wanted to bring her science/CTE background to the organization. Josette is also a part time adjunct professor at Mills College, where she works in the Department of Education, in the teacher credential program as the Math & Science Curriculum and Instruction professor.
[[/accordion]]
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Heading: Learn about Alcine Mumby
Paragraph: Alcine Mumby is a dedicated educator who has spent that last 25 years teaching and leading traditional and charter public K-12 schools all over the country. She currently supports and coaches district and school leaders to develop high-quality performance assessment systems that center student-led demonstrations of learning and metacognition. Prior to coaching Alcine taught Humanities at one of the first small schools in the Bronx where project-based learning and portfolio defenses served as the foundation of instruction. Afterward Alcine became a founding principal of Envision Academy in Oakland an administrator in several small middle and high schools in Atlanta and DC and a leadership coach in DC Charlotte & Philadelphia. Alcine earned her BA in English Education from NYU and a Master’s in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education from Stanford University. When she’s not listening to podcasts or catching a flight Alcine enjoys working toward earning BAE (Best Auntie Ever) status with adorable niece and five nephews.
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Heading: Learn about Sabring "Bri" Moore
Paragraph: Bri currently works for Alameda County Office of Education as a Program Director of Systemic Instructional Review supporting and monitoring the SIR Report for Oakland Unified School District. Sabrina is an Oakland native, and has served as Principal/Instructional Leader for TK-5 in the Oakland Unified School District and is a former teacher. She has a strong desire to lead high-impact initiatives benefiting youth across Oakland, starting in the Sobrante Park community. Her mission is to transform outcomes one neighborhood at a time. She blazed a trail by founding and leading 3Ls Academy. As Executive Director for The 3Ls Academy, she blazed a trail, designing program solutions that focus on technical, relational, social and cultural aspects of complex change efforts focused on educational equity.
[[/accordion]]
[[accordion]]
Heading: Learn about Roilyn Graves
Paragraph: Roilyn is a trailblazing advocate for inclusive education and has been in this work for the last 20 years. With an unwavering commitment to equality and empowerment, she has dedicated the past two decades to transforming the educational landscape for marginalized students. Roilyn began her career as a special education teacher for the School District of Philadelphia. After teaching for 10 years, Roilyn transitioned into special education administration and served in schools on the east and west coast in similar capacities. Currently Roilyn works as an Assessment Design Partner and is a course lecturer in the graduate school of education at Stanford University. In her spare time she enjoys cuddles with her dog Sully, chatting with her nieces and nephew, and karaoke (mostly at home).
[[/accordion]]
[[accordion]]
Heading: Soraya Ramos
Paragraph: Soraya is joining the Envision team as an Assessment Design Partner. With nearly a decade of experience in education, Soraya has worked to promote and support anti-racist teaching and learning practices through her roles as a teacher and as an assessment designer. Before joining Envision, Soraya served as a Senior Associate at the Center for Collaborative Education (CCE). There she worked in partnership with schools and districts in New England and nationally to design high quality assessments systems that promote equity and engagement. In addition to professional learning and coaching, she led a consortium of districts in Massachusetts in their pursuit of designing an alternative assessment and accountability system. Soraya believes that lasting assessment systems need to be in alignment with a community’s vision and coherent to a district and school’s priorities. Soraya holds an Ed.M. in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in Chicana/o Studies and Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles.
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Deeper Learning Conference in San Diego this March!
Here at Envision, we frequently use the Driver’s License Test analogy to talk about Performance Assessment: it is a clear and familiar example of showing you are ready for a momentous next step by demonstrating what you are able to do (drive) with what you know (driving rules and regulations).
As a mom, I recently had a chance to consider this analogy from a distinct vantage point: the passenger seat. Helping my daughter learn to drive has given me the opportunity to expand on this beloved Envision metaphor with some key observations related to Performance Assessment.
First, it can be abjectly terrifying to drive with an “emerging” driver. In Lola’s first few forays on the road, I had several white-knuckle experiences that will be familiar to any parent of teens. I had multiple visions of catastrophe. I may have screamed a couple of times. And I realized it was the loss of control that really unsettled me. It is daunting to realize there is NO OTHER WAY for your child to learn how to drive except by LETTING GO OF CONTROL. It dawned on me that it must also be hard for teachers to let go of control in the classroom. Of course, classroom performance assessment does not pose the threat of bodily harm the way hurtling over the Bay Bridge on my daughter’s maiden voyage did. But I found it interesting that I struggled to give up control even though I knew she was ready for this important step. I struggled in safer situations too—complete with pressing on the non-existent, passenger side brake—and sometimes found it hard to articulate instructions. It made me curious about how teachers confront and manage this struggle.
