Join us in helping schools in Western NC become hubs of resilience, healing, and innovation!
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Ben Pendarvis is a dedicated and advanced experiential education teacher and facilitator with a passion for transforming education. Fluent in innovative education networks and grounded in research, student-centered innovations, teacher leadership, and authentic teaching and learning, Ben has become a trusted voice in education policy, change, and leadership.
With extensive experience in the field, Ben currently serves as the Outreach Director at Open Way Learning in Raleigh, NC. In this role, Ben leads and supports multiple school and district projects, working humanely to build and scale cultures of learner-centered innovation. Collaborating with various public education stakeholders and the learning communities he serves, Ben co-designs powerful learning experiences with all types of educators and learners that visibly shift classroom and school cultures.
Prior to this, Ben worked as an Instructional Coach & Designer at Constructive Learning Design, based in Raleigh, NC. There, Ben played a pivotal role in co-designing and facilitating a statewide network focused on Better Measures for Learning grading and assessment practices. Additionally, the Better Measures team collaborated with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) on the PBL Academy during SY2021-22, where he successfully facilitated open sharing and PD for Project-Based Learning with 55 education stakeholders across all education regions.
Ben's dedication to education extends back to his time at Tri-County Early College High School in Murphy, NC. Starting August 2012, Ben engaged with students, colleagues, and external partners in deep learning experiences in and around Cherokee county. At TCEC, he and his colleagues co-led initiatives for the school’s research and development, implementing school-wide projects and competency-based assessment systems that created pathways and policies enabling equitable education for all students.
With a Masters of Science in Experiential Education from Minnesota State University, Mankato, Ben possesses a solid foundation in educational research. During his studies, he conducted a comprehensive literature review in experiential education research and synthesized findings, teacher and professor practices, and learner experiences to create compelling content for the College of Education’s Center for School & University Partnerships magazine.
Ben's accomplishments are notable, including being selected as an NC Hope Street Group Teaching Fellow in 2017. He has been featured in interviews and publications by Education Reimagined and the Getting Unstuck podcast, and has made significant contributions to education advocacy, such as advocating for the revival of Competency-Based Education policies in the NC General Assembly. Furthermore, Ben's dedication to education has led him to research, edit, and publish four education magazines, sharing valuable insights with the wider educational community as a journalist.