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Nevada educators outline ‘Portrait of a Nevada Learner,’ launch statewide learning network
Summary
A Nevada-based nonprofit and the Department of Education described a co‑designed statewide vision for learner‑centered education and a new Nevada Future of Learning Network that is piloting competency-based approaches in roughly 145 educators’ classrooms and has engaged over 400 young people in development.
Janine Collins, cofounder of the Center for the Future of Learning, told the Senate Committee on Education in Carson City on 2025-03-01 that a statewide “Portrait of a Nevada Learner” and the Nevada Future of Learning Network aim to center durable skills — such as communication, collaboration and critical thinking — alongside academic knowledge.
Collins said the portrait was co‑designed with young people, educators and community members and launched as a statewide effort in October 2023 in partnership with the Nevada Department of Education. “If education is, as many of us believe, an important opportunity to support young people in charting the lives they imagine for themselves, they need learning relationships, experiences and environments that meet them in the world they live and prepare them for the future they hope,” Collins said.
Why it matters: presenters told the committee the work responds to longstanding challenges cited by Nevada educators — chronic absenteeism, a shrinking teacher pipeline and employer feedback that graduates need stronger “durable” or transferable skills. Collins described the portrait as a “job description” for learning and the network as the process and support structure for implementing it at the district and classroom level.
Details presented to the committee include: - Community engagement and scope: Collins said the portrait development engaged over 400 young people through surveys and deeper fellowships and drew on existing district profiles from places such as Churchill County and Douglas County. - Network scale and pilot work: Collins said the Nevada Future of Learning Network includes roughly 145 educators across multiple districts working in a competency implementation pilot that is defining how competencies (the portrait’s back page) evolve by grade band and how they align with academic standards. - Implementation activities: the network hosts policy subcommittees, professional learning for educators, and efforts to surface school‑level examples so local practice can inform state policy.
Presenters acknowledged implementation barriers. Collins told senators educators feel overwhelmed and need dedicated time, professional learning resources and funding for sustained work. “Being able to provide supports, incentives for educators, funding for their professional learning and their time and their resources … was critical,” she said. The presentation noted the work uses a continuum of assessments including performance tasks and portfolios rather than relying solely on standard worksheets.
Partners and recognition: Collins highlighted partnerships with the Nevada Department of Education, the Nevada Association of School Superintendents and the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education. She said the state’s emphasis on “asking authentic questions” in the portrait has attracted national attention.
Next steps: presenters asked the committee to note the network’s opt‑in design and to support continued engagement and funding to expand implementation and youth pathways (including future storytelling and advocacy programs for students). For more detail the presenters referenced nvfutureoflearning.org.
The presentation and committee questions took place during the Senate Committee on Education hearing; committee members followed the presentation with questions about assessment alignment, pathways for districts to join the network, and how the network is addressing teacher workload and absenteeism.
