About Practia

Practia was developed by Jonas Zuckerman. Jonas has over 35 years in education, including 18 years as a classroom teacher and 13 years as a State Education Agency administrator. Practia comes from his direct experiences working with students, teachers, families, school staff, and communities. Jonas credits the students, families, and colleagues he worked with in Oakland Unified School District for showing him the ways that schools can be successful. Jonas appreciates his work at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for demonstrating how systems can support the work of schools. Jonas now operates Zuckerman Education Consulting which provides support for Practia implementation.

The Practia School Improvement framework grew out of the work of many other ideas:

  • Practia is rooted in the critically important work of Implementation Science, led by thinkers such as Dean Fixsen and Karen Blase. Implementation Science gave Practia its structure and focus on adult practice inputs in order to improve outcomes for students.
  • The emphasis on having local communities determine their own “essential conditions” was inspired by The Open System Institute and the work of Doannie Tran and Landon Mascareñaz.
  • The focus on student voice and belonging is a critical piece of Energy Convertors and Charles Cole III
  • Street Data by Shane Safir and Jamila Dugan presented a new way to consider data, an idea that is central to Practia.

Author's Note (January 2026)

I am offering this system to the field for your consideration. I am beginning the process of working with schools so I do not yet have data on the impact of the Practia system. I know that the usual roll-out method would be to pilot and start on a small scale before opening things up. I have chosen to go in a different direction and share this concept broadly for several reasons:

  • There is urgency to do something better in education. It is true that education systems have always faced challenges, but, coming out of COVID and the impact that had on students, I am moved to act with urgency.
  • While the Practia system is unproven, it is built on a foundation of research and evidence. Each of the pillars is rooted in high quality evidence, it is simply that no one system has put these elements together in this manner previously.
  • I am sharing this as a conceptual framework, not as a rigid system that must be implemented with fidelity. Maybe this idea will evolve into a very structured program. But my idea for school improvement is much more fluid, it should have some basic rules and guidelines that everyone follows, but then be adaptable to each school’s unique circumstances. In that spirit, I offer Practia as a framework and look forward to the improvisation that comes forth.
  • While I am freely sharing this concept for others to use, I also am offering two pathways for support.
    • First, you can join the Practia Community, which will offer discussion, Q&As, and additional resources to help you tailor the Practia system to your circumstances.
    • Second, there is an implementation support package available where you can get direct coaching and individualized support.
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