Deeper Learning 2023

Unlocked is all about tending to the soul of school. In this Den Talk, we will engage in origin stories about school cultures that have designed their ways out from a state of complaince, to creativity & innovation, and beyond towards liberation. This talk is for anyone who believes that schools have souls, and that those souls must be tended to. Come with your thoughts & intrigues.


Kaleb Rashad is the Interim Chief Executive Officer through June 2023. Kaleb holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Development, two master’s degrees, and a doctorate in educational leadership focusing on relational trust and organizational change. Kaleb is the Co-Founder & Creative Director at the Center for Love & Justice located within the High Tech High Graduate School of Education (HTH GSE). Kaleb works with community leaders in the US/Canada, Spain, and Hong Kong to create new schools and redesign existing schools focused on advancing equity through Liberatory Project-based learning. Kaleb is a former director of the Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High. Prior to joining HTH, Kaleb served as a principal in elementary and middle school settings in Moreno Valley and Poway. Kaleb taught middle school math, science and English Language Development before becoming a school principal. Before starting his career in education, Kaleb served honorably in the 1st Force Services Support Group, located in the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (USMC) at Camp Pendleton, CA. Kaleb enjoys hiking, camping, anything outdoors, live blues and jazz, cooking, performance art, and reading with his family. You can always see what he’s up to on Twitter: @kalebrashad.

Eric Chagala (Ed.D. Educational Leadership) is the founding principal of the Vista Innovation & Design Academy (VIDA). Eric believes that all kids need a place to matter, that our actions say what we believe about children, and that schools have souls & those souls need to be nurtured.
Eric’s belief in Design Thinking for education is deeply rooted in his dissertation that focused on the critical resiliency of high achieving LatinX youth. This research solidified the knowledge (not just belief) that schools have the power to either defeat or to perpetuate the status-quo of a neighborhood.
Eric has spoken across North America in both workshops & Keynotes about Personalized Learning, Design Thinking, and to talk about what it takes to build a true school culture that will be ripe for innovation.