Secondly, teacher-student relationships really do make a difference in student success. Lola took the test twice: she failed the first time. The first instructor was dour, unfriendly, and impatient. According to Lola, she gave the directions (turn left, turn right) with very little time between instruction and execution. She wasn’t receptive to clarifying questions. She did not smile. Two weeks later and the difference could not have been more stark: the second instructor was friendly and engaging, immediately introducing herself to both of us. After the successful test, Lola was effusive about how different this second experience was. This instructor took the time to give Lola a friendly overview of what the test would be like. When she noticed Lola was nervous, she offered suggestions for how to relax a little bit. For Lola, having the instructor see and acknowledge her anxiety helped enormously. Out on the road, when Lola made some small mistakes, the instructor said things like “this is a mistake I make sometimes too, so just keep in mind xyz…”. She also gave directions clearly, with time for Lola to execute on them, and was patient with questions. With that kind of assessor in the seat next to her, Lola was able to drive the way she knew how, and of course she passed.
In the days since Lola has been whizzing around the Bay Area on her own, I have thought often about this woman, her skill at her job, and the way she helped my daughter. It strikes me that performance assessment, at its best, is about not only challenging the learner but also creating conditions for her success. And I’m once again grateful for teachers who are practiced in the art of both supporting students and letting them truly show what they know and are capable of.
For more of Monica’s “parent perspective,” check out this 2018 post in EdWeek: The Gift of Portfolio Defense.
Here at Envision, we frequently use the Driver’s License Test analogy to talk about Performance Assessment: it is a clear and familiar example of showing you
To ELP partners and friends,
Envision Learning Partners was established to disrupt the systemic inequities created when students are expected to learn and demonstrate their learning in rote, standardized ways. We know that current systems of assessment do not show or honor the brilliance and talents of Black students. When we support schools, districts, and states to create more balanced systems of assessment, one way we define success is the ability to bear witness to powerful demonstrations of learning by Black students. Humbly, we acknowledge that we have more work to do as individuals and as an organization. And we are humbled by the searing reminder of recent events that improving education is not enough.
At Envision Learning Partners, we are taking this time to reaffirm our commitment to supporting our Black students, Black teachers, and Black leaders. We have explicit anti-racist, pro-black strategic goals. We have specifically invested in training and professional learning by Black-led organizations so that we can embody these ideals. We seek to work alongside our partners, in conversation and collaboration, to center the voices of the most marginalized and continually examine how our work as educators can support rather than impede racial justice in schools.
In that spirit, we urge our partners and friends to join us in engaging or recommitting to anti-racist equity work within your organizations. And we ask you to do it with the guidance of expert individuals and organizations, such as those listed below, that were committed and practiced long before 2020 hashtags and uprisings. Consider learning from and supporting any of the following Black-led organizations:
If you’d like us to make a warm introduction to one of these organizations, let us know.
In solidarity and community,
Abby, Alcine, Aragon, Courtney, Justin, Morgan, Rachel, Ruth, and Vinci
To ELP partners and friends,
Explore our diverse events. Enhance your expertise, connect with thought leaders, and broaden your horizons.
A newly published case study from the Center for Innovation in Education (C!E), featuring Envision Learning Partners in Appendix C, highlights Allen County, Kentucky’s multi-year effort to redesign assessment and accountability through Inclusive Design. The report, Better Together, shows how the district co-created their graduation competencies called “Profile of A Patriot” and embedded project-based learning and performance assessments to place students’ passions and real-world skills at the center of learning.
Envision Learning Partners has been proud to support Allen County in this work, and we’re excited to share C!E’s new case study. We’ve partnered closely with C!E through the Assessment for Learning Project, working together to advance learner-centered assessment practices nationally.
By Michael Viera, Envision Education’s College and Career Pathways Manager
Several years ago the city of Oakland came together to support college and career programming for high schoolers, by advancing and deepening career pathways in alignment with the Linked Learning Alliance standards and methodology. The Linked Learning Alliance hosts an annual conference where educators share best practices and takeaways from school sites around the state. Oakland schools always show out in big numbers at the conference, but this year it took place in downtown Oakland, so the presence was even greater.
