Our Story
As a biochemist, I discovered my passion for solving complex problems.
Peeling back the layers and discovering solutions along the way.
Then I became a teacher and quickly recognized that getting students to engage deeply wasn't easy.
They were often reluctant to share their thinking, grapple with ideas, or make decisions for themselves. Instead, they always looked to me for all the answers.
I realized that if I wanted them to take more ownership, I had to stop giving them the answers and lead with questions instead.
An opportunity came along to work at a project-based learning high school.
There, I saw what was possible when learning had context and purpose. Students understood the purpose of what they were learning, took ownership of the work, and began to discover their own potential.
As I continued to create more of those learning opportunities for my students, I began to notice something.
Some students were willing to take on a challenge, while others seemed to give up before they even started. But why?
By the time students reach high school, their experiences have already shaped how they see themselves as learners.
Yet I saw that those beliefs could change. When a student struggled with something, stayed with it, and finally figured it out, they discovered something important. "I can do this."
After two decades as a teacher and administrator, I felt a responsibility to make that kind of learning possible for more children from a young age. So I took my life savings and founded InnovEd.
Together with a team who shared that vision, we set out to help young minds discover their own capabilities.
Over the next 10 years, we refined an approach to learning that gave students purpose, ownership, and confidence in their own ability to learn.
As we saw what was possible, we realized we could help other teachers bring that approach to life in their own classrooms.
We knew that learning something new takes more than seeing it once.
That led us to create something more than a collection of lessons. We created a way to model effective teaching strategies in the classroom and support teachers as they began to integrate those practices into their teaching.
And we didn’t stop there. We drew on decades of experience in education and organization development, to turn what we had learned into a system that could support teachers, coaches, and administrators.
The InnovEd System provides school districts with the tools they need to develop a common language and greater instructional coherence across every classroom. And ultimately, it provides teachers with opportunities to learn and grow alongside their students. Because when teachers thrive, students thrive.
