Across the country, education leaders are rethinking what high school can—and should—look like. The traditional structure of rigid schedules, seat-time requirements, and one-size-fits-all practices that don’t serve the diverse needs of students. High school redesign is gaining momentum as communities look for models that are more personalized, flexible, and aligned with tangible outcomes relevant to evolving communities.
If you ask Gaynell Lyman, a former science teacher and principal who now serves as Senior Director of Partnerships at Advanced Learning Partnerships (ALP), what excites her most about working with school district partners, she won’t hesitate: it’s the chance to build something better, and more meaningful, than what our current high school system offers. “We’re right on the edge of opportunity to do things we’ve never been able to do before,” she explains.
Transforming high schools requires more than programs or pilots. It demands a systems-level approach that reimagines how learning happens, who it includes, and what it prepares students to do. Gaynell Lyman has spent her career guiding school systems through meaningful transformation. In this post, we’ll explore why high school redesign is more urgent than ever, what it looks like to design with community needs at the center, and how forward-thinking districts are preparing for a rapidly changing future.
Why Redesign High School Now?
The current high school model was designed for a different era, one that prioritized standardization over personalization. As Gaynell explains, “Our education system did very well for students when we needed to create a similar experience for everyone. But what we’re learning now is that everyone has different needs. They come to us with different talents.”
Educators and employers alike are calling for new approaches that prepare students for a rapidly changing world. That means letting go of outdated practices, like diagraming sentences, and building school environments that reflect today’s realities. High school redesign, as Gaynell says, “is listening to what our students are telling us they need, what our employers are telling us they need, and really building a model that allows us to build on the strengths of our community.”
How School Change Takes Hold
Systemic redesign doesn’t happen quickly. It begins with a shift in mindset from compliance to curiosity, from one-size-fits-all to student-centered innovation. When school and district leaders create space for experimentation, reflection, and shared learning, change becomes possible.
One example is Evergreen Public Schools in Washington. With support from ALP, the district launched a personalized learning initiative that began with seven pilot schools. Each school had the autonomy to tailor its approach to personalized learning, and as success stories spread, interest and investment grew. Over time, the work expanded across the district through culture rather than mandates.
One key tactic they deployed was “innovation bubbles,” or scheduled windows where teachers were encouraged to try something new without fear of failure. This signaled that leadership trusted educators to take risks in service of students and create the conditions where innovation could thrive.
Building on that foundation, ALP supports districts through a tiered model of organizational change:
- Developmental Change: Supporting small pilots that test new ideas. ALP supports this through several services like Trailblazer Cohorts, Coaching, and innovative program development like Student Help Desk, Girls Who Game, and Esports.
- Transitional Change: Expanding those ideas across departments, schools, or grade levels. ALP supports transitional change through services like Learning Walks, Learning Experience Design, Leadership Coaching, and Coaching Academies.
- Transformational Change: Redesigning the systems and structures that hold long-term change in place. ALP supports transformational system change through services like Learner Profile and Progressions, Strategic Planning, Executive Consulting, Program Impact, Curriculum Design, and Competency Modeling.
Together, these strategies show how sustained, systemic redesign is possible, and how schools can shift from isolated experimentation to meaningful, community-driven transformation. “Creating an environment or creating conditions that allow us to try new things, to make mistakes, to feel comfortable in those mistakes, to learn, to reflect on those in ways that make us better, and empower us to make those decisions ourselves—I think is one of the best things that we can do,” Gaynell says.
Ultimately, ALP is a strong partner for transformation because we approach professional learning from a systemic perspective and with organizational change frameworks. Districts that desire change that lasts beyond one person or idea need support for translating a vision for change into actions and systems that move the change throughout the organization. ALP supports partners to build readiness and commitment to multi-year transformational change.
Designing High Schools That Serve the Community
Redesign efforts are most effective when grounded in local needs. In Virginia, Winchester Public Schools developed an Innovation Center on the same campus as their traditional high school. Students move between the two spaces, blending academic and career-based learning in ways that reflect workforce demands.
The district’s learner profile guided this work, emphasizing not just knowledge, but mindsets and skills. Partnerships with local colleges and industry leaders helped connect classroom learning with real-life opportunities.
Student-led ideas can also shape powerful redesign experiences. Gaynell recalls two students at her former school in Vermont who, because of Vermont’s legislation, were able to propose working in a maple syrup sugar bush instead of attending traditional classes. Their project included scientific research, marketing, and production, and ended up benefiting the entire community.
In partnership with Dell Technologies, ALP consultants imagined a transformed high school experience through the lens of four hypothetical students. This Day-in-the-Life project reimagined high school schedules, class options, built-in internships, and blended learning models.
Examples like these remind us that when schools trust students as capable contributors and when learning extends into the broader community, engagement and impact grow.
Looking Ahead: AI, Agility, and the Role of Education Leaders
As technology continues to evolve, school systems must stay agile. Gaynell sees generative AI as a powerful catalyst, as it can help educators focus more time and energy on relationships and creativity.
Through ALP’s executive consulting services, districts are developing policies and frameworks to integrate AI thoughtfully and safely. From streamlining lesson planning to enhancing adaptive learning tools, AI has the potential to support personalization at scale.
“AI won’t replace most jobs,” Gaynell says, “but those who know how to use it will have an advantage.” Ultimately, it’s leadership, not tools, that determines the success of high school redesign. Leaders who embrace change, invest in adult learning, and create conditions for innovation are laying the groundwork for schools that can grow and evolve alongside their communities.
“Redesign isn’t about perfection,” she says. “It’s about listening, learning, and taking the next right step—together.”
High school redesign isn’t about quick fixes or flashy programs. It’s about building trust, honoring local knowledge, and transforming the systems that shape student learning. When communities are invited into that process, and when leadership is grounded in learning, meaningful change becomes not just possible, but inevitable.
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This post is based on a conversation with Gaynell Lyman, a former principal and Senior Director of Partnerships with Advanced Learning Partnerships (ALP), focused on transformational school change across North America.
