Work with Us: Educators

Working with Educators

Educators and system leaders navigate complex, local challenges every day. At CRER, we partner with educators to understand real-world conditions in districts, schools, and classrooms, and what it feels like to implement solutions within the pace, pressure, and limitations of their daily work. 

Co-designing with educators is in an iterative, interactive process. We listen deeply to understand the current challenges as well as internal dynamics of negotiation and sensemaking within their local context.

We don’t see research as providing a magic recipe. We treat it as a practical tool for change when it is woven together with educator knowledge and the grounded realities of implementation. 

What CRER brings

Critical thought partnership and co-design.
Partners describe CRER as “really critical thought partners” and “dynamic co-design people that you can make stuff with.” We help teams clarify what they’re trying to change, why it matters, and what it will take to put solutions into practice.

Deep expertise in meaningful use—and design of—research for change in educational systems and practice. We co-design and facilitate learning structures that support educators in making sense of challenges, sharing cross-site learning, and adapting strategies as conditions change. Our designs “walk the talk” of integrating research on professional learning and research use with the specific contexts and roles of educators.

The ability to hold space for learning at the intersection of research and practice.
As one partner put it, CRER holds spaces that “allow me to dream big without fear...think deeply about our past work without bias, and future work with hope.”  We create structured, human-centered spaces where people can make meaning together, use research as a tool for design, and move toward action.

How we work with educators

We start with your context and your questions.
We begin by deeply listening to understand what your students, schools, and communities are up against, and what “better” would look like where you are.

We work in the cadence of school and district life.
We learn the rhythms that shape what’s possible (weekly, monthly, seasonal) and the internal dynamics of negotiation and sensemaking in your setting, so the work fits the reality of your system.

We bring research into the work in ways that support action.
We help teams draw on research to inform decisions, test ideas, and learn quickly, while staying grounded in local context and practical wisdom.

We connect cross-district learning to local needs.
Instead of figuring out systems change in isolation, we design across contexts to support ongoing learning. Through spaces like the Research-Practice District Network (RPDN), we work at the intersection of research, cross-district perspectives, and local context to strengthen leadership and support improvement.

An example of how we work with educators

Research Practice Design Network (RPDN). As part of our work with the Wallace Foundation's Equity-Centered Principal Pipeline Initiative, we design and facilitate a collaborative network of district leaders who are puzzling through how to design powerful systems for school leadership. RPDN is a learning space where districts bring real problems of practice, co-design approaches grounded in evidence, and adapt ideas to fit local context and constraints.

If you’re an educator, let’s connect.

If you want to co-design tools and learning experiences that weave together the reality of local context, insights from other contexts, and research to address your challenges, we’d love to connect. 

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