Henry Ford Learning Institute

Henry Ford Learning Institute HFLI is advancing excellence in education. At HFLI, we believe every person has the power to create. To solve problems, and innovate.

Our approach is Deeper Learning by Doing(R), a blend of Culturally Responsive & Restorative Principles + Design Thinking + High Impact Teaching Practices To design and lead a life of impact. All too often, however, that inherent power to innovate goes unnoticed, unsupported, or systematically cast aside. We know that the world is better for us all when everyone is included. And so HFLI is committe

d to advancing equity and empowerment through education, by activating people to design and lead lives of learning and impact: Equity through innovation. As an innovation learning leader and strategic ally, HFLI partners with organizations dedicated to cultivating equitable learning, thriving, and leading. We create immersive learning-by-doing experiences for school aged youth, young people, and adults. And we design scalable strategies for real world impact. We believe with creativity, empathy and collaboration, we can make the world a more equitable place. Our culturally-responsive learning approach catalyzes creative thinking; builds confidence with practice; and supports people to take action for real impact. Because we know that it’s not just about innovative thinking, it’s also about creating meaningful changes in our world.

🔥 The College & Career Readiness Innovation Challenge 🔥, hosted by Indiana Youth Institute and facilitated by Henry Ford...
08/31/2026

🔥 The College & Career Readiness Innovation Challenge 🔥, hosted by Indiana Youth Institute and facilitated by Henry Ford Learning Institute, is a hands-on event for youth-serving professionals and cross-sector partners to turn ideas into action.

🛣We are thrilled to support a statewide effort to strengthen college and career pathways for Indiana youth.

🗓Keep up with HFLI conference sessions, workshops, webinars and more at https://hfli.org/design-thinking-for-deeper-student-learning/

Helping young people prepare for life after high school takes more than one program, one school, or one organization. It...
07/15/2026

Helping young people prepare for life after high school takes more than one program, one school, or one organization. It takes sparks of innovation and understanding the gaps that need to be filled. It takes collaboration across communities and systems.

The College & Career Readiness Innovation Challenge, hosted by Indiana Youth Institute and facilitated by Henry Ford Learning Institute, is a hands-on event for youth-serving professionals and cross-sector partners to turn ideas into action. You’ll work with peers across education, workforce, nonprofit, and community spaces to explore local opportunities and challenges and create solutions that can support the youth you serve.

Come ready to collaborate, actively engage, and join a statewide effort to strengthen college and career pathways for Indiana youth.

September 1 - South Bend
September 2 - Indianapolis
September 3 - Evansville

Learn more and register at https://bit.ly/4yklAUf

It's been a wonderfully full week of learning with MAISD district leaders, school leaders, and educators! We began with ...
06/26/2026

It's been a wonderfully full week of learning with MAISD district leaders, school leaders, and educators!

We began with a 2-day Adaptive Leadership for Innovation workshop.

On Wednesday, we kicked off Design Thinking for Deeper Student Learning, a 3-day workshop designed to increase MAISD educators' capacity to apply Design Thinking and Deeper Learning by Doing® in their work with students. Following an introductory Rapid Cycle Design Challenge, teams embarked on a Deep Dive that challenged them to design a way to improve the Farmers’ Market experience for a specific user. During on-site fieldwork at the Muskegon Farmers Market, teams immersed themselves in the experience, talked with visitors, customers, and sellers, and made informed observations before heading back to home base to engage with Design Thinking tools, methods, and mindsets to develop solution ideas.

Throughout the workshop, our 26 participants "crushed" the connection prompts, cup games and other activities they can take back to their classrooms and schools.

A big thank you to MAISD for the opportunity to work together once again this summer!

🔎 Finding qualified Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers is hard. Keeping them is even harder. In this webinar ...
06/26/2026

🔎 Finding qualified Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers is hard. Keeping them is even harder.

In this webinar recording, Deborah Parizek, Executive Director of Henry Ford Learning Institute, and her co-facilitator, Beth Grzelak, Community Coach and Learning Design Lead at Ford Next Generation, share a practical, research-informed framework for improving CTE teacher retention, engagement, and belonging, without requiring major budget increases, contract changes, or district-wide policy shifts.

