🌟 Our Story: Building Systems That Serve Communities
Dr. Rob Collins Jr., Ed.D. is an educator, innovator, and lifelong advocate for building authentic, equitable systems of learning. Over the past decade, Rob has served as a teacher, teacher leader, program manager, and policy consultant—working at the intersection of education, community development, and public innovation to spark and sustain transformation across Kentucky and beyond.
Rob’s journey began in the classroom, where he saw firsthand the power of connecting students to real-world issues and authentic learning experiences. For him, innovation wasn’t a buzzword. It was the heartbeat of his teaching.
As his leadership grew, so did his impact—serving as President of his local education union, a teacher fellow with the Prichard Committee and Teach For America Appalachia, and later as a statewide program lead at the Kentucky Department of Education. In that role, he helped oversee multi-million dollar innovation efforts and supported over 100 school districts in designing future-ready systems of learning.
Rob’s work has helped launch some of Kentucky’s most impactful education initiatives, including:
The Kentucky Portrait of a Learner
Local Laboratories of Learning (L3)
The Kentucky Innovative Learning Network (KY ILN)
The Kentucky Innovative Teacher Fellowship
He has also played a key role in aligning K–12 and postsecondary systems, creating competency-based pathways that support smoother, more meaningful learning experiences for students across the Commonwealth.
Nationally, Rob has been recognized as a 2024–2025 Obama USA Leader, a Catalyst Fellow with the EdSAFE AI Alliance, and a collaborator with organizations like the Council of Chief State School Officers.
Through every chapter of his career, one belief has remained constant:
Systems should serve communities, not constrain them.
💡 Why CIP Learning Was Born
Rob founded Commonwealth Innovation Partners (CIP Learning) to bring that belief to life in a new way.
CIP partners with schools, districts, nonprofits, small businesses, and community organizations to design and implement systems that are:
✅ Competency-Based and Future-Focused
✅ Hands-On and Joyful
✅ Community-Rooted and Sustainable
✅ Ethical and Human-Centered—especially in how we use technology
We don’t chase trends. We build capacity, connection, and opportunity where it matters most.
Through strategic design, technical assistance, leadership coaching, and creative problem-solving, we help turn bold ideas into real-world change.
Because the future isn’t something we wait for—the future is a verb.
Every project we undertake helps communities actively build the future they envision.
🐙 About the Octopus
We chose the octopus as our symbol because it reflects everything we aspire to be:
🧠 Intelligent and Adaptive
🌀 Creative and Agile
🛠️ Masters of Multitasking and Mastery
🎭 Playful, Curious, and Future-Oriented
Just like the communities we serve, the octopus thrives on creativity, resilience, and collaboration.
🚀 Let’s Build the Future Together
Whether you're reimagining education, expanding nonprofit capacity, or launching a bold new community initiative, CIP Learning is ready to partner with you.
Together, we’ll build systems that empower people and honor the potential already thriving within every community.