As if that weren鈥檛 enough to keep her busy, she worked with legislators to co-write three climate bills for the Indiana General Assembly, raised $87,000 to support student journalism programs as director of , and helped secure winning votes for Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett in a critical municipal race.

It鈥檚 the kind of r茅sum茅 you鈥檇 expect from someone twice her age. Yet when you ask how Maiga got here, she doesn鈥檛 talk about awards or titles鈥攕he credits her high school.

Maiga is a graduate of Indiana-based , designed in partnership with , a nonprofit working to modernize the high school experience. In 2016, only 12 graduates from Indianapolis Public Schools enrolled at Purdue University, the state鈥檚 flagship postsecondary institution. Determined to change course, the community came together to create PPHS, a project-based, STEM-focused high school serving students citywide.

In its first graduating cohort, the school single-handedly tripled the number of Indianapolis public high school graduates entering the university. The network of now three schools has become a statewide model helping to shape policy across Indiana. 

It鈥檚 that flexible, out-of-the-classroom thinking that defined Maiga鈥檚 four years at PPHS鈥檚 Englewood campus. The school gave her the opportunity to discover her passions with interest-driven classes and meaningful internships, shaping her skills and, ultimately, helping her chart her future.

One of those opportunities was the , a pitch competition that gives local high school students a chance to develop their entrepreneurial skills while learning from business leaders and investors. Magia, who had honed her professional skills at PPHS, was well prepared. She and her Compleyes.ai co-founder walked away with first place鈥攁nd a $25,000 check.

鈥淗igh school was so important to me,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel like if you talk to a traditional high school student, they probably don鈥檛 feel heard enough in educational decisions鈥攖hat鈥檚 pretty different when you talk to students at my school.鈥�

Instead of taking four years of English classes, Maiga interned with a legal organization where she practiced the same reading and writing skills鈥攑erhaps with even more rigor鈥攚hile gaining immersive, practical experience and class credit.

鈥淧eople think internships are in addition to what you do in the classroom, like joining a sports team or an extracurricular, but they鈥檙e not,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n my internship, I did essentially the same things I did in a lot of my English classes, but it was more technical and advanced.鈥�

Work-based learning let Maiga imagine a career on her own terms鈥攁nd redefine what success meant along the way. Growing up, she鈥檇 always loved the humanities, but her family鈥攚ho immigrated from West Africa when she was in fifth grade鈥攙alued more conventional, financially secure paths. 鈥淭hese roles didn鈥檛 fit the traditional idea my family had of a successful career.鈥� 

That perspective began to shift during Maiga鈥檚 time at Purdue Polytechnic. Through hands-on learning and exposure to a variety of industries, she began to see that success had many definitions, opening her eyes to the range of possibilities after graduation. 鈥淚t was really important because it showed me there are different career paths where you can have a lot of impact.鈥�

The experience didn鈥檛 just change Maiga鈥檚 mindset 鈥� it also helped bridge a gap between her and her family. 鈥淭hat was the one thing standing between us,鈥� she said. By seeing the kinds of professional paths Maiga could pursue, her parents began to understand that her interests in the humanities could lead to real, fulfilling work. 鈥淢y experience at PPHS helped us get closer.鈥�

Maiga鈥檚 story is a testament to what鈥檚 possible when schools give students room to explore, fail, and redefine success for themselves. For her, work-based learning wasn鈥檛 just an academic exercise鈥攊t was an invitation to connect her passions to real-world change. 

Today, Maiga continues to lead the charge at as the company evolves and grows while also supporting Mayor Hogsett as an intern. And, of course, she is beginning her next chapter at Cornell.

As she looks ahead at her future and future generations, Maiga hopes more students get the same chance to learn on their own terms. She believes that when young people are empowered to explore their passions, they not only transform their own lives but also shape the communities around them. For Maiga, the journey is only beginning鈥攁nd she鈥檚 determined to make sure others can start theirs, too.

Disclosure: is a financial supporter of 社区黑料.