‼️Watch on demand at https://bit.ly/4aQlNo2

Congratulations to the winners and finalists of the 2026 Ford Law Pathway to Advocacy Award! HFLI created this award to ...
06/25/2026

Congratulations to the winners and finalists of the 2026 Ford Law Pathway to Advocacy Award!

HFLI created this award to celebrate graduating Ford Law Career Academy seniors from University Prep Academy and Henry Ford Academy-Dearborn who have:

+ achieved a high level of academic accomplishment,
+ engaged productively with the law professionals who support the program,
+ contributed to their Ford Law classes and the greater school community, and
+ demonstrated significant personal growth in their path toward a career in the field of law.

Our award winners, Phoebe (HFA-Dearborn) and Jordyn (UPA HS), each received a $1,000 scholarship to support their post-secondary education. We were also pleased to publicly recognize finalists Sara and Bryce for their significant accomplishments and growth as members of the Ford Law community at their schools.

Henry Ford Academy .detroit fordlawcareeracademy.org

▶We are over the moon to be back in West MI with 24 Muskegon Area ISD district leaders, school leaders, and educators fo...
06/24/2026

▶We are over the moon to be back in West MI with 24 Muskegon Area ISD district leaders, school leaders, and educators for a week of immersive learning together.

🔥These pics provide a glimpse into the first of our two workshops - Adaptive Leadership for Innovation - on Monday & Tuesday. Through this hands-on experience with MAISD, we are supporting the effective use of Design Thinking in this emerging community of practice and developing awareness of new ways to support complex challenges.🔥

Muskegon Area ISD

We are thrilled to be working with Principal Brooke LeVecchi and her team at Prince William County Public Schools' new W...
06/16/2026

We are thrilled to be working with Principal Brooke LeVecchi and her team at Prince William County Public Schools' new Woodbridge Elementary School in Virginia as a part of a year-long partnership. 🔥 This week, HFLI is facilitating an immersive workshop series, “Design Thinking for Deeper Student Learning”; over 3 days, we will introduce Woodbridge Elementary educators to Design Thinking, focusing on tools, methods, and mindsets that can be incorporated into learning experiences, student courses and projects, and PD sessions.

⏳ Free Webinar: One Strategy for Retaining CTE Teachers in a Challenging ClimateHosted by Ford Next Generation Learning ...
06/03/2026

⏳ Free Webinar: One Strategy for Retaining CTE Teachers in a Challenging Climate

Hosted by Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL)
June 12, 2026 | 12:00pm Eastern

Join Deborah Parizek, Executive Director of Henry Ford Learning Institute, and her co-facilitator, Beth Grzelak, Community Coach and Learning Design Lead at Ford Next Generation, for this quick, interactive, generative session designed to expand your tools for retaining and engaging your CTE educators.

▶️ Space is limited. Register today! http://bit.ly/4emGeLr

Yesterday, HFLI’s Deborah Parizek and Theo Kozerski facilitated a session for all attendees at the inaugural Bowling Gre...
05/15/2026

Yesterday, HFLI’s Deborah Parizek and Theo Kozerski facilitated a session for all attendees at the inaugural Bowling Green State University Life Design Convening.

🔥After a thought-provoking fireside chat with BGSU President Rodney Rogers and Life Design trailblazer Bill Burnett, the Life Design educators from 27 colleges and universities brought such incredible energy, enthusiasm, and openness to our session - "Building Community and Connection Through Shared Purpose, Shared Work and Shared Joy.”

🍀The convening has been a great learning experience for us as well. We look forward to staying connected to the incredible champions of Life Design we’ve met over the past two days, and continuing our collaboration with the team at the Geoffrey H. Radbill Center for College and Life Design.

HFLI is excited to facilitate the featured workshop at the BGSU Life Design Convening. This inaugural gathering brings t...
05/14/2026

HFLI is excited to facilitate the featured workshop at the BGSU Life Design Convening. This inaugural gathering brings together life design educators from across higher education to explore how life design frameworks take shape to support student success and career readiness.

Attendees, we'd love to see and share your pics from the workshop, throughout the Convening, and beyond as you practice using and implement some of the takeaways from "Building Community and Connection Through Shared Purpose, Shared Work and Shared Joy.”

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Address

20900 Oakwood Boulevard (Inside The Henry Ford Museum Of American Innovation)
Dearborn, MI
48124

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9:30am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+13139826027

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