Fifteen years ago, I believed meaningful school improvement happened when educators learned together.
I still believe that.
When we published the first edition of Leading Impact Teams™ in 2016, our work centered on collaborative inquiry, collective efficacy, and the belief that educators improve learning when they study evidence, challenge assumptions, and take action together.
That belief has never changed.
What has changed is my understanding of how complex human systems actually improve.
After partnering with hundreds of schools and districts across the country, I’ve learned that complex human systems rarely respond to simple solutions.
Yet education often continues to search for them.
A new initiative.
A new framework.
A single theory of action.
While any one of those may improve one part of a school, lasting transformation happens differently. It emerges when multiple, interconnected theories of action are intentionally designed to work together—creating coherent systems where people continuously learn, adapt, and improve.
That realization has shaped the next chapter of our work.
One Evolving Philosophy
Our philosophy has continued to evolve, but it has never abandoned its roots.
We have been deeply influenced by the National Equity Project’s Seven Circle Model, which helped us understand that equitable improvement requires multiple perspectives, courageous dialogue, and shared inquiry.
Since 2022, our work has been grounded in Human-Centered Design.
We’ve learned that every learner, educator, family, and community member brings unique identities, lived experiences, strengths, and ways of knowing that influence how schools improve. The goal is not to simplify people. The goal is to simplify the work while honoring the complexity of the people doing it.
That evolution led us to Impact Team Inquiry 2.0™️.
Impact Team Inquiry is more than looking at evidence together. It is the disciplined practice of learning with people instead of designing for them. It brings educators, students, families, and communities into a shared process of studying evidence, making meaning, designing better systems, and continuously improving the experiences they create together.
Because lasting improvement doesn’t happen to people.
It happens with people.
Making the Invisible Visible
Over the past decade, our work expanded into CTE, literacy, mathematics, learner agency, instructional coaching, AI, educational equity, leadership development, and corporate via continuous improvement.
For a long time, these looked like separate services.
They never were.
They were always connected by one underlying purpose: helping schools intentionally design human-centered systems where every learner—and every educator—can flourish.
Today, we’re simply making that architecture visible through our Human-Centered MTSS Improvement Model.
Rather than viewing MTSS as a collection of interventions, we see it as the language of coherent school improvement—a way of intentionally designing systems that cultivate belonging, rigorous learning, continuous improvement, purpose, and ultimately, self and collective agency.
Honoring Sarah
This next chapter also brings a heartfelt transition.
After twelve extraordinary years, Sarah Stevens has made the decision to step away from her executive leadership role to prioritize her health and create greater balance in her life.
Some people help an organization grow. Others help define who it becomes.
Sarah has done both.
Her wisdom, generosity, friendship, and unwavering commitment to educators have shaped The Core Collaborative in ways that will continue long after this transition. While her role is changing, our relationship is not, and I am grateful she will continue supporting our learning network as a coach and trusted thought partner.
Thank you, Sarah, for helping build something that will continue serving educators for years to come. Thank you for being a sister to Tony and me.
Our Next Chapter
As we honor Sarah and our past, I’m equally excited about the future.
Over the past year, we’ve intentionally redesigned our learning organization around the same principles we help schools implement every day. This next chapter is made possible by an extraordinary team of leaders who share a deep commitment to human-centered school improvement. I’m especially excited to welcome Dr. Leticia Trower and Joanne Buckheit into our leadership team as they join Katie Smith, Isaac Wells, Leah Tierney, and Tony Francoeur in helping lead The Core Collaborative into its next season of learning, innovation, and service.
Together, we’ll continue partnering with schools and districts to build coherent systems that strengthen teaching, leadership, belonging, and learning while continuing to innovate through work like the AI PLC Agent™, Human-Centered MTSS, and our growing publishing network through Mimi & Todd Press.
Looking Ahead
If the past fifteen years have taught me anything, it is this:
Schools don’t improve because of programs.
They improve because people learn together.
They improve because they build trust.
They improve because they inquire with curiosity, design with empathy, and lead with courage.
Thank you to every educator, consultant, district leader, student, and partner who has been part of this journey.
We’re just getting started.
The future of school improvement is, and always will be, human-centered.
With gratitude,
Dr. Paul J. Bloomberg
Founder & Chief Learning Officer
The Core Collaborative | Mimi & Todd Press