Who We Are
The challenges in today’s education landscape are great. The leaders and design centered solutions ready to tackle them are greater. The SchoolFWD Foundation was created to meet the growing need for professional development and networking around bringing principles of innovation and design to modern education.
Collaboration is key to systems change and to design thinking. We work with like-minded educators to reimagine education with the student experience as the centerpiece. As part of this, we are proud to have our own collaborator Dr. Erin Lynn Raab's venture, REENVISIONED, as a project under the SchoolFWD umbrella. REENVISIONED is a national movement to redefine the purpose of school - read more here.
Professional development events and coaching can be arranged in many configurations. Site visits and mentorship with SchoolFWD founder Erik Burmeister are available. Larger scale conferences for site teams are produced to introduce school and district leaders to the benefits of using design to address challenges. Full workshops at your site for your team can be arranged and tailored to a specific challenge.
We are as flexible in providing PD as the design centered models of solution we offer. Learn more about InspirED events.
Collaboration is key to systems change and to design thinking. We work with like-minded educators to reimagine education with the student experience as the centerpiece. As part of this, we are proud to have our own collaborator Dr. Erin Lynn Raab's venture, REENVISIONED, as a project under the SchoolFWD umbrella. REENVISIONED is a national movement to redefine the purpose of school - read more here.
Professional development events and coaching can be arranged in many configurations. Site visits and mentorship with SchoolFWD founder Erik Burmeister are available. Larger scale conferences for site teams are produced to introduce school and district leaders to the benefits of using design to address challenges. Full workshops at your site for your team can be arranged and tailored to a specific challenge.
We are as flexible in providing PD as the design centered models of solution we offer. Learn more about InspirED events.
Our Mission
Education leaders who are ready to break free from constraints and create lasting positive change in their schools or districts can be exponentially more successful by learning to apply design principles to their practice. A leader using the design mindset - tailored for the education field - will inspire change by
The mission of SchoolFWD is to make professional development and resources in education design principles available at reasonable cost to any education professional who desires them. We seek to raise money from like-minded donors who share our belief that school can be made better for all stakeholders - students, parents, educators and community - by spreading knowledge of design in education. We strive to bring this knowledge to schools and districts who see its benefits, but lack resources for training and coaching. SchoolFWD is a non-profit (EIN 47-4286746) corporation accepting tax-exempt donations. To support SchoolFWD, either in general or by sponsoring a school team, please contact Parke Treadway.
- assembling the right team of innovators
- asking the right questions
- viewing problems through the lens of possibility
- saying “Yes" in a culture of no
- empathizing, testing and re-empathizing
- implementing unique, flexible, repeatable solutions that work over time
The mission of SchoolFWD is to make professional development and resources in education design principles available at reasonable cost to any education professional who desires them. We seek to raise money from like-minded donors who share our belief that school can be made better for all stakeholders - students, parents, educators and community - by spreading knowledge of design in education. We strive to bring this knowledge to schools and districts who see its benefits, but lack resources for training and coaching. SchoolFWD is a non-profit (EIN 47-4286746) corporation accepting tax-exempt donations. To support SchoolFWD, either in general or by sponsoring a school team, please contact Parke Treadway.
Collaborators
Erik Burmeister is the Superintendent of the Menlo Park City School District, having recently served as Assistant Superintendent and Principal of the district's Hillview Middle School, a model 21st Century School and 2015 California Gold Ribbon School. Under Erik’s leadership, schools have closed the achievement gap and broadened the support and opportunities afforded students at a very vulnerable time in their lives: adolescence. Erik’s partnership with the Stanford Design School has opened new ways of thinking about reforming school, and led him to become an expert in applying design to solving a variety of education challenges. Erik has been named Middle Grades Principal of the Year for the Association of California School Administrators and one of three finalists for the NASSP National Middle Grades Principals in 2014. Erik was also selected as the 2013 Multiplier of the Year in Education by the Wiseman Group. Erik leads workshops for parents on raising teens and also consults with schools and districts regarding a myriad of educational and leadership topics including school redesign, technology implementation, RtI2, Asset Development, Design Thinking, and Innovation. As Co-Founder of The SchoolFWD Foundation, Erik is the thought leader behind our mission to bring design solutions to leaders ready to make lasting change in their schools and districts.