I had been to the conference previously, but this time was different. Being my 3rd year at Envision in this role, I felt like I finally understood what it was all about. I had colleagues from Envision Learning Partners in attendance and collaborating with me. I got to connect with colleagues from other Oakland schools. I knew what to look for and who to listen to in order to improve our programming at Envision Academy and across the Envision network.
The conference was motivating, to say the least. It is a breath of fresh air being in rooms of educators who are excited and realistic about their work in schools, and who understand the skills students need to have success in their futures.
I came back from the conference and immediately organized Envision Academy’s first job fair since COVID. We had twelve community partners visit our campus to share information with students on internship opportunities, after school and summer programs, and community resources. Students seemed excited about these experiences that they can be a part of outside of their regular curriculum.
At the end of the event, two students stayed back and pulled me aside. I thought something bad had happened. Instead, one of them simply said, “Mr. Viera, we just wanted to thank you for putting together this event. It’s really inspiring to see all these opportunities we didn’t know about until now.”
After a couple of weeks of back and forth emails and phone calls with partners, planning meetings with administration, and quite literally running around setting up tables and chairs on the day of the event, those students made it all worth it. When students are able to take their learning outside of school walls and make connections with their community, they feel seen and they thrive.
Hear from Michael and ELP Assessment Design Partner, Josette Neal-De-Stanton on their takeaways from the Linked Learning Conference.
Envision Education is excited to share the culmination of its two-year research project, Pursuing Equity for Black & Latine Students with Learning Differences, which
documents and illustrates the systems, practices, cultures, and supports that are associated with the well being and success of Black and Latine students with learning differences – students with disabilities and multilingual students with disabilities.
In 2023, Envision Learning Partners (ELP) and Social Policy Research Associates (SPR) embarked on a research study to identify and learn from schools that demonstrated positive outcomes for Black and Latine students with learning differences (including students with disabilities and multilingual learners). After a review of data from secondary schools across the country, the study team identified two schools for a more in-depth study, which was conducted during the 2023–2024 school year.
The results of the research are shared through case studies of the two schools that were the focus of the research: 1) Crosstown High: Building a Culture of Inclusion; 2) Capital City: An Inclusive School Community Committed to Whole-Child Learning and Well Being; and 3) An Executive Summary/Synthesis of Findings.
In addition, we have authored four practice briefs based on the findings of the research that provide practical steps that schools can take to create more inclusive environments that support the success of Black and Latine students with learning differences.
This research was made possible through the generous support of New Profit, a venture philanthropic organization, and the Oak Foundation.
I began working at ELP in January 2018 as the Director of Research and Innovation. Since then, I’ve been working on the nationwide team providing direct service and technical consulting to client partners and creating assessment products, as well as directing ELP’s research projects.
I’m excited to share that in July 2025, I stepped into a new role: Senior Director of Assessment for Envision Education. This role encompasses responsibilities for the whole organization – Envision Schools and Envision Learning Partners. Envision Schools runs four charter schools in the Bay Area (in San Francisco, Oakland, and Hayward). My new responsibilities include overseeing the design and implementation of a comprehensive assessment system for the schools, ensuring the use of rigorous, standards-aligned assessment practices that demonstrate student achievement of core academic skills. At the same time, our system aims to provide regular opportunities for students to demonstrate ambitious learning outcomes aligned to Envision’s graduate profile competencies in real-world-relevant, meaningful, and culturally sustaining contexts. We seek to more systematically integrate authentic and high-quality project-based learning and student-led conferences at all grades 6-12, and portfolios + defenses at grades 8, 10, and 12. We want to develop our schools as models of a balanced and comprehensive assessment system that supports student achievement of both foundational academic skills and ambitious, authentic demonstrations of learning. This new assessment system is described more fully in our new Envision Way documents.
In my new role, I also continue to work with my ELP colleagues, supporting the learning and effectiveness of our national team of Assessment Design Partners, and developing new services aligned to the Envision Way as we seek to meet the evolving needs of both external district partners and our own schools. Our long-term strategy is to strengthen our own schools so they are clear models of the quality assessment systems that we are also seeking to strengthen in partnership with districts. We call this the “flywheel” because of the reciprocal nature of our learning and development work as we pilot new practices, collect data, and evaluate their effectiveness in our schools and in partnership with external districts.