Their public school, in Oakland, California, prioritizes project-based learning to equip its students with tangible skills and real-world experience that can help them succeed in college and beyond. Extended learning opportunities, ranging from site visits to internships, aren鈥檛 extracurriculars 鈥� they are a cornerstone of the curriculum.

Students, parents, and academic leaders place tremendous value on such opportunities. Nearly nationwide express interest in participation in work-based learning. In fact, a found that teens consider 鈥渟kills for future employment鈥� the most important priority in their education.

High-quality work-based learning opens doors for students to discover a wide variety of careers, gain meaningful, career-connected experience, and graduate not just with a diploma but with a clear sense of direction and the concrete skills to match. And yet offer formal work-based learning programs.聽

Founded in 2019, Latitude is quickly proving what鈥檚 possible when students step outside the classroom and into real-world learning. It accelerates students鈥� paths to success, outperforming state and national trends. About 70% of Latitude鈥檚 seniors feel ready for life after graduation 鈥� nearly double the national share of students who remain unclear about their career expectations, a figure that has doubled in the past decade.

Jesus鈥� and Alexis鈥� journeys are a prime example of how work-based learning can shape a student鈥檚 future. During their first year at Latitude, a worksite visit sparked an unexpected passion for aviation in the two teens. 鈥淚 really just fell in love as soon as I walked into the hangar,鈥� Jesus recalls. When the time came to decide on senior-year internships, both students chose Wingler鈥檚 Aviation at Hayward Executive Airport, where they became immersed in everything from airplane mechanics to aerodynamics. Now Jesus attends the College of Alameda, where he is pursuing a license to become an aviation mechanic. Alexis, for his part, is pursuing a bachelor鈥檚 in aviation from San Jose State University. By graduation, he plans to be a fully licensed pilot.

I sat down with both students to hear firsthand about their experience and understand the impact of work-based learning on high school students.

Before you started your internship with Latitude, what were you thinking about the future?

Jesus: I was torn between going to college, which I wasn鈥檛 really interested in, or pursuing a trade, which I wanted to do. I always knew I wanted to be someone in the trades: welding, plumbing, something like that. But I wasn鈥檛 100% sure.

Alexis: I had decided I wasn鈥檛 going to go to college. I was committed to going to trade school, joining a union, and going from there.

What was it about Latitude that attracted you?

Jesus: I was never really big on classrooms. I didn鈥檛 love learning from books. I really liked that Latitude took a hands-on approach. It opened my eyes. I really valued working on projects, so that鈥檚 why I chose it. I knew “This is the school for me.鈥�

At Latitude, you were exposed to a range of professions before your teachers worked with you to define your path and select your internship with Wingler鈥檚 Aviation. Tell me about those first few days as interns.

Jesus: At first, we didn鈥檛 know anything 鈥� it鈥檚 an airplane!

Alexis: There was definitely a 鈥渨ow鈥� factor. I had wanted to stick to something so general, like plumbing, but now I was going to work on airplanes. It opened my mind. It鈥檚 a whole different world that not many high schoolers get to explore.

How did the journey unfold from those early days?

Jesus: The first month or two, it was just us taking it all in and learning from our mentor, Mr. Sunil. We started with basics: changing brakes and tires, doing inspections, working on panels. We observed and followed instructions, doing the work alongside them as they showed us all the tips and tricks. Eventually, we started to take on bigger projects ourselves and mentors would just check in on us. By the third or fourth month, we got the hang of it. We learned how to read tail numbers, how to start and control a plane. We鈥檝e learned a lot. By the end, we knew the lingo and could do inspections and repairs on our own. 

On site, you learned how to fix a plane, but also how to work with others, communicate in the workplace, and problem-solve. What are some of those professional skills you鈥檝e developed?

Jesus: Troubleshooting, for sure. Knowing when something鈥檚 not right and trying a different tool or method. That applies to a lot in life. We鈥檝e also met certified flight Instructors and private pilots at the flight school across from our shop. They鈥檙e very professional, and I鈥檝e learned a lot about professionalism just watching and interacting with them.

