{"id":10814,"date":"2025-09-24T04:00:47","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T12:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnercentered.org\/?p=10814"},"modified":"2025-10-14T12:09:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T20:09:49","slug":"hampton-township-school-design-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learnercentered.org\/blog\/hampton-township-school-design-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"From Vision to Action: How Hampton Township\u2019s School Design Teams Brought the Portrait of a Talbot to Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brittany Griffin, <\/span><\/span>Director Collective Learning at Learner-Centered Collaborative and <\/span>Dr. John Thornton, <\/span><\/span>Director of Student Services at Hampton Township School District<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Clear Vision with Distributed Leadership<\/b><\/h2>\n

Hampton Township School District in Pennsylvania co-created its<\/span> Portrait of a Talbot<\/span><\/a>: a bold, inclusive vision for the competencies all learners need to thrive, developed with students, teachers, leaders, families, and community members.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Hampton Portrait of a Talbot defines the competencies they believe all learners need to develop for success.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

To move their portrait from vision to reality, Hampton partnered with Learner-Centered Collaborative to develop their <\/span>Framework for the Future<\/span><\/a>, a 3\u20135 year strategic plan outlining the <\/span>Big Moves<\/span><\/a> needed to align structures, practices, and culture with their learner-centered vision.<\/span><\/p>\n

To activate this plan, Hampton embraced <\/span>Kotter\u2019s dual operating system<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/i> The traditional administrative structure kept operations steady, while a dynamic network of school-based <\/span>design teams<\/b><\/a> prototyped, tested, and refined strategies for the Big Moves. This model ensured broad ownership of the work by those closest to students.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kotter\u2019s dual operating system<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

In a powerful shift toward distributed leadership, design team members were invited to the district\u2019s summer leadership retreat, historically attended only by school and district administrators. This move amplified educator voice and ensured alignment between district priorities, school plans, and design team goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Watch this clip from Hampton\u2019s 2025 Spring Showcase to get a glimpse of the impact of this approach:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n