I continue to also be involved in exploring ways for Envision Education to gather evidence of its effectiveness through systematic collection of evidence in our own schools (in partnership with John Ericson, our Director of Data & Assessments), and by initiating research projects to collect evidence of the impact of ELP’s work with districts. I am also continuing to coordinate the research project “Pursuing Equity for Black & Latine Students with Learning Differences”. We wrapped up two years of school case study work in July, and are preparing to launch a two-year professional-development pilot and evaluation phase of the project with a large school district. More news to come!
What do you enjoy most about working for Envision?
It’s definitely always been the people. I truly enjoy working alongside colleagues with a similar commitment to our most marginalized students and who are striving so hard to create supportive, inclusive learning environments that lead to equitable learning outcomes. I am learning so much from my ADP colleagues as well as my Academic Programs Team colleagues. They are all so incisive and brilliant and I have so much to learn from them. I truly feel blessed and lucky to have them as colleagues!
I’m also proud to be working in an organization with a commitment to its pro-Black, anti-racist stance, engaging us all in developing a self-awareness of our individual and collective contributions to our cultural norms, and providing the space to engage in productive struggle to begin changing those norms.
Last, I love that Envision honors hard work while also honoring our need for joy, self-care, and rest! The yoga and art breaks, retreats, sound baths, line dancing, karaoke nights, breaking bread together, and other opportunities to take mind breaks are all helpful reminders that we are whole people who also need laughter, rest, and nourishment to thrive. My family always gets a kick out of hearing about the latest fun things I get to do with my work friends!
Earlier this spring, Assessment Design Partners Roilyn Graves and Soraya Ramos spent time in Roanoke County Public Schools in Virginia, collaborating with district and school leaders to refine and pilot a culminating performance assessment system aligned to the district’s Opportunity-Ready Skills.
During their visit, they had the opportunity to tour Glenvar High School—and were inspired by an incredible student-led initiative: the G-Bees. This club involves students in every aspect of beekeeping, from hive maintenance to harvesting honey, and even crafting a range of products like lip balm, soap, candles, hot honey, and more.
Through this hands-on work, students are not only gaining valuable entrepreneurial experience, but also raising funds for outdoor education and scholarships. It’s a powerful example of student-centered, purpose-driven learning at its best.
The G-Bees program is truly performance assessment in action—students applying their knowledge and skills in meaningful, real-world ways. While online sales aren’t available, we’re excited to share their story as a model of what authentic, engaged learning can look like.
Learn more about the program through this link.
Impact Academy alum, Kina Evans, shares how her time at Impact shaped her path from student to educator and now CEO. Walking the halls of Impact Academy, Kina learned not just academics, but how to find her voice, lead with confidence, and envision a future bigger than herself. After earning her master’s degree and teaching for six years, she founded Bully Talk Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to empowering youth and transforming school culture. In her ELP Guest Blog, Kina reflects on how Impact Academy’s lessons continue to guide her work as a leader, advocate, and change maker.
Walking through the halls of Impact Academy in Hayward, CA was where my journey truly began. As a student, I didn’t just learn academics—I learned how to find my voice, lead with confidence, and envision a future bigger than myself. Those experiences planted the seeds for everything that would come after graduation.
After Impact, I pursued higher education and proudly earned my master’s degree. One of my proudest moments came when I was invited to appear on The Jennifer Hudson Show, where I was able to share my story and the mission behind my work. It was a reminder that the impact of our voices can carry far beyond the classroom.
For six years, I poured my heart into teaching, working directly with students and families every day. Teaching was more than a job—it was a calling, and it gave me the foundation to see where my true purpose was leading me. Eventually, I made the decision to transition into substitute teaching so I could dedicate more of my time and energy to building Bully Talk Inc., the nonprofit I founded to empower
youth, transform school culture, and create safe spaces for students everywhere.
Looking back, I can see just how much Impact Academy changed my life. From the lessons I learned as a teenager to the resilience and drive I carry today, Impact has been a thread running through every step of my journey. It helped shape not just who I was then, but who I am now—a leader, an advocate, and someone committed to making a difference in the lives of others.
Happy New Year! As we dip our toes into the sea of 2024 and all that will come with it, we should take advantage of embracing the opportunities that come from the question “What will we do next?”.