Alexis: Yeah, business people come by to sell products or deliver a plane, and being around them, seeing how they act, it teaches you the level of professionalism needed in business.

Do you feel more prepared for life after school now?

Alexis: Yeah, I have a good understanding of what I want to do. I鈥檝e learned a lot. I鈥檝e grown as a person.

Jesus: Definitely. I wasn鈥檛 very serious in ninth grade, and my grades reflected that. Coming from middle school, I was still adjusting. But I鈥檝e made a huge change. I鈥檝e matured. I鈥檝e seen the importance of putting in time and effort鈥攊t shows in everything. 

Looking back, what would you say is the biggest takeaway your work-based learning experience has given you?

Jesus: A straight path in life. I have clarity. I know like what’s next, you know? I have my goals set.

Alexis: It opened a lot of doors. I didn’t really have my mind set on what I wanted to do. But through the internship, I figured out what I wanted to do with life.

So what is next? What happens after graduation?

Jesus: I鈥檓 studying aviation at the College of Alameda, then pursuing a license to become an aviation mechanic. My internship changed how I viewed college. I realized there鈥檚 a lot you need to know, and it鈥檚 good to get hands-on learning because then, when you study the book, you can make the comparison. You get the theory in school and the practice at work.

Alexis: I’m also pursuing a career in aviation, but I chose the pilot path. I’m going to San Jose to earn my bachelor鈥檚 in aviation and then I鈥檒l get my license before graduating. I got a full ride. Eventually, I want to leave the state to do a course in avionics and open an electrical shop.

Your time at Latitude clearly played an important role. Based on your journey, what do you think the purpose of high school is?

Jesus: That’s a big question. I like it! High school is a place where you learn who you are and figure out what you want to do. It goes fast. I鈥檝e changed a lot since freshman year. It鈥檚 about preparing to become an adult.

Alexis: I agree. High school is about getting a better understanding of yourself and who you are as a person. It鈥檚 about getting out of your comfort zone and meeting new people. It鈥檚 important to get out of your bubble to grow. That’s the whole point of high school. 

Disclosure: supports 社区黑料’s focus on the ‘Future of High School.’

Too often, high schools separate so-called academic students from those perceived unlikely to attend college, a process commonly known as tracking. Two high schools in Cranston, Rhode Island are showing that career and technical education programs can prepare students for both college and the workforce.

In fact, seniors who completed CTE paths in the past school year included those with the highest academic rankings at both Cranston High School West and Cranston High School East. Across Rhode Island, students who have completed at least two CTE-specific courses perform higher on national assessments and have a higher four-year graduation rate than other students.

鈥淭here used to be a division between postsecondary education and vocational education. At Cranston, we鈥檝e been able to make these two things the same thing,鈥� said Zachary Farrell, executive director of secondary programs for Cranston Public School District. 

High school students in Rhode Island鈥檚 second largest district can choose among coursework in Medical Pathways, Pre-Engineering/Robotics, Information Technology, Culinary Arts, Computer Science, Criminal Justice and more. Those who complete a CTE track graduate with real-world work experience and either industry credentials, college credits or both, in paths that the state has approved as aligned to a high-wage, high-demand career. Students do this alongside their existing general education coursework, so they can take AP classes or participate in extracurriculars with the rest of their classmates.

When Santomassimo, the valedictorian, entered the Medical Pathways program her freshman year of high school, she thought she wanted to do direct patient care. But the program鈥檚 work-based learning, including a placement at a nursing home, helped to change her mind: 鈥淚 realized direct patient medicine isn鈥檛 for me because I don鈥檛 like blood鈥Then] [s]chool helped me get set up with an internship at an engineering site鈥so I鈥檓] back on the science and research end, not direct patient care.鈥� 

Santomassimo credits Medical Pathways with helping her carve out a specific vision for her future. 鈥淚 really want to do research鈥o help inform public policy,鈥� she said. At Brown, she plans to double major in physics and political science.