Erin Lynn Raab, Ph.D. is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of REENVISIONED, a national movement to redefine the purpose of school, starting by catalyzing a new conversation (www.reenvisioned.org). She is passionate about empowering students as positive change makers in their lives, communities, and the world. Erin earned her Ph.D. at Stanford's Graduate School of Education and has trained with Stanford’s d.school: she believes the mindsets that underlie design thinking will be key to any lasting transformational change in education. Previously, Erin was Founder & Executive Director of the KwaNdengezi Education Center in the KwaNdengezi township in South Africa. As Senior Researcher for MIET Africa, Erin worked closely with the South African Department of Basic Education to examine the extrinsic barriers to learning faced daily by many South African children. Erin's ventures all lead to learning and thinking deeply about new ways to create a system the fosters empowering learning experiences for educators and students. As a collaborator with The SchoolFWD Foundation and co-producer of our InspirED events, Erin brings her unique perspective and global experience to the creation and teaching of our curriculum.
Parke Treadway is the Public Information Officer for the Menlo Park City School District, having previously served as coordinator for the Mini-Course program, a week-long session of over thirty-five courses on a variety of topics for the nearly 900 students at Hillview Middle School in Menlo Park, California. Parke is also Site Director for Costano School in Ravenswood Elementary School District with the All Students Matter organization. Parke has volunteer classroom experience at all grade levels and in districts ranging from well-funded and high achieving to low income and high need. At the school administration and district level, Parke has been engaged to write Distinguished School Award and federal grant applications. Parke served as a Board member for the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation and her initial fundraising campaign won an Apple Award for outstanding projects from the California Consortium of Education Foundations. As a member of MPAEF’s Jeannie Ritchie Innovation Grant committee, Parke awarded and acted as liaison to a variety of classroom innovation projects. As Co-Founder of The SchoolFWD Foundation, Parke provides the communications and logistics necessary to fulfill our mission.
Erin Lynn Raab, Ph.D. is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of REENVISIONED, a national movement to redefine the purpose of school, starting by catalyzing a new conversation (www.reenvisioned.org). She is passionate about empowering students as positive change makers in their lives, communities, and the world. Erin earned her Ph.D. at Stanford's Graduate School of Education and has trained with Stanford’s d.school: she believes the mindsets that underlie design thinking will be key to any lasting transformational change in education. Previously, Erin was Founder & Executive Director of the KwaNdengezi Education Center in the KwaNdengezi township in South Africa. As Senior Researcher for MIET Africa, Erin worked closely with the South African Department of Basic Education to examine the extrinsic barriers to learning faced daily by many South African children. Erin's ventures all lead to learning and thinking deeply about new ways to create a system the fosters empowering learning experiences for educators and students. As a collaborator with The SchoolFWD Foundation and co-producer of our InspirED events, Erin brings her unique perspective and global experience to the creation and teaching of our curriculum.
Parke Treadway is the Public Information Officer for the Menlo Park City School District, having previously served as coordinator for the Mini-Course program, a week-long session of over thirty-five courses on a variety of topics for the nearly 900 students at Hillview Middle School in Menlo Park, California. Parke is also Site Director for Costano School in Ravenswood Elementary School District with the All Students Matter organization. Parke has volunteer classroom experience at all grade levels and in districts ranging from well-funded and high achieving to low income and high need. At the school administration and district level, Parke has been engaged to write Distinguished School Award and federal grant applications. Parke served as a Board member for the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation and her initial fundraising campaign won an Apple Award for outstanding projects from the California Consortium of Education Foundations. As a member of MPAEF’s Jeannie Ritchie Innovation Grant committee, Parke awarded and acted as liaison to a variety of classroom innovation projects. As Co-Founder of The SchoolFWD Foundation, Parke provides the communications and logistics necessary to fulfill our mission.