As soon as I dipped my toes into this year, I came across an article in Ed Week titled “What 2024 Will Bring for K-12 Policy: 5 Issues to Watch.” To stretch the metaphor one final time, I feared the article would make me want to tear my feet from the water before sharks arrived. (Huge “Jaws” fan here)
Then I came to Issue #5, and the seas calmed.
Sitting at the end of an expansive policy list spanning everything from private school vouchers to AI came five words that sparked immense optimism in me: “Rethinking measures of student success.” The work that we have dedicated ourselves to is one of the country’s top policy priorities this year! Many of us have been advocating for more equitable approaches to assessing students and transforming schools for decades. For the first time in a long time, our national moment may have arrived.
With our work being recognized on a national level, I suggest it is time for us to consider what we will do next at the local level. For example, California districts should consider writing Graduate Profiles and performance assessments into your LCAP plans. If you need support or thought partnership around how to plan and implement this work, Envision Learning Partners stands ready to support you at whatever point you are in your journey.
Welcome to 2024, and we wish you a joyful year of celebrating the achievements of our schools and students!
Still hot from the forgery, ELP’s Virtual Portfolio Defense Toolkit is hereby released to the world. Click the button below to download the toolkit. Use it and share it widely. We hope that it inspires action, saves you time, and helps you find opportunity within this crisis to put students at the center of their learning.
ELP was galvanized by what we are hearing from our partner schools and districts: Rather than backing off from your performance assessment systems, most of you are leaning into them, understanding that students need this now more than ever. This toolkit is ELP’s first answer to your call for help. It is designed for learning communities at all levels of experience, whether you’ve had kids defending their learning for years or see this as your first opportunity to try.
Prototype Level 2: Virtual Defense of Learning
Prototype Level 3: ‘Live Stream’ Rite of Passage
We are excited to populate this section with all of the amazing things you envision and create. Take inspiration from some of the folks who have been innovating and reimagining how to do their work in the time of COVID-19.
Click the images below for more information on these tools and download them for free!
Now that Defenses have become virtual, what has changed with how you feel about Defenses, and how you are approaching Defenses? What is hard about that change? What is exciting about that change?
In this first in a series of vlogs we are releasing, a high school senior talks about how she is adapting her defense for a virtual space and how she is feeling about it.
ELP hopes to see you at the Deeper Learning Conference in San Diego this March! Learn more about our Deep Dive and Workshop opportunities!
Click the images below to sign up!
Find the rest of the DL2024 sessions on Sched
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Heading: Learn about Kala Stepter
Paragraph: Kala is an educator, cultural strategist, and systems thinker, always rooting her practice in community. For over a decade, she has developed her pedagogy for teaching liberation, justice, and joy. With a dual masters in multi-subject and special education, Kala invites all learners – kids and adults of all backgrounds and abilities – to learn, be curious, and think critically about the ways we show up for one another. From her start in DC Public Schools as a STEM educator to working in DEIB strategy work in Oakland, Kala guides and supports institutions and its leaders to rebuild more just educational systems and practices. Today, she designs and supports the transformation of science and math instruction at Envision Education, a charter school network in the Bay Area. As their Director of STEM instruction, Kala develops structures to ensure that STEM is accessible and joyous for Black and Brown kids. She is most excited and energized seeing our youth innovate to shape our future, and is proud to contribute in achieving sustainable change.
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Kala is an educator, cultural strategist, and systems thinker, always rooting her practice in community. For over a decade, she has developed her pedagogy for teaching liberation, justice, and joy. With a dual masters in multi-subject and special education, Kala invites all learners – kids and adults of all backgrounds and abilities – to learn, be curious, and think critically about the ways we show up for one another. From her start in DC Public Schools as a STEM educator to working in DEIB strategy work in Oakland, Kala guides and supports institutions and its leaders to rebuild more just educational systems and practices. Today, she designs and supports the transformation of science and math instruction at Envision Education, a charter school network in the Bay Area. As their Director of STEM instruction, Kala develops structures to ensure that STEM is accessible and joyous for Black and Brown kids. She is most excited and energized seeing our youth innovate to shape our future, and is proud to contribute in achieving sustainable change.
