REDLANDS, CA (September 22, 2026) — Sage Oak Charter Schools, a flex-based charter school serving students across Southern California, contributed to a national conversation about school choice and educational innovation. Director of Student Learning and Innovation at Sage Oak, Carleen Maurer, participated as a panelist at the fifth annual Emerging School Models conference, held September 17th-18th at Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Hosted by the Program on Education Policy and Governance (PEPG) at Harvard Kennedy School, the conference brought together researchers, policymakers, and education practitioners to explore developments in school choice through the lenses of research, policy, and practice. This year’s theme, Broadening the Landscape for Choice, examined how new legislation and programs are expanding the educational options available to families.
Maurer served as a panelist during the session “Personalized Learning: Designing Schools for the Individual Student.” She discussed how Sage Oak’s flex-based model enables educational experiences to be tailored to each student’s needs, strengths, and goals while preserving academic rigor, accountability, and meaningful educator support.
Sage Oak will continue contributing to national education conversations on September 30th, during a live webinar series hosted by the National Student Support Accelerator (NSSA), a program of Stanford University’s Systems Change Advancing Learning and Equity (SCALE) Initiative. Chenin Northgrave, Assistant Director of Student Services at Sage Oak, will participate as a virtual panelist in the session “Tutoring That Fits: Aligning High-Impact Models with Your District’s Priorities.” The virtual panel will explore how schools and districts can integrate high-impact tutoring into their existing student intervention systems.
“Opportunities like these allow Sage Oak not only to share what we have learned, but also to learn alongside educators and researchers from across the country so we can continue strengthening how we serve our students,” Superintendent Krista Woodgrift said. “I am proud that the work happening every day at Sage Oak is contributing to broader conversations about how schools can better meet the individual needs of students.”
About Sage Oak Charter Schools
Sage Oak Charter Schools is a flex-based charter school serving students in grades K-12 across Southern California, including San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Ventura counties. Sage Oak’s mission is to educate students through a personalized, collaborative learning approach, empowering them to lead purposeful, productive lives. Sage Oak Charter Schools’ main office is located in Redlands, California.
Registration is still open for the NSSA webinar series, here.
Contact:
Courtney Gibson
Senior Administrator of Public Information and Media