Education Revolution: Kevin Stoller Of Kay-Twelve On Innovative Approaches That Are
Transforming Education
An interview with Eden Gold
Making Data-Driven Decisions. Data says it all, and we always need to use this at the beginning of conversations to show the “why.” That’s how we get buy-in and truly show what we do and why our process is the way that it is. If we don’t, it’s hard for educators to understand our perspective on the process.
The landscape of education is undergoing a profound transformation, propelled by technological advancements, pedagogical innovations, and a deepened understanding of learning diversities. Traditional classrooms are evolving, and new modes of teaching and learning are emerging to better prepare students for the complexities of the modern world. This series will take a look at the groundbreaking work being done across the globe to redefine education. As a part of this interview series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Kevin Stoller.
Kevin Stoller has pioneered the Radically Student CenteredTM mindset, integrating this philosophy into multiple facets of the educational landscape.
Through his visionary leadership, Kevin Stoller has demonstrated that prioritizing students’ needs and fostering individualized learning environments can lead to more meaningful and effective educational experiences. His work continues to inspire and influence the broader education community, driving the adoption of student-centered practices that prepare students for success in an ever-changing world.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share the “backstory” behind what brought you to this particular career path?
My journey into the world of education and design began over a decade ago when I founded Kay-Twelve as an e-commerce platform. Initially, I focused on providing schools with essential furniture and supplies, but I quickly realized that there was a much larger opportunity to transform the educational environment itself.
Witnessing firsthand the profound impact that a well-designed learning space can have on student engagement and success, I became passionate about creating spaces that truly prioritize the needs of learners. This led to the development of our Radically Student Centered™ Approach, which emphasizes the importance of designing educational environments with the students’ experiences at the forefront.
Over the years, our team’s commitment has only deepened. I’ve been fortunate to collaborate with school leaders, architects, and educators to redefine school design and create meaningful learning experiences. This journey has been incredibly rewarding, and I’m excited to continue advocating for innovative approaches that can positively impact students and their communities.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
One of the most interesting moments in my career happened during a visit to Brookside Elementary School. I was there to check in on a pilot project involving new types of classroom furniture, and while I knew we were doing something innovative, I didn’t fully grasp the impact until that day.
As I waited for the principal, Dan Girard — a true changemaker in education — I could feel this buzz of energy coming from one side of the school. When I asked Dan about it, he just smiled and led me down the hall to one of the pilot classrooms. What I saw was transformative. The teacher had the students engaged in a way I hadn’t seen before. The classroom layout was flexible and dynamic, with kids moving between small group collaboration, independent work, and whole-class discussions seamlessly.
In that moment, I realized that what we were doing at Kay-Twelve wasn’t just about providing furniture. We were creating environments that actively shape the way students learn, collaborate, and engage with their education. It wasn’t just “selling stuff” — it was about helping educators create spaces that support a radically student-centered approach to learning.
The lesson I took from that day is that physical spaces can either limit or unlock potential, and by focusing on the latter, we’re helping schools make a real difference in the lives of their students. That realization has stayed with me and continues to drive my passion for this work.
Can you briefly share with our readers why you are an authority in the education field?
I’ve spent over a decade dedicated to transforming educational environments, which has given me a unique perspective on how the physical design of schools impacts student success. As the founder of Kay-Twelve, we’ve pioneered the Radically Student Centered™ Approach, focusing on creating learning spaces that enhance collaboration, engagement, and creativity. Our work has reached schools across the country, providing solutions that go beyond furniture to truly reshape the educational experience.
In addition to my role at Kay-Twelve, I host the Better Learning Podcast, which is affiliated with leading educational organizations like the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE) and EDmarket. Through this platform, I’ve had the opportunity to engage with top educators, school leaders, and architects to explore innovative ways to improve education.
I’m also involved with two other ventures that amplify this mission. The Second Class Foundation uses media to highlight educational challenges and solutions, while the Education Leaders’ Organization creates a community for school leaders to support one another in driving change. These initiatives reflect my commitment to improving education from multiple angles, and they have allowed me to collaborate with a broad network of educators and experts, all focused on the future of learning.
Can you identify some areas of the US education system that are going really great?
While the U.S. education system faces many challenges, there are also several areas where positive trends and innovations are making a significant impact:
- Increased Focus on Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): Schools across the U.S. are increasingly integrating SEL into the curriculum. This focus helps students develop emotional intelligence, resilience, and interpersonal skills, fostering better mental health and improving academic performance.