Students who complete that pathway, which is available at both high schools, leave with healthcare workplace safety training and a CPR and First Aid certification. They have the option of completing a certified nursing assistant or emergency medical technician certification. Even though she isn鈥檛 planning to become a healthcare practitioner, Santomassimo has no regrets about the hands-on classes she took. She completed 40 patient hours as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) in training and successfully passed her licensing test this summer after graduation: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a really good certification to have and will never not be a needed job. I will have that certification as a backup if I ever need it.鈥�

Cranston Superintendent Jeannine Nota-Masse has seen the benefits of exposing students to passions and careers: 鈥淎t both our high schools, we have an educator training program. You鈥檇 be surprised at how many students [say] 鈥業 love little kids, little kids are so funny,鈥� and then go into it and don鈥檛 love it. They have that hands-on experience before their parents pay for college and they realize 鈥極h I really don鈥檛 want to be a teacher.鈥欌��

Graduating high school with college credits in hand is another way that the CTE tracks across Cranston help save students time and money. Mark Lizarda, part of East鈥檚 second-ever Medical Pathways cohort, graduated with college credits from three different institutions under his belt, not to mention a high score on the AP Calculus test, which converts into college credit.

In 2024, Lizarda won first place in the Medical Terminology exam at the SkillsUSA championship, a national CTE organization for students, and is attending University of Rhode Island this fall. 鈥淭hose three years [were the] hardest classes I鈥檝e ever taken, but that鈥檚 the reason I stayed. It was so captivating and rigorous. I wanted to prepare myself for college.鈥�

The programs also benefit CTE participants who choose to go directly to the workforce. For example, culinary students graduate with food handling and food safety certifications, Information Technology students graduate with CompTIA certifications and all CTE programs include a financial literacy class. 鈥淚f your child wants to get a job after high school and they have no skills whatsoever, it’s going to be difficult,鈥� Nota-Masse said. 鈥淏ut if they even have entry-level skills, they are still more competitive in the job market than their peers who don鈥檛.鈥� 

Farrell sees the inherent value in a program that connects to student interests. 鈥淔orget credentials,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f students really enjoy the program that they’re in and are learning and having fun and it’s part of their identity, I think you can鈥檛 really put a price tag on that.鈥� 

The aquaculture path at West, the only one of its kind in the state, is a model for making learning fun and practical. Rhode Island is known as the Ocean State, and its over 400 miles of coastline are crucial to the economy. Launched by longtime science educator Leonard Baker in 2000, the aquaculture path prepares students for careers in the state鈥檚 fish hatcheries and shellfish farms or for further study in the biological sciences. 

With access to an on-campus aquarium, laboratory, pond and greenhouse, students learn about water chemistry, aquatic plant science and how to breed fish. Baker sets every student up with their own aquarium to practice keeping plants and animals alive: 鈥淭hey say 鈥業 can鈥檛 stand chemistry,鈥� but they鈥檙e measuring water temperature and pH balance鈥hey say 鈥業 can鈥檛 stand insects,鈥� but they鈥檙e feeding frogs. We鈥檙e making science meaningful, relevant and important to students.鈥�

Every single senior who has completed Baker鈥檚 program has been accepted to a four-year institution. On top of that, many of the people running the state鈥檚 fisheries are graduates of his program, and one even started a fishery in another state. Some go on to careers in nursing or other healthcare professions because they鈥檝e had exposure to complex refrigeration and filtration systems and extensive practice working in teams.

Stephen Osborn, who leads statewide opportunities for students at the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), credits the program for getting young people excited and ready for their future: 鈥淭hey can鈥済et a job after graduation if they want, but [the program is] also preparing many of them to go onto college. Kids are doing incredibly complex things in their classrooms and they don鈥檛 realize it because they鈥檙e having fun.鈥�

A between RIDE and, launched in 2018, helped unlock changes that enabled Cranston to give students more options. Cranston high schoolers previously had rotating daily schedules, like most high schools, but switched to a college-style schedule where students only take four classes a semester and are in them for almost 90 minutes instead of 50. This way, students get longer blocks of time for hands-on and work-based learning.

