Henry Ford Learning Institute

⏳ Free Webinar: One Strategy for Retaining CTE Teachers in a Challenging Climate

Hosted by Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL)
June 12, 2026 | 12:00pm Eastern

Join Deborah Parizek, Executive Director of Henry Ford Learning Institute, and her co-facilitator, Beth Grzelak, Community Coach and Learning Design Lead at Ford Next Generation, for this quick, interactive, generative session designed to expand your tools for retaining and engaging your CTE educators.

▶️ Space is limited. Register today! http://bit.ly/4emGeLr

Yesterday, HFLI’s Deborah Parizek and Theo Kozerski facilitated a session for all attendees at the inaugural Bowling Green State University Life Design Convening.

🔥After a thought-provoking fireside chat with BGSU President Rodney Rogers and Life Design trailblazer Bill Burnett, the Life Design educators from 27 colleges and universities brought such incredible energy, enthusiasm, and openness to our session - "Building Community and Connection Through Shared Purpose, Shared Work and Shared Joy.”

🍀The convening has been a great learning experience for us as well. We look forward to staying connected to the incredible champions of Life Design we’ve met over the past two days, and continuing our collaboration with the team at the Geoffrey H. Radbill Center for College and Life Design.

HFLI is excited to facilitate the featured workshop at the BGSU Life Design Convening. This inaugural gathering brings together life design educators from across higher education to explore how life design frameworks take shape to support student success and career readiness.

Attendees, we'd love to see and share your pics from the workshop, throughout the Convening, and beyond as you practice using and implement some of the takeaways from "Building Community and Connection Through Shared Purpose, Shared Work and Shared Joy.”

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Many schools are working to increase student engagement and make learning more relevant—but it’s hard to move beyond the day-to-day routine without time and support to redesign instruction.

We’re hosting a 3-day, hands-on workshop this summer focused on exactly that:

Design Thinking for Deeper Student Learning
📅 August 5–7
📍 Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation (Dearborn, MI)

Participants step into the role of learners as they design a lesson or project to bring directly back to their classroom or school. The focus is on creating learning experiences that build real engagement, agency, and deeper learning.

We keep the group intentionally small to support meaningful collaboration and coaching.

👉 Learn more or register: https://hfli.org/design-thinking-for-deeper-student-learning-2026/

Congratulations to our colleagues at Ford Philanthropy, Carhartt, and Tool Bank USA on the grand opening of Tool Bank - Detroit!

Led by ED Dave Bartek, Tool Bank - Detroit will provide local nonprofits, schools, and community groups with affordable access to a 7,000-square-foot warehouse of tools for community revitalization and other projects.

✏️HFLI recently had the pleasure of hosting a team from IFF at two Henry Ford Academy sites.

Together, we explored how aspects of our facilities design approach support our educational model, intended learning outcomes, and the unique considerations of situating a public school in a public space.

Preparing young people for a world of constant change is both exciting and complex. Our 3-day workshop supports educators in meeting that challenge by introducing design thinking as a practical, student-centered approach that builds critical thinking, creativity, and real-world problem-solving into everyday learning.

Join us! This workshop is designed to be a space where educators feel supported, valued, and inspired. You’ll be part of a collaborative community grounded in shared purpose, shared work, and shared joy. We prioritize accessibility and care for participants by keeping fees manageable, providing daily meals (breakfast and lunch) and snacks, and offering continued access to workshop materials and resources beyond the experience.

To learn more and register, scan the QR code or visit
https://hfli.org/design-thinking-for-deeper-student-learning-2026/

Please join us for this upcoming webinar, led by HFLI, and hosted by our colleagues at Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL)!

Some of the biggest challenges in education—and in many organizations—are complex, messy, and interconnected.

They involve multiple people, competing priorities, and systems that don’t always line up neatly. And often, we try to solve them with tools that aren’t designed for that kind of complexity.

That’s why we’re excited to host an upcoming webinar focused on critical thinking and creative problem-solving using context maps—a visual approach that helps teams better understand challenges, surface assumptions, and identify meaningful leverage points for change.

📅 Thursday, March 26, 2026
⏰ 11:00 AM Central

As the sponsor of the ACTE Career Academy Section, Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL) hosts several webinars each year to share practical ideas and deeper learning with educators, leaders, and partners working in and around career academies.

This session will be led by our colleagues at the Henry Ford Learning Institute (HFLI) and is designed to be useful for educators, school and district leaders, workforce partners, and anyone working to solve complex challenges.

🔗 Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/feukPMDgRjSJ8RT_TaVqUg

HFLI team meetings are kicked off with a game for two reasons: 1) to try out new collaborative games (or new adaptations) for our workshops and 2) as a part of our Shared Purpose, Shared Work, and Shared Joy.
We are so grateful for new partners who jumped in enthusiastically, totally game for a ritual that is part of HFLI's way of being.