Learn about Josette Neal-De-Stanton
Josette is currently an Assessment Design Partner at ELP, Josette has 15 years of experience in education. She has started teaching life science at Elmhurst Community Prep in Oakland, and then spent 6 years teaching, coaching, and leading at ARISE High School in Oakland as well. A highlight, as well as a shift in her career gears came while working at ARISE, as Josette became a Career Technical Education (CTE) Pathway Coordinator and then Coach. With these positions, Josette led the charge to create ARISE’s first Linked Learning Pathway in Public and Community Health. After leaving ARISE, she continued her work in CTE with the West Contra Costa Unified School District, as their District Work Based Learning Liaison. COVID saw Josette transitioning out of the traditional school setting, and needing to feel her work impact a larger audience, which essentially led her to ELP. As a former client of ELP, Josette saw the importance of the work being done, and really wanted to bring her science/CTE background to the organization. Josette is also a part time adjunct professor at Mills College, where she works in the Department of Education, in the teacher credential program as the Math & Science Curriculum and Instruction professor.
Alcine is a dedicated educator who has spent that last 25 years teaching and leading traditional and charter public K-12 schools all over the country. She currently supports and coaches district and school leaders to develop high-quality performance assessment systems that center student-led demonstrations of learning and metacognition. Prior to coaching Alcine taught Humanities at one of the first small schools in the Bronx where project-based learning and portfolio defenses served as the foundation of instruction. Afterward Alcine became a founding principal of Envision Academy in Oakland an administrator in several small middle and high schools in Atlanta and DC and a leadership coach in DC Charlotte & Philadelphia. Alcine earned her BA in English Education from NYU and a Master’s in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education from Stanford University.
Learn about Sabring "Bri" Moore
Bri currently works for Alameda County Office of Education as a Program Director of Systemic Instructional Review supporting and monitoring the SIR Report for Oakland Unified School District. Sabrina is an Oakland native, and has served as Principal/Instructional Leader for TK-5 in the Oakland Unified School District and is a former teacher. She has a strong desire to lead high-impact initiatives benefiting youth across Oakland, starting in the Sobrante Park community. Her mission is to transform outcomes one neighborhood at a time. She blazed a trail by founding and leading 3Ls Academy. As Executive Director for The 3Ls Academy, she blazed a trail, designing program solutions that focus on technical, relational, social and cultural aspects of complex change efforts focused on educational equity.
Roilyn is a trailblazing advocate for inclusive education and has been in this work for the last 20 years. With an unwavering commitment to equality and empowerment, she has dedicated the past two decades to transforming the educational landscape for marginalized students. Roilyn began her career as a special education teacher for the School District of Philadelphia. After teaching for 10 years, Roilyn transitioned into special education administration and served in schools on the east and west coast in similar capacities. Currently Roilyn works as an Assessment Design Partner and is a course lecturer in the graduate school of education at Stanford University. In her spare time she enjoys cuddles with her dog Sully, chatting with her nieces and nephew, and karaoke (mostly at home).
Learn about Soraya Ramos
Soraya joined the ELP team as an Assessment Design Partner in 2021. With nearly a decade of experience in education, Soraya has worked to promote and support anti-racist teaching and learning practices through her roles as a teacher and as an assessment designer. Before joining Envision, Soraya served as a Senior Associate at the Center for Collaborative Education (CCE). There she worked in partnership with schools and districts in New England and nationally to design high quality assessments systems that promote equity and engagement. In addition to professional learning and coaching, she led a consortium of districts in Massachusetts in their pursuit of designing an alternative assessment and accountability system. Soraya believes that lasting assessment systems need to be in alignment with a community’s vision and coherent to a district and school’s priorities. Soraya holds an Ed.M. in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in Chicana/o Studies and Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles.
ELP hopes to see you at the Deeper Learning Conference in San Diego this March! Learn more about our Deep Dive and Workshop opportunities!
Click the images below to sign up!
Find the rest of the DL2024 sessions on Sched
[[accordion]]
Heading: Learn about Kala Stepter
Paragraph: Kala is an educator, cultural strategist, and systems thinker, always rooting her practice in community. For over a decade, she has developed her pedagogy for teaching liberation, justice, and joy. With a dual masters in multi-subject and special education, Kala invites all learners – kids and adults of all backgrounds and abilities – to learn, be curious, and think critically about the ways we show up for one another. From her start in DC Public Schools as a STEM educator to working in DEIB strategy work in Oakland, Kala guides and supports institutions and its leaders to rebuild more just educational systems and practices. Today, she designs and supports the transformation of science and math instruction at Envision Education, a charter school network in the Bay Area. As their Director of STEM instruction, Kala develops structures to ensure that STEM is accessible and joyous for Black and Brown kids. She is most excited and energized seeing our youth innovate to shape our future, and is proud to contribute in achieving sustainable change.
