School systems are constantly working to improve. Whether it’s adopting new instructional materials, strengthening professional learning, or redesigning multi-tiered systems of support, districts are often expected to learn and implement at the same time. The result can feel like “building the plane while flying it,” figuring out what works while the change is already underway.
Learning Before Scaling
But what if there were a way to learn before scaling? What if districts had a place to test ideas, study implementation, and understand what it takes to make change successful? One promising answer is the Lab School model.
A Lab School is not a place where educators come to observe perfect lessons or polished implementation. As a learning laboratory, it creates space to test ideas, try new approaches, study what happens in practice, and make ongoing adjustments. It is a setting where teachers, coaches, principals, and district leaders learn alongside one another. At its core, a Lab School rests on the belief that making practice public expands learning for everyone involved. This stands in contrast to the typical structure of schooling, where teaching is often siloed and practice remains largely private, limiting opportunities for shared learning and collective improvement.
Lab School Model
Imagine a school where a grade-level team is gathered to plan for an upcoming mathematics lesson. Around the table sit the teachers, an instructional coach, and the principal, collaboratively unpacking the lesson’s goals, anticipating student thinking, and considering the mathematical ideas students will develop. They do math together and identify instructional moves they’ll make when teaching the lesson to their students within the week. Along the perimeter of the room are district leaders, coaches, and principals from other schools observing the planning conversation, like a fishbowl. They are not there to evaluate the team. Instead, they study how the learning is facilitated, the questions that deepen educators’ understanding, and the ways the group makes sense of the mathematics, the curriculum, and the instructional decisions ahead of them. Afterward, the observers engage in a debrief conversation in a separate room, reflecting on what they noticed and what it might mean for their own leadership, coaching, or facilitation practices. In this example, what is made public is grade level team collaboration so that other school leaders can learn how to implement productive grade-level team meetings at their own school.
In a Lab School, the classroom is not the only place where learning happens and the students are not the only ones learning. The entire school becomes a space where adult learning is visible, shared, and continuously strengthened.
What makes lab schools especially valuable is that they allow educators to learn before they scale an idea. New professional learning structures, instructional practices, leadership approaches, or systems can be tested in a smaller setting where educators can closely study what supports success. Rather than assuming a change will work as intended, districts can learn what it actually takes to make the change successful.
Learning across Role Groups
The real power of a Lab School is its ability to generate learning early in the change process. As educators engage in the work, they develop a deeper understanding of what supports success, build on existing strengths, and uncover important insights about the conditions that help new practices take root. These experiences help teams identify opportunities to strengthen systems, refine supports, and make informed decisions before scaling an initiative more broadly. District leaders can learn what resources and structures, as well as messages are necessary before expanding an initiative. Principals can see what leadership moves help create the conditions for success. Coaches can better understand the questions teachers are likely to have, the expertise they bring, and the kinds of support that can help deepen their practice. By learning in a smaller context first, districts are better positioned to make thoughtful decisions and build the conditions needed for lasting improvement.
Building Learning Organizations
At their best, Lab Schools help districts become learning organizations. Rather than treating implementation as a process of rolling out solutions, districts learn to approach change with curiosity, inquiry, and a commitment to continuous improvement. Lab Schools create a space where educators can ask questions before making large investments, test assumptions before scaling initiatives, and learn from authentic practice before expecting widespread adoption. The goal is not to create a model school that others attempt to replicate. The goal is to create a learning environment where educators collectively discover what it takes to make meaningful change possible. In a field where improvement often moves faster than learning, Lab Schools offer something rare and valuable: the opportunity for an entire system to learn together.
The Evolving Educator: 
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