In March, ROE SchoolWorks was welcomed to the Siebel Center for Design as one of the first groups to participate in Design Forward: Certification in Human-Centered Innovation—SCD’s newest professional development program. Over the course of three immersive days, ROE educators and administrators took part in a dynamic, hands-on learning experience that introduced them to the foundational principles and practical tools of Human-Centered Design (HCD).
Participants were actively engaged from day one in collaborative exercises and interactive workshops that brought the creative process to life. They looked at everything from analyzing problem spaces and synthesizing insights to prototyping solutions and facilitating with understanding, all in the context of real-world challenges in regional education today.
💬 “Running Design Forward was such a great experience,” said Saad Shehab, Associate Director of Assessment and Research at SCD. “It’s always exciting to see participants engage in learning about human-centered design processes, and even more rewarding to see them make connections between those processes and their day-to-day work. Design Forward offers an exceptional, hands-on opportunity to add these capabilities into their innovative problem-solving toolbox.”
The energy and openness ROE participants brought to each session were matched by their creativity. Through brainstorming activities, visual storytelling, and low-fidelity prototyping, the group explored innovative approaches to improving educational experiences and systems.
💬 “Running Design Forward with the Regional Office of Education was deeply rewarding,” said Rachel Switzky, Director of SCD. “It’s not often you get to work with such a passionate group of educators and administrators who are genuinely committed to innovation in service of students and communities.”
💬 “The process helped surface shared challenges across districts and empowered participants to collaboratively imagine new solutions,” Rachel continued. “It also gave us space to build momentum around ideas that might otherwise stay siloed or stuck.”
By the end of the program, each participant had earned a Certification in Human-Centered Design Knowledge and Capabilities, which demonstrated not only their understanding of the design process but also their capacity to apply it in meaningful ways across educational contexts.
💬 “Design Forward helps teams slow down, listen deeply, and reframe their challenges,” Rachel added. “It builds creative confidence. In the case of ROE, it helped lay the foundation for more connected, human-centered approaches to regional educational innovation.”
The ROE SchoolWorks collaboration is just one example of how Design Forward empowers professionals in any business to completely rethink what they do from a human-centered perspective. This program offers resources and structure to help others take significant next actions, whether navigating change, building partnerships, or leading with empathy. ✅.