Our Story

Located in Southeastern Wisconsin, CESA 1 leverages local, state, and national resources to support educators in providing high-quality, equitable learning opportunities for all students. The agency’s programs and services are designed to be responsive to the dynamic needs of districts, schools, educators, and learners. In addition to serving its 45 public K-12 member districts, CESA 1 supports dozens of non-member public, private, and charter schools, as well as other education-focused organizations, through conferences, workshops, online learning, networks, and customized professional learning, coaching, and consulting. As a cooperative, CESA 1 is committed to growing and evolving, always with the intention of improving the K-12 education environment for learners of all ages.

In 2010, CESA 1 created the Institute for Personalized Learning, through a formal Board of Control resolution, to develop an action network of K-12 school districts committed to creating and sustaining a personalized, learner-centered educational ecosystem. In 2023, the Institute for Personalized Learning was rebranded as i4PL to support the current needs of these systems while staying rooted in their previous work with educators and the foundation built by the Institute. As a division of CESA 1, i4PL is a trailblazer in learner-centered education with expertise in designing and implementing classroom-based practices that directly impact learner outcomes as well as guiding leaders through a paradigm shift that will enable them to create the conditions under which competency can be achieved.

Together, CESA 1 and i4PL serve as the hub of a growing network of districts and schools engaged in various stages of designing and implementing learner-centered environments. Our research-based framework serves as both a model for what student-centered learning looks like, as well as a change strategy for education leaders.

The i4PL team works with districts across the country to co-design customized professional learning that works best for their learners and communities. Since the beginning, we have supported the implementation, expansion, and scaling of personalized, learner-centered practices in hundreds of schools and districts across dozens of states.