- Growth of STEM and STEAM Programs: The emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), has expanded opportunities for students to engage in hands-on, real-world learning. These programs better prepare learners for their future.
- Personalized Learning: Many districts are moving toward personalized learning models, where instruction is tailored to individual students’ needs, interests, and learning paces. Competency-based learning, which allows students to advance upon mastery rather than seat time, is gaining traction, ensuring that students are truly absorbing material before moving on.
- Career and Technical Education (CTE): CTE programs, which provide students with technical skills and real-world experience in industries like healthcare, IT, manufacturing, and construction, are expanding nationwide. These programs offer pathways to well-paying jobs right out of high school and align education with workforce needs.
- Partnerships with Community Organizations: Schools are increasingly collaborating with community organizations, businesses, and universities to provide more holistic education. These partnerships support after-school programs, mentorship, internships, and community service opportunities, helping students develop both academically and socially.
Can you identify the key areas of the US education system that should be prioritized for improvement? Can you explain why those are so critical?
One of the most critical areas that should be prioritized in the U.S. education system is shifting the focus from comparison-based metrics to individualized student growth. Too often, education is treated as a competition, with students being ranked based on grades, test scores, and interventions. Terms like “learning loss” have become part of the narrative, but this approach overlooks the uniqueness of each student’s journey.
Instead, we should be embracing a more student-centered approach, one that aligns with the Gap and the Gain mentality. This concept, from the book by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy, focuses on helping students recognize their individual progress rather than comparing themselves to a standard or a top percentile. Every student should be setting their own goals, working towards personal achievements, and reflecting on how far they’ve come, rather than being measured against their peers. This is critical because real learning happens when students are empowered to take ownership of their progress and are motivated to keep improving.
Another key area for improvement is the design of learning environments. Traditional classrooms often don’t accommodate the collaborative, dynamic learning styles that today’s students need. We need to rethink how schools are designed to support active learning, creativity, and collaboration — environments where students can shift between individual focus and group work seamlessly.
Please tell us all about the innovative educational approaches that you are using. What is the specific problem that you aim to solve, and how have you addressed it?
At Kay-Twelve, our Radically Student Centered™ Approach is the foundation of everything we do. The specific problem we aim to solve is how outdated, one-size-fits-all learning environments fail to support the diverse needs of today’s students. Many classrooms are still designed in ways that limit flexibility, creativity, and collaboration — essential skills for students in the 21st century. Traditional education often focuses on standardized outcomes rather than individualized growth, and that’s where we’re stepping in to make a difference.
Our Radically Student Centered™ Approach shifts the focus entirely to the student experience. We believe that learning environments should be designed to support student engagement, collaboration, and mobility. This means creating adaptable spaces where students can easily transition between individual work and group activities, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility over their own learning.
At its core, our approach is about breaking away from the rigid, lecture-based model of education and instead creating spaces that respond to how students learn best. That’s what makes this approach truly innovative, and it’s already impacting over 700,000 students across the country.
In what ways do you think your approach might shape the future of education? What evidence supports this?
Our approach to educational design aims to serve as a guide, resource, and partner for schools as they navigate their education redesign projects.
This is a completely different approach than what most companies like us take.
We believe that by collaborating closely with educators and school leaders from the outset and using our expertise, schools will not be left with an exceptional new building, with just “furniture”. They will be left with spaces that reflect unique needs of students, which is at the core of why we exist.
Evidence of our impact can be seen in projects like the renovations at Saratoga Springs School District in New York and Euclid Elementary in Chicago, where we focused on enhancing collaboration, mobility, and engagement. These projects demonstrate how early involvement of all key stakeholders and thoughtful design can transform educational spaces, ultimately shaping a future where learning is more effective and inclusive.
How do you measure the impact of your innovative educational practices on students’ learning and well-being?
We measure the impact of our projects on students’ learning and well-being by tracking the number of students positively impacted on a weekly basis.
This key metric allows us to assess how our Radically Student Centered™ approach and our team is making a difference in real-time.
Right now, Kay-Twelve has impacted over 800,000 learners’ lives in total, which is well on our goal to impact over 10,000,000 learners’ lives by 2030.
Ultimately, our focus on quantifying positive impacts proves our commitment to improving educational experiences and outcomes for all learners.
What challenges have you faced in implementing your educational innovations, and how have you overcome them?
One significant challenge has been ensuring that all stakeholders — educators, administrators, and students — are on board with the new design philosophies and practices we advocate.
But to overcome this, we are always prioritizing early engagement and collaboration.
When we do this and are part of the process from the beginning, we can conduct research like feedback sessions and surveys to understand their concerns and gather insights, which helps us refine our approach and make necessary adjustments.
