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Webinar: Building Supportive Learning Environments Through Policy and Systems

September 17 @ 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm

On Thursday, September 17, from 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET, join the National Academy of Education and the Southern Center for Opportunity and Access (SCOA) at the Southern Education Foundation to explore how K-12 policies, systems, and organizational conditions can create learning environments that support belonging and deeper learning for all students.  

Too often, schools and educators are expected to improve student outcomes without a shared understanding of the conditions that shape how students learn. This session brings together leading research and K-12 practitioner perspectives to examine how system-level decisions can strengthen the conditions students need to learn, belong, and thrive.  

Featuring Cynthia Coburn and Carla O’Connor, alongside K-12 practitioner Carina Windom, this conversation will bridge research, policy, and practice by exploring how decisions at the school and district level influence teaching, learning, and students’ everyday experiences. Panelists will share research-informed and practice ideas for creating coherent systems, strengthening supportive school environments, and ensuring that policies and practices expand opportunities for all students.

Participants will leave with:

  • research-informed ideas for strengthening K-12 policies and systems that support belonging and deeper learning;
  • a stronger understanding of how school and district structures shape students’ learning experiences;
  • practical considerations for identifying and addressing systemic barriers to supportive learning environments; and
  • strategies for aligning policy, systems, and practice to create conditions where all students can thrive. 

Continue the Conversation

  • If you missed Webinar 1, “Foundations of Safe and Supportive Learning Environments,” you can watch it here.
  • You can also watch Webinar 2, “Building Supportive Learning Environments Through Instructional Practice.”

Register today to join researchers and practitioners in a timely conversation about what it takes to create learning environments where every student can thrive. 

Speakers include:

  • Cynthia Coburn, Professor, School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University
  • Carla O’Connor, Professor, Marsal Family School of Education, University of Michigan
  • Carina Windom, Director, Office of Equity + Social Justice, Atlanta Public Schools
  • Eshé Collins, Director, Southern Center for Opportunity and Access

Details