鈥淚t took a lot of professional development and a lot of community communication,鈥� said Nota-Masse, reflecting on the process. 鈥淧eople kept saying 鈥榢ids won鈥檛 be able to sit in a class for 84 minutes, they鈥檒l go crazy.鈥� We鈥檙e not saying we do that perfectly, but if you鈥檙e in construction and you鈥檙e working on a project, 84 [minutes] is certainly better than 50 [minutes] to start and clean up.鈥� These technical changes allowed Cranston to expand CTE programs, while keeping room in the schedule for AP courses, electives, special education services or services for English language learners. 

Cranston Public School District is a powerful leader in the state, but it鈥檚 not alone. is the new statewide initiative, with the goal that all of Rhode Island鈥檚 kids take at least one CTE course before they graduate. Coursework that鈥檚 rigorous and relevant is helping to unlock students鈥� freedom of choice. Says Osborn: 鈥淲e don鈥檛 tell [students] whether to go to college or work. They have the skills and an open door to choose what they want to do after high school.鈥�

Disclosure: is a financial supporter of 社区黑料.

Their colleagues and they had an ambitious goal: improve overall in-seat attendance rates by at least two percentage points. Like schools across the country, Woodson has struggled with high rates of chronic absenteeism. According to the D.C.鈥檚 Office of the State Superintendent of Education, missed school regularly during the 2023-2024 school year. Rates have improved since the worst days of the pandemic, but they hovering around 40 percent across the nation鈥檚 capital. 

Nationwide, , as ,student mental health, , and compound on one another to create a perfect storm of worsening attendance. These absences aren鈥檛 just about missing class. They鈥檙e of whether students will graduate, pursue higher education, or find stable employment. 

To address the problem, Curry-Neal, Woodson鈥檚 redesign director, and Judon, the school鈥檚 student experience coach, looked beyond conventional solutions 鈥� disciplinary threats and mandatory parent calls 鈥� and took a novel approach: letting students lead. 

Woodson is part of , a partnership between XQ Institute and DC Public Schools (DCPS) to improve the high school experience through the implementation of XQ鈥檚 six, science-backed that together lay the foundation for effective high school learning. One of these principles is youth voice and choice: creating authentic, regular opportunities for students to build agency and develop their identities. DCPS Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee in linking attendance to students鈥� feelings of engagement and sense of belonging. 

We know chronic absenteeism is anything but simple,鈥� said Dr. Ferebee. 鈥淎s part of DC+XQ, Woodson is enlisting the entire school community to help tackle this and other important challenges鈥攁nd they鈥檙e leading with student voice. Our partnership with XQ is showing what鈥檚 possible when our young people have a seat at the table.鈥�

In addressing chronic absenteeism, leaders at Woodson seized on the opportunity to bring students into the fold. Curry-Neal and Judon met with about 70 students eager to improve their high school experience and presented them with attendance metrics and , which provides valuable insight for schools to monitor their students’ learning experiences. From those students, the school selected 10 mentors and charged them with leading a pilot program to boost attendance numbers.  

Known as the Attendance Pep Squad, these 10 students gather every Tuesday at lunch to strategize. Their goal is twofold: first, identify students who might benefit from peer mentorship. And second, come up with creative ways to change the culture around attendance. During the fall semester, they developed an innovative outreach event 鈥� a playful, low-stakes peer networking gathering during which students exchanged stories and identified common experiences. Potential mentees also shared their schedules, academic interests, and any obstacles they were encountering, enabling mentors (along with Curry-Neal and Judon) to determine how best to pair students. About 22 students opted in to receive a peer mentor, and the program began in December of last year. 

The Pep Squad also took steps to strengthen their fellow students鈥� sense of belonging. They organized a 鈥淲inter Spirit Week,鈥� strategically timed for the week before winter break when attendance rates typically dip. They set up scavenger hunts, social activities and games, and a school-wide assembly to celebrate and close out the week.