But this can only be done when we are brought in early. Which is why we are flipping the model for FF&E projects by trying to get involved early.
Keeping in mind the “Law of Unintended Consequences” can you see any potential drawbacks of this innovation that people should think more deeply about?
Yes, the biggest being Implementation Challenges. This shift to more collaborative, engaging spaces may require significant changes in educator mindsets and teaching practices.
But there is a reason for this shift.
The job market is changing, so should our education system and how we are preparing our students.
As industries evolve, the skills needed in the workforce — such as collaboration, critical thinking, and adaptability — are more important than ever.
By reimagining classroom spaces, we can better equip students with the tools they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
What are your “5 Things I Wish I Knew When I First Started”?
1 . The importance of the work we do. We aren’t just “selling furniture”, we are making huge impact. This shift should have taken place long before now, but we are glad the impact is starting to shape now.
2 . Investing in professional development for educators. Implementing innovative designs doesn’t matter if we don’t show our educators the benefits and the “why” behind design. We need to always look at providing professional development and looking at ways to improve it.
3 . Making Data-Driven Decisions. Data says it all, and we always need to use this at the beginning of conversations to show the “why.” That’s how we get buy-in and truly show what we do and why our process is the way that it is. If we don’t, it’s hard for educators to understand our perspective on the process.
4 . The Power of Collaboration. Collaborative relationships are essential for understanding the unique needs of each school, and they lead to more successful projects. I wish I would have known this earlier, because projects go so much more smoothly when all key stakeholders are in the room and have a voice.
5 . Ability to anticipate resistance to change and attachment to status quo. Change can be daunting for educators and administrators who are accustomed to traditional methods and have been in their roles for long periods. If this would have been a thought before, we could have found ways to better educate them on why we do what we do.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
True progress is measured not by comparisons to others, but by personal gains.
This relates to my own personal story, and how we still operate within education.
I was driving my daughter to her first cross-country meet of the year. I started asking her about her strategy for the race. She wanted to beat her personal record and we talked through the what her split times would need to be to stay on pace.
It was all about her personal progress and improvements.
She never once told me she wanted to be “Above Grade Level” or be in the Top 5% of her class.
But we continually turn education into this game of comparison — whether it’s grades, test scores, intervention, or my new most hated term in education “learning loss.”
What if we instead applied a Gap and the Gain mentality to education? What if each student is looked as an individual? They set goals for themselves. The teachers and staff help them work towards those goals. At that future date, they look back not just with a grade on a report card, but with insights to allow the students to reflect. They can acknowledge the gains they made and then set new targets to strive toward in the future.
That’s to me what student-centered education looks like.
If you’re not familiar with the concept of the Gap and the Gain, I’d recommend you read the book by Dan Sullivan & Benjamin Hardy, PhD. It’s the idea that most people are focused on the Gap — the failures & disappointment of the results, and not enough time focusing on the improvements made. It’s about getting better every day and building on the momentum.
My daughter didn’t win her race, and the reality is she may never win a race in her life. But she got her best time, and she left the race proud and excited for the next one.
We are blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Gary V! I admire his passion for helping others succeed and his ability to inspire action, something that I strive to do within education. I would love to help build our “Radically Student Centered” community, and conversation could spark innovative ideas and strategies that could further our mission in educational redesign.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
https://www.betterlearningpodcast.com/ is our hub, and where we continue to push the conversation around educational innovation, strategies for school redesign, and the importance of student-centered approaches. These are some of the biggest names in the industry including Emily Cole (owner of the Savannah Bananas), Ted Dintersmith (founder and Chair of WhatSchoolCouldBe.org), Merril Hoge (former NFL star), and more!
All of these perspectives are what help influence the work and what help drive our industry to keep evolving.
Thank you so much for these insights! This was so inspiring!
About The Interviewer: Eden Gold, is a youth speaker, keynote speaker, founder of the online program Life After High School, and host of the Real Life Adulting Podcast. Being America’s rising force for positive change, Eden is a catalyst for change in shaping the future of education. With a lifelong mission of impacting the lives of 1 billion young adults, Eden serves as a practical guide, aiding young adults in honing their self-confidence, challenging societal conventions, and crafting a strategic roadmap towards the fulfilling lives they envision.
Do you need a dynamic speaker, or want to learn more about Eden’s programs? Click here: https://bit.ly/EdenGold.
Education Revolution: Kevin Stoller Of Kay-Twelve On Innovative Approaches That Are
Transforming… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.