E38-"If We Redesign School, What Should We Build Instead?", Katie Martin

NewTech High Blog
May 25, 2026

Happy Memorial Day! For those of us in the Upper Midwest, this was the weekend where things finally broke free. In turn, we are looking forward to a warm and outstanding week. Many of us closed our schools and had graduation this weekend. Other school districts are going to be going through this over the next couple of weeks. Enjoy our transition into June and summer vacation!

I had the good fortune of coming across this Substack yesterday from Katie Martin, Co-Director of our partner Learner-Centered Collaborative. If you recall, we hosted Katie last fall in one of our episodes. She has so many great articles on personalized, student-centered learning. Take a look at this graph. If you are intrigued, I will push you on toward the rest of the Substack. 

The Title of the Substack is "If We Redesign School, What Should We Build Instead?" This is an awesome article, a must-read for those who are passionate about our impending redesign! I'm vaguely familiar with Substack. I am going to spend some time catching up on this technology and following people like Katie! She is a true leader in this movement. 

One significant excerpt for me is this line, "The promise is that technology can free up time for experiences that traditional schools have struggled to prioritize: internships, entrepreneurship, collaborative projects, community impact, mentorship, passion-driven learning, travel, apprenticeships, wellness, and deeper human connection."

High school is too valuable to be ignored. We can't just reduce the time and think we're good. We have to create better time, as Katie has suggested. What if we redesign to do something different? That, to me, is the money play. Let's assume we have their time. How can we use if more efficiently from a rigor and relevance standpoint? 


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