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January Community Message From Superintendent Rundle on Learning & Unlearning

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January Community Message From Superintendent Rundle on Learning & Unlearning
Fred Rundle
Superintendent Rundle standing in front of the windows in his office.

Dear Mercer Island School District Community,

As we begin the new year, it is easy to focus on the perceived and very real challenges facing our district, our community, our state, and our country. Yet as we surge into 2026, we also have much to celebrate and much to be proud of in our schools.

Mercer Island School District continues to be recognized as the top school district in Washington. 

What makes our future shine brightest, however, is not any single accomplishment. It is our collective commitment to the small learning opportunities and process along the way. 

Last November, the five current school directors, two student school directors, and I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Mary Hemphill speak. Dr. Hemphill is the architect of Future Proof Leadership, a framework designed to help organizations navigate uncertainty when the stakes are high. As someone who has dedicated an entire career to education, I can think of no stakes higher than those tied to the success and well-being of our students.

A core component of Dr. Hemphill’s framework is unlearning—a skill that has atrophied in an era of ideological polarization. We are quick to accept facts and figures, even if not vetted as accurate, that align with our beliefs (confirmation bias). Perhaps more problematic, we dismiss information that challenges our opinions. Once we learn something and conclude it to be true, why do we work so hard to avoid the possibility that it might be wrong?

I would argue the reason is twofold. First, unlearning is hard work. It requires us to understand where we may have been incorrect and then expend energy learning something new. Second, in an era of ubiquitous access to information, we have grown complacent. Too often, we simply do not want to put forth the effort. But as Dr. Hemphill reminds us, “The illiterate of the future will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” As parents, educators, and adults, we must embrace this mindset and set an example for our students. Modeling a resistance to unlearning is setting our students up for failure.

Future-proofing our district is also designing schools, classrooms, and learning experiences that allow for greater innovation. We must create conditions that enable us to change, evolve, and improve. To do this, we must embrace creative and productive failure. Dr. Hemphill uses the metaphor of baking cakes to illustrate the point. When learning to bake, we may aspire to create an elaborate wedding cake, but that is not where we begin the learning process. If we wait until we acquire and master all of the skills before we are willing to get started, we will likely never start at all. Instead, we start by making smaller cakes, even cupcakes, to learn and improve. Along the way, we learn, unlearn, and relearn.

Progress requires forward momentum, even when conditions are imperfect. In the coming year, let’s work together to equip our students with the future proof skills to learn, unlearn, and relearn by trying them on ourselves. We all make mistakes, and they should be some of the greatest sources for learning.

In starting a new year, I remain deeply grateful for our students, staff, families, and community.

With gratitude and optimism,

Fred

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