Minnesota schools, designing with students.
A statewide network of schools, educators, and partners building a learner-centered, anti-racist education system — together.
Started by educators.
A grassroots coalition, not a top-down initiative. Practitioners first; instruments and reports came later.
MLCN grew out of years of conversation between a handful of Minnesota schools doing learner-centered work in different ways — charter, district, alternative — and recognizing they shared a vocabulary, a set of values, and a frustration with how state accountability captured none of it.
Educators leading educators.
A small staff and a working board of practitioners. The board meets annually.
Tim Quealy
A longtime teacher and administrator at Avalon School in St. Paul, Tim has been with MLCN since its inception — supporting Carrie Bakken and Julene Oxton as they worked to formalize and launch the network. He runs MLCN day-to-day: convenings, the Strength-Indicator, and the shared library. A licensed Language Arts teacher (B.A., University of Minnesota; M.A.T., Hamline), he was named a WEM Foundation Outstanding Educator in Ethics Education in 2017–18 and 2018–19.
Connect, grow, and inspire.
I’m incredibly excited to continue the great work of Julene and the MLCN team as we look ahead. Since beginning my career at Avalon School in St. Paul almost fifteen years ago, I’ve found tremendous strength, support, and inspiration through the network of like-minded educators that has existed for so long across Minnesota.
Whether it’s problem-solving, sharing best practices, finding inspiration, or simply offering a sympathetic ear, there is enormous value in community. As we move through the year, we’ll be looking for ways to do just that: to connect, to grow, and to inspire.
Tim Quealy
Executive Director
What we're here for.
To connect and empower educators and students to disrupt systemic racism and to transform learning environments to be student-centered: equitable, relevant, engaging, and designed with and for all students.
An anti-racist society and a just world through an equitable, anti-racist education.
We pursue both through three connected surfaces: a measurement tool (the Strength-Indicator), a network directory and member relationships, and a shared-practice library of resources and project showcases.
Strong partners in the work.
We work alongside researchers, member schools, and statewide partners to make Minnesota a place where every student is known.
Education Evolving
A long-standing partner whose research defined the seven principles of student-centered learning. Their framework grounds the entire architecture MLCN organizes around — every survey item, every showcase tag, every member conversation traces back to it. MLCN built the Strength-Indicator with EE and uses the framework with their permission.
Visit Education EvolvingWe're also indebted to the educators, school leaders, students, and families who have shaped MLCN's instruments and reports through pilot administrations, feedback, and honest critique over many years.
What members agree to.
Membership is not branding. It's a commitment to anti-racist, learner-centered practice — examined publicly, with peers.
Joining MLCN means signing on to four commitments. They're short, and we hold each other to them. Schools that aren't willing won't fit here.
Reflect, acknowledge, and examine
Members examine practices, policies, and curriculum to disrupt the current system and build an equitable, student-centered education system.
Honor the humanity of student-centered learning
Members recognize and value the uniqueness of each person and school they represent — inclusive of public district, public charter, and private sectors.
Contribute to and use the network
Members contribute to and draw from the network to actively dismantle the hierarchical power of the current system and distribute it to student and teacher leaders.
Lift the stories of students and teachers
Members create the narrative of the student-centered learning and equity movement in Minnesota.
Join the network.
Membership is open to Minnesota schools committed to learner-centered, equitable learning. Partner organizations participate by invitation.