Wes Davis

Five conditions WNC educators say help students thrive, plus practical examples and reflection questions schools can use to strengthen current practice and identify change ideas.

On July 28–29, educators, school and district teams, and community partners from across Western North Carolina gathered at Southwestern Community College for the 2026 WNC Resilience Project Summer Convening: Pathways to Resilience. This wasn’t designed as a traditional conference. We wanted people to connect across roles and communities, learn from what is already working across the region, and leave with something they could actually use: a clearer picture of an experience they want to...

How do schools move from one exceptional teacher to a culture of great teaching across the entire building? This article explores how school leaders can use experiential learning, lesson study, continuous improvement, and collaborative practice to spread innovation from the inside out—without relying on top-down mandates. Grounded in research on collective efficacy and real-world school change, it offers practical strategies for scaling engagement, collaboration, and learner-centered teaching.