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Heading: Learn about Josette Neal-De-Stanton
Paragraph: Josette is currently an Assessment Design Partner at ELP, Josette has 15 years of experience in education. She has started teaching life science at Elmhurst Community Prep in Oakland, and then spent 6 years teaching, coaching, and leading at ARISE High School in Oakland as well. A highlight, as well as a shift in her career gears came while working at ARISE, as Josette became a Career Technical Education (CTE) Pathway Coordinator and then Coach. With these positions, Josette led the charge to create ARISE’s first Linked Learning Pathway in Public and Community Health. After leaving ARISE, she continued her work in CTE with the West Contra Costa Unified School District, as their District Work Based Learning Liaison. COVID saw Josette transitioning out of the traditional school setting, and needing to feel her work impact a larger audience, which essentially led her to ELP. As a former client of ELP, Josette saw the importance of the work being done, and really wanted to bring her science/CTE background to the organization. Josette is also a part time adjunct professor at Mills College, where she works in the Department of Education, in the teacher credential program as the Math & Science Curriculum and Instruction professor.
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Heading: Learn about Alcine Mumby
Paragraph: Alcine Mumby is a dedicated educator who has spent that last 25 years teaching and leading traditional and charter public K-12 schools all over the country. She currently supports and coaches district and school leaders to develop high-quality performance assessment systems that center student-led demonstrations of learning and metacognition. Prior to coaching Alcine taught Humanities at one of the first small schools in the Bronx where project-based learning and portfolio defenses served as the foundation of instruction. Afterward Alcine became a founding principal of Envision Academy in Oakland an administrator in several small middle and high schools in Atlanta and DC and a leadership coach in DC Charlotte & Philadelphia. Alcine earned her BA in English Education from NYU and a Master’s in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education from Stanford University. When she’s not listening to podcasts or catching a flight Alcine enjoys working toward earning BAE (Best Auntie Ever) status with adorable niece and five nephews.
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Heading: Learn about Sabring "Bri" Moore
Paragraph: Bri currently works for Alameda County Office of Education as a Program Director of Systemic Instructional Review supporting and monitoring the SIR Report for Oakland Unified School District. Sabrina is an Oakland native, and has served as Principal/Instructional Leader for TK-5 in the Oakland Unified School District and is a former teacher. She has a strong desire to lead high-impact initiatives benefiting youth across Oakland, starting in the Sobrante Park community. Her mission is to transform outcomes one neighborhood at a time. She blazed a trail by founding and leading 3Ls Academy. As Executive Director for The 3Ls Academy, she blazed a trail, designing program solutions that focus on technical, relational, social and cultural aspects of complex change efforts focused on educational equity.
[[/accordion]]
[[accordion]]
Heading: Learn about Roilyn Graves
Paragraph: Roilyn is a trailblazing advocate for inclusive education and has been in this work for the last 20 years. With an unwavering commitment to equality and empowerment, she has dedicated the past two decades to transforming the educational landscape for marginalized students. Roilyn began her career as a special education teacher for the School District of Philadelphia. After teaching for 10 years, Roilyn transitioned into special education administration and served in schools on the east and west coast in similar capacities. Currently Roilyn works as an Assessment Design Partner and is a course lecturer in the graduate school of education at Stanford University. In her spare time she enjoys cuddles with her dog Sully, chatting with her nieces and nephew, and karaoke (mostly at home).
[[/accordion]]
[[accordion]]
Heading: Soraya Ramos
Paragraph: Soraya is joining the Envision team as an Assessment Design Partner. With nearly a decade of experience in education, Soraya has worked to promote and support anti-racist teaching and learning practices through her roles as a teacher and as an assessment designer. Before joining Envision, Soraya served as a Senior Associate at the Center for Collaborative Education (CCE). There she worked in partnership with schools and districts in New England and nationally to design high quality assessments systems that promote equity and engagement. In addition to professional learning and coaching, she led a consortium of districts in Massachusetts in their pursuit of designing an alternative assessment and accountability system. Soraya believes that lasting assessment systems need to be in alignment with a community’s vision and coherent to a district and school’s priorities. Soraya holds an Ed.M. in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in Chicana/o Studies and Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles.
