The Challenge
Like many schools with a bold vision for the future, San José Learning Community knew what they wanted: a learning experience driven by passion, guided by purpose, and centred on the learner.
They didn’t need to be convinced of the “why.” What they needed was a partner to help bring their vision to life with clarity, structure, and long-term support for real, lasting change.
They wanted to go beyond traditional subject-based learning and nurture a new kind of learner. One who is self-directed, emotionally engaged, and equipped with life-ready skills.
meant rethinking the role of teachers, the design of learning experiences, and the language used across the school.
“Georgi has had a strong impact on my life and on San José Learning Community, helping us embark on our learning journey with Learnlife. He has demonstrated himself to be a lifelong learner and has guided us through this learning adventure, making it fun, accessible, reliable, flexible, growth-minded, and enriching.”
– Elsa Amavizca, Director of Pedagogy & Innovation
Their goals were ambitious:
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Align leadership, educators and learners with a unified vision.
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Build a framework to guide learning and assessment through competencies.
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Support teachers in taking ownership of their professional growth.
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Create a scalable roadmap to sustain transformation over time.
The Solution
Our partnership began with a deep immersion.
The school’s leadership team, including the General Director, Pedagogical Director, and division leads, spent two weeks at Learnlife in Barcelona. They observed learning in action, reflected on their own context and explored what it would take to lead change in their own school.
We worked together to reimagine how learning could look and feel when centred around real skills and personal growth, and started by defining the vision.
“We’ve continued to develop the vision of San José Learning Community, focusing on the learner profile we want for our community.” - Georgi Panayotov, Learnlife Trainer
From there, the team restructured academic subjects into building blocks to adopt a more flexible and integrated way to develop skills and competencies.
“We’ve connected the skills we want to prioritise with the different building blocks — which used to be subjects — and ensured that those skills are being learned in a tangible way.” - Georgi Panayotov, Learnlife Trainer
A pioneering team of educators took part in foundational training around learning experience design. Teachers received on-site support and co-created a development system operating at three levels:
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Individual Growth through self-assessment and reflection.
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Peer Learning via observation and communities of practice.
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Leadership Support through coaching and feedback cycles.
This structure gave teachers the tools, confidence and encouragement to make change stick.
Six months later, we returned to observe the shifts in action. Through classroom visits and reflective dialogue, we helped the team deepen their practice and modelled leadership strategies to support ongoing change.
A two-year roadmap was co-designed, along with a tailored strategy to embed learner autonomy school-wide. And perhaps most importantly, a team of internal ambassadors began leading the way, spreading new practices and nurturing a culture of collaboration and curiosity.
The Impact
San José Learning Community now has a strong foundation for long-term transformation.
Learning now focuses on real-world competencies, not just content. Teachers feel more connected as a team, are designing meaningful learning experiences and growing as reflective practitioners.
Learners are showing signs of deeper engagement, increased motivation and autonomy.
More than a new methodology, this shift is becoming a new way of being. A culture of passion, purpose, and autonomy.
“We are very excited to start the school year with the training we have received from Learnlife through Georgi, trusting that our children will have a happy and meaningful learning experience. One where they develop autonomy and discover their passion.”
– Elsa Amavizca, Director of Pedagogy & Innovation
What was the Secret to Success?
San José Learning Community didn’t just want change, they were ready to lead it. With a clear vision and a deep commitment to growth, they embraced a process that was layered, reflective, and built for sustainable long term transformation.
They now have the tools, the team, and the trust in place to keep moving forward and learners who are ready to grow with them.
