From Overcrowded to One-on-One: Reimagining School with Fusion's Micro Model with Lena Martinez Kalilian cover art

From Overcrowded to One-on-One: Reimagining School with Fusion's Micro Model with Lena Martinez Kalilian

From Overcrowded to One-on-One: Reimagining School with Fusion's Micro Model with Lena Martinez Kalilian

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 📣 The Ruckus Report Quick take: When the system broke her heart, she built a new one. From a classroom with no chairs to a network of 1:1 micro schools, Lena Martinez Kalilian is rewriting the rules of what school can be. 🤝 Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Lena Martinez Kalilian is a former classroom teacher who experienced the limits of traditional schooling firsthand. Now a pioneer at Fusion Education Group, Lena leads a nationwide network of one-to-one micro schools designed to prioritize student belonging, interest-driven learning, and flexible, personalized schedules. She's on a mission to put love at the center of school design — and create places where students thrive, not just survive. 🔨 Breaking Down the Old Rules 🎯 Key Insight #1: The Class Size Myth What's broken: Cramming 40 kids into a classroom and expecting personalization.The shift: A micro school model with 1:1 instruction and flexible pacing.Impact: Students are engaged, confident, and finally seen — teacher burnout drops dramatically. 🎯 Key Insight #2: Teaching Before Trust What's broken: Leading with content before connection.The shift: A learning philosophy built on love, motivation, then teaching.Impact: Relationships become the gateway to mastery and critical thinking. 🎯 Key Insight #3: Standardized Systems, One-Size-Fits-All Schedules What's broken: Age-based cohorts, rigid start times, and locked-in pacing.The shift: Flexible, personalized schedules based on student peak learning times and interest development.Impact: Students discover self-agency, intrinsic motivation, and joy in learning — and it sticks. 💬 Quotable Ruckus "Love, motivate, teach. That's the order — and that's the revolution." – Lena Martinez Kalilian 🏋️ Your Do School Different Challenge Ready to implement these ideas? Start here: Tomorrow: Ask your staff: what would it look like to lead with love in our classrooms?This Month: Audit your schedule for flexibility. Where can you give students more autonomy?This Semester: Pilot a mentorship-first initiative where teachers focus on connection before content. 🔗 Connect & Continue 🎯 Get the full episode transcript here 🔗 Follow Lena Martinez Kalilian: Website: https://www.fusionacademy.com/LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lynna-martinez-khalilian-413a2b75 📌 Ruckus Makers Don't Just Listen — They Act If education ain't a bit disruptive, then what are your students really learning? This show isn't about doing school better. It's about Doing School Different — and joining a movement of bold, creative school leaders who reject legacy models and reimagine what's possible. 🧠 Here are four ways we can help you on your Do School Different journey: 📬 Subscribe to the Free Newsletter — 3x a week tools, mindset shifts, and strategies that actually work: ruckusmakers.news 🗞 Read Ruckus Maker Media — Exclusive content on Substack. Leadership insights, AI tools, book previews: ruckusmakers.media 💥 Join The Ruckus Maker Club — Private network + workshops, AI Prompt Library, The Automatic School tools: ruckusmakers.club 🧨 Apply to the Mastermind — Weekly coaching, peer mentorship, and our proven Ruckus Maker Flywheel: betterleadersbetterschools.com/mastermind 🎙 Today's RUCKUS cast in Partnership With: ODP Business Solutions® Looking to create the kind of campus experience students never forget? ODP Business Solutions® transforms ordinary spaces into extraordinary learning environments. 🔍 Visit odpbusiness.com/education and let's Do School Different. IXL Over 1 million teachers rely on IXL because it is empowering, it helps them make better decisions with reliable data, and it adapts instruction based on student performance. 🔍 Get started today at ixl.com/leaders PLAY PIPER Kids love gaming and computers, but are disengaged from Math and Science at school. Play Piper changes that with hands-on STEM kits and a coding curriculum. 🔍 Learn more at playpiper.com © 2026 Twelve Practices LLC | If Education Ain't a Bit Disruptive, Then What Are Your Students Learning?
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