Transforming Student Experience through System Redesign: NEP’s District Redesign Network
"One of the most vital ways we sustain ourselves is by building communities, places where we know we are not alone."
— bell hooks
Program Overview
The National Equity Project's District Redesign Network is a three-year, national cohort of U.S. school districts seeking to deeply understand their own equity landscape through the lens of the student experience in order to redesign elements of their school system to improve learning conditions and experiences for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and LGBTQIA+ students, in service of improving conditions for all students.
Launched in fall 2023, each year participating districts received:
Up to 100 hours of coaching from NEP including quarterly half-day site visits
One In-person, multi-day, Complexity & Liberatory Design retreat
One In-person Learning Lab site visit
3 virtual convenings (Summer, Winter & Spring)
Co-designed district team design sessions
“That one-on-one time that they spend with us is really important. They come to our site in our community and sit down with us and are so willing to listen.”
— Principal, DRN Participant
Network North Star
The ultimate aim of the District Redesign Network is for school district teams to be able to take effective action to improve the experiences of students who are marginalized in their system by:
Examining and transforming both individual and team mindsets about identity, power, and privilege
Using Liberatory Design to actively collaborate and design with diverse communities (including young people) — especially those from marginalized communities — rather than making decisions for them
Redesigning at least one system within their sphere of influence to demonstrably improve student experience.
DRN Year One | 2023-2024
During the 2023-2024 academic year, the District Redesign Network worked with nine school districts across the United States, serving approximately 70,000 students. The program engaged 68 educational leaders across these districts, including principals, assistant principals, teachers, district administrators, and equity leaders. The network included districts from various regions with diverse student populations.
Key Impacts
✔︎ 72% of participants completed pre- and post- leadership assessments, and demonstrated growth on every indicator within the SEE Domain as well as frequency of practice
“I used to think equity leadership was something people could choose, and now I think it's really being aware of the characteristics of a complex system and systems change as a whole.”
— Vice Principal, DRN Participant
✔︎ Key growth areas included: high confidence in the team, high trust and openness across difference, pride in equity-focused accomplishments, shared sense of team identity, and team members giving/receiving feedback effectively
“I feel so happy to be able to say that we're looking at the opportunities for growth, and then we're putting action behind it. We are having those difficult conversations. We're being actionable about change, greater change for everyone.”
— Equity Supervisor, DRN Participant
✔︎ 100% of district inquiry teams collected and used student experience data to clarify their chief equity challenge
✔︎ 100% directly engaged students to shape their Year 2 design focus
“The lesson that stood out the most for me from year one was patience and the power of listening. I never thought that listening was an action step, and it turns out that, after looking back at the year, it was probably the most important thing that I did, and that my team did.”
— Principal, DRN Participant
DRN Year Two | 2024-2025
In Year 2, teams are moving from assessment and analysis to designing and taking small, safe-to-fail actions in service of:
Improved equity leadership skills, knowledge and dispositions
Improved organizational conditions toward improving adult experience and leadership
Demonstrated team development and agency to lead through complexity that centers the student experience
Emergent improvements in student learning experiences
“This is the year of designing of action, right? And I know a lot of us want to jump to that, but it is important to look at the data and reflect on it before you move into action.”
— Network Chief, DRN Participant
Looking Ahead
The District Redesign Network is a critical component of NEP's 10-year aim to transform educational experiences and outcomes for 5 million young people by equipping leaders to create learning environments where young people are seen, supported, and prepared to thrive and contribute to a diverse and dynamic world.