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Here at Envision, we frequently use the Driver’s License Test analogy to talk about Performance Assessment: it is a clear and familiar example of showing you are ready for a momentous next step by demonstrating what you are able to do (drive) with what you know (driving rules and regulations).
As a mom, I recently had a chance to consider this analogy from a distinct vantage point: the passenger seat. Helping my daughter learn to drive has given me the opportunity to expand on this beloved Envision metaphor with some key observations related to Performance Assessment.
First, it can be abjectly terrifying to drive with an “emerging” driver. In Lola’s first few forays on the road, I had several white-knuckle experiences that will be familiar to any parent of teens. I had multiple visions of catastrophe. I may have screamed a couple of times. And I realized it was the loss of control that really unsettled me. It is daunting to realize there is NO OTHER WAY for your child to learn how to drive except by LETTING GO OF CONTROL. It dawned on me that it must also be hard for teachers to let go of control in the classroom. Of course, classroom performance assessment does not pose the threat of bodily harm the way hurtling over the Bay Bridge on my daughter’s maiden voyage did. But I found it interesting that I struggled to give up control even though I knew she was ready for this important step. I struggled in safer situations too—complete with pressing on the non-existent, passenger side brake—and sometimes found it hard to articulate instructions. It made me curious about how teachers confront and manage this struggle.
Secondly, teacher-student relationships really do make a difference in student success. Lola took the test twice: she failed the first time. The first instructor was dour, unfriendly, and impatient. According to Lola, she gave the directions (turn left, turn right) with very little time between instruction and execution. She wasn’t receptive to clarifying questions. She did not smile. Two weeks later and the difference could not have been more stark: the second instructor was friendly and engaging, immediately introducing herself to both of us. After the successful test, Lola was effusive about how different this second experience was. This instructor took the time to give Lola a friendly overview of what the test would be like. When she noticed Lola was nervous, she offered suggestions for how to relax a little bit. For Lola, having the instructor see and acknowledge her anxiety helped enormously. Out on the road, when Lola made some small mistakes, the instructor said things like “this is a mistake I make sometimes too, so just keep in mind xyz…”. She also gave directions clearly, with time for Lola to execute on them, and was patient with questions. With that kind of assessor in the seat next to her, Lola was able to drive the way she knew how, and of course she passed.
In the days since Lola has been whizzing around the Bay Area on her own, I have thought often about this woman, her skill at her job, and the way she helped my daughter. It strikes me that performance assessment, at its best, is about not only challenging the learner but also creating conditions for her success. And I’m once again grateful for teachers who are practiced in the art of both supporting students and letting them truly show what they know and are capable of.
For more of Monica’s “parent perspective,” check out this 2018 post in EdWeek: The Gift of Portfolio Defense.
To ELP partners and friends,
Envision Learning Partners was established to disrupt the systemic inequities created when students are expected to learn and demonstrate their learning in rote, standardized ways. We know that current systems of assessment do not show or honor the brilliance and talents of Black students. When we support schools, districts, and states to create more balanced systems of assessment, one way we define success is the ability to bear witness to powerful demonstrations of learning by Black students. Humbly, we acknowledge that we have more work to do as individuals and as an organization. And we are humbled by the searing reminder of recent events that improving education is not enough.
At Envision Learning Partners, we are taking this time to reaffirm our commitment to supporting our Black students, Black teachers, and Black leaders. We have explicit anti-racist, pro-black strategic goals. We have specifically invested in training and professional learning by Black-led organizations so that we can embody these ideals. We seek to work alongside our partners, in conversation and collaboration, to center the voices of the most marginalized and continually examine how our work as educators can support rather than impede racial justice in schools.
In that spirit, we urge our partners and friends to join us in engaging or recommitting to anti-racist equity work within your organizations. And we ask you to do it with the guidance of expert individuals and organizations, such as those listed below, that were committed and practiced long before 2020 hashtags and uprisings. Consider learning from and supporting any of the following Black-led organizations:
If you’d like us to make a warm introduction to one of these organizations, let us know.
In solidarity and community,
Abby, Alcine, Aragon, Courtney, Justin, Morgan, Rachel, Ruth, and Vinci
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