I love my school for so many reasons. Just this morning, I received an email that provided me with yet another reason. The email was sent to the entire Upper School student body, and I was copied. It was an email rich in design thinking. It was an email full of trust that honors the wisdom of the “student.” It was an email full of promise for the depths of design – at the intersection of creativity and functionality.
Design thinking is people-centered problem solving. It is fundamentally concerned with and connected to the users of the things being designed. It is full of empathy and creative, critical thinking applied to real-world issues and challenges.
The most ambitious school leaders are serious about the design of “school.” How could one not be in our current era – to continuously think, design, and act for the best learning experiences for our learners. To give anything less than such critical attention would be unthinkable. Even if one determined to leave school “as is,” it would be superb if such decision making stemmed from thoughtful research and design, rather than status quo or de facto operations.
So, here’s the email. What a glorious invitation. How grateful I am that such is commonplace where I work and learn!
All,
I hope you all had a great weekend.
If you would like to help us design school for the “Experiment” and “Produce” phases of the projects, we need your ideas and help.
I invite you to join me either for lunch Wednesday or for breakfast Friday (on me) to discuss how we might best design the school day to position you for success.
Click here to sign up. [active link in original email]
There are only 50 available slots this week, and there will [be] more opportunities in the near future.
Enjoy your day,
—
Tyler S. Thigpen
Head of Upper School
Mount Vernon Presbyterian School
it's about learning 
Great idea. As an admin, I have been in the position to begin these discussions on a few occasions. Unfortunately, my tenure wasn’t able to see them through but it’s an awesome thing to be able to take part in. Awesome idea for engagement and working toward a community of learners. I love the Design Thinking model – it’s a great way to explore so many things that one would not consider and to bring about ideas and possibilities that have huge impact.
I love that the invitation was extended to students so that they can participate in designing how their experience plays out. I would sign up for this in a second if I were there. I can’t wait to hear how the sessions go!