Aaron Vanderwerff

Aaron Vanderwerff is the Creativity Lab Director at Lighthouse Community Public Schools (LCPS), a family of two K-12 public charter schools serving low-income students of color in Oakland, California. He is passionate about making and inquiry, and believes that learner-centered, hands-on education can revolutionize our educational system. In his current role, he collaborates with LCPS teachers to turn learning over to students throughout the school day. In addition, he supports other educators through Designing Making Experiences workshops, the AbD Oakland Fellowship, and teaching a course on Designing Equitable Groupwork. Aaron introduced Lighthouse to maker-centered learning through a high school elective class, culminating in students exhibiting independent projects at the Bay Area Maker Faire. This class has grown into our Creativity Lab Program which brings making to students at LCPS schools K-12. Vanderwerff taught high school science in the Bay Area for over ten years and lives in Oakland with his wife and eight-year-old daughter, who attends Lighthouse and loves to make things. Learn more about the Creativity Lab program at LighthouseCreativityLab.org.

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