The results exceeded expectations. In the 2023鈥�24 school year, the Thursday before winter break had an attendance rate of just 42.6 percent. After the Pep Squad鈥檚 initiative, that number soared to 76 percent. Even the Friday before the break 鈥� one of the toughest days for any school to manage 鈥� recorded just under 60 percent. 

鈥淪tudents understand the barriers to attendance better than anyone,鈥� said William Massey, Woodson鈥檚 principal. 鈥淲e knew we鈥檇 be able to go further and faster with them in the driver鈥檚 seat.鈥�

Not surprisingly, the students鈥� efforts also appear to be having a positive impact on achievement. After just one term, nearly half of mentees have improved their GPA, recovered credits required for graduation, or both. Several mentees also saw a decrease in the number of failed courses.

While Woodson isn鈥檛 declaring victory by any stretch, its early success suggests an alternative to conventional approaches, which often focus on imposing stiffer penalties on students who miss too much school. But these approaches don鈥檛 address root problems 鈥� and they if they erode positive relationships, , and put counterproductive burdens on school staff. In contrast, when students are afforded leadership opportunities that give them agency and voice, they feel like they belong and are eager to step up. 

鈥淚t all coalesces into this magic alchemy,鈥� Curry-Neal said. 

That alchemy is backed by a growing body of data. Research shows that students who feel a strong sense of belonging not only have better attendance but also than their disconnected peers. They also graduate at higher rates and are more likely to enroll in college. In their recent book , authors Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop note that when students see school as boring, stressful, or pointless, their desire to show up evaporates.

Attendance alone doesn鈥檛 guarantee learning, but consistent presence is a crucial first step. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a limit to how much we can learn if we鈥檙e not in the building,鈥� Judon says. 

Woodson has been intentional about building a community that students want to be part of. Panorama data show that the student experience has improved every year since Woodson began their redesign journey in the 2022-2023 school year. Today, Woodson ranks in the 90th percentile among urban districts for student sense of belonging. Curry-Neal traces this back to XQ鈥檚 Design Principles and its network of schools across the country, which enabled them to learn from earlier redesign efforts at , , and . 

Woodson isn鈥檛 the only school whose redesign efforts are paying off. At PSI High in Florida, just 1 percent of students were chronically absent in 2023-24, compared to 25 percent for the broader district. At Design Works High School in New York, 10 percent of students were chronically absent in 2023-24, compared to 47 percent for NYC high schools on average.

There are no silver bullets when it comes to the very complex problem of chronic absenteeism, but it鈥檚 increasingly clear that making students feel like they are part of the solution is a step in the right direction. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 complicated,鈥� Curry-Neal admits. 鈥淎 pep squad, text messages, walking kids to school鈥攖hat only works if the rest of the school environment supports it. But right now, we鈥檙e seeing that when students feel they belong here, they want to come back. And that鈥檚 half the battle.鈥�

Want to learn more about how to create innovative teaching and learning in high schools? Subscribe to the , a newsletter that comes out twice a month for high school teachers.

Disclosure: is a financial supporter of 社区黑料.

Fortunately, the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 Office of Educational Technology (OET) released new guidelines for EdTech companies earlier this year called 鈥�.鈥� The report underscores the need for 鈥渞esponsible innovation,鈥� adding, 鈥渆ducator and student feedback should be incorporated into all aspects of product development, testing, and refinement to ensure student needs are fully addressed.鈥� As , 鈥淭he era of tech-first solutions is over. Developers must collaborate meaningfully with educators from day one. Understanding pedagogy is as crucial as coding skills.鈥�

The shares this mindset as part of our mission to reimagine the high school learning experience so it鈥檚 more relevant and engaging for today鈥檚 learners, while better preparing them for the future. We see AI as a tool with transformative potential for educators and makers to leverage 鈥� but only if it鈥檚 developed and implemented with ethics, transparency and equity at the forefront. That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e building partnerships between educators and AI developers to ensure that products are shaped by the real needs and challenges of students, teachers and schools. Here鈥檚 how we believe all stakeholders can embrace the Department鈥檚 recommendations through ongoing collaborations with tech leaders, educators and students alike.

Keeping Tech and Learning Student-Centric

XQ鈥檚 approach to high school redesign is always student-centric. In that spirit, we must shift from the mindset that AI and other tech tools are solely for educators; they also exist to improve students鈥� learning. Rather than focusing exclusively on improving output (such as lesson plans and assessment materials), makers should also emphasize improving outcomes, such as student proficiency and engagement. Ann-Katherine Kimble, XQ鈥檚 Director of School Success, said that鈥檚 why it鈥檚 wrong to focus only on how AI can save teachers time and make their jobs easier. 鈥淥ur young people, teachers and classrooms don’t deserve that,鈥� she explained. 鈥淭hey deserve a point of view that believes that AI can enhance your practice and knowledge, deepen your creative and responsive approaches and help educators capitalize on the sweet spot where the art of teaching and the science of learning meet.鈥�

At , an XQ school in Memphis, Tennessee, computer science teacher Mohammed Al harthy sees AI as a partner in the classroom 鈥� something students engage with during the learning process but never rely on for the finished product.

For instance, in one project his students explored how to build AI applications to track hand movements for American Sign Language, highlighting the value of learning how AI works, writing code in Python and experimenting with tools like Google鈥檚 MediaPipe. Al harthy isn鈥檛 so worried that his students will simply copy and paste as they learn. 鈥淎rtificial intelligence never sounds like a high school student, so the concerns about cheating are kind of silly,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e concerned about that, you should step back and reassess what your students are doing from the start.鈥� This approach aligns with a national shift toward focusing on and collaboration rather than rote answers, allowing students to use AI as a tool to enhance their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.

AI is just one of many topics covered by the, a newsletter that comes out twice a month for high school teachers. Check it out and subscribe now.

Ensuring Equitable Learning Opportunities

At XQ, we believe that ensuring equitable access means creating AI-driven learning experiences that are flexible, adaptive and tailored to the unique needs of diverse student populations, especially neurodivergent students and multi-language learners. AI can help by creating tools designed to serve all learners fairly and effectively without stripping away our students’ individuality.

One of the technology鈥檚 most promising capabilities is its ability to provide real-time, actionable feedback to students and educators. Tim Brodsky, a thought leader on AI who taught social studies at the XQ high school in Santa Ana, California, was recently for his innovative use of generative AI to support multilingual learners in his AP courses. With automated feedback occurring in real-time, Brodsky said systems can analyze data and provide immediate insights about student engagement, attendance and other factors to predict risk factors. 鈥淭his takes the load off teachers, who often have to sift through spreadsheets to find trends and nuances,鈥� he said. 鈥淎I provides a better method for holistic data collection and a more effective way of measuring it.鈥� 

However, student data always comes with caveats. Too often, algorithms mirror the on which they鈥檙e trained. found this can result in mischaracterizing the writing of non-native English speakers as AI-generated, and experts found language models that classified certain jobs, like secretary or flight attendant, as feminine. XQ addresses this problem by working closely with developers to ensure their products are more culturally responsive to the needs and outcomes educators are looking to provide for their students.

For example, teachers at Crosstown worked with the EdTech company to develop (PBL) experiences. The company鈥檚 CEO and co-founder Aatash Parikh said this collaboration was helpful for both sides and influenced the evolution of the company鈥檚 AI products. 鈥淗aving educators at Crosstown High School walk us through their workflow designing project-based learning experiences helped us realize what would make Inkwire a more complete solution for schools,鈥� he said. 

A former PBL teacher himself, Parikh wanted to ensure that Inkwire鈥檚 generative AI tools don鈥檛 just stop at creating PBL plans, but also incorporate deeper pedagogical layers to be more responsive for educators and schools. At Crosstown High, educators, including science teacher and Head of Innovation and Research Nikki Wallace, showed the Inkwire team what they were learning from each other, and how to integrate that professional feedback into their platform. 鈥淲e鈥檙e helping these makers understand how equity is created in the classroom, helping them make more responsive products,鈥� Wallace said. 鈥淭eachers learn best from other teachers.鈥�

Fostering Ethical Collaboration Between Educators and Developers

The days of tech-first solutions are over; what鈥檚 needed now is a deep partnership where developers and educators work hand-in-hand to ensure AI tools are technologically sound and pedagogically effective. The DOE鈥檚 new guidelines for EdTech refer to this as a 鈥渄ual stack鈥� approach鈥攁 framework that combines the 鈥渄evelopment stack鈥� applied to product creation alongside a 鈥渞esponsibility stack鈥� to ensure these products are built with ethics, transparency and public trust for classroom use.

While many AI tools help create engaging projects and lessons, Wallace wanted a tool to better support personalized learning. While working alongside Inkwire, she said XQ connected her with other AI makers, such as , to build an AI Chatbot that would support an interdisciplinary, community-centered project for her students. 

鈥淲e frontloaded the bot with all the information I need to build a successful learning experience in my classroom,鈥� Wallace explained. Her students looked at statistics for infectious diseases that impact Memphis. Their chatbot then served as what Wallace called a 鈥渃ognitive partner.鈥� It helped them progress through the science project by unpacking and generating complex questions such as 鈥淲hat community partners in Memphis can I reach out to?鈥� and 鈥淲hat information in the research might I have overlooked?鈥� and 鈥淲hat governmental systems are in place?鈥� From there, Wallace said, students figured out which were associated with the project.

鈥淲e wanted the students to be able to identify, build and then reflect on the project benchmarks, learning outcomes and pathways they would need in order to progress at their own pace.鈥�

Wallace said this experience was grounded in two of the : and . The chatbot helped make learning more personalized and rigorous.

Betsey Schmidt, founder and CEO of MeshEd and a veteran curriculum designer, said customizable large language models (LLMs) like PlayLab and Inkwire can transform lesson planning. 鈥淏y understanding what excites and motivates students, educators can more easily adapt core curricula to resonate on a deeper level with learners, incorporating their passions, hobbies, strengths and growth areas 鈥� and making real-world connections to learners鈥� profiles,鈥� she explained. Schmidt has been collaborating with XQ to bring teachers and high school leaders into the AI-for-learning product design cycle 

Looking Ahead

By this time next year, generative AI will likely , whether we鈥檙e ready or not. However, education systems and policies are incredibly resilient to change. The recent pandemic made that painfully clear as schools often went back to business as usual rather than embracing new learning models, such as awarding credit for content mastery instead of seat time (Carnegie units), a rigid system that鈥檚 been used for more than a century and . (XQ and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching have to address this problem.)

AI is already showing us how to make education more individualized and equitable. By encouraging tech leaders and makers to continue collaborating with educators, at events like in New York City next month, we can work toward a future in which all students can reach their potential 鈥� and where teachers can make the most of their talent.

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Solving chronic absenteeism involves tackling big structural problems like transportation and infrastructure. But we also have to make our schools places where young people want to learn. Too many teens, in particular, had negative feelings about school even before the pandemic. Yale researchers conducting found most teens spent their days 鈥渢ired,鈥� 鈥渟tressed,鈥� and 鈥渂ored.鈥� Fewer than 3 in 100 reported feeling interested while in school.

Decades of research prove that students learn more when they experience high levels of academic engagement and social belonging in school. That鈥檚 why XQ developed grounded in the science of teaching and the importance of cultivating caring, trusting relationships within schools. These principles are being used to rethink the traditional high school experience in across the country to make learning more relevant and engaging for the needs of this generation.

Our partnerships are still new. But so far, we鈥檙e finding graduates from our first 17 schools have more interest in their classes and a stronger sense of belonging at school than their national counterparts. More than three-quarters of the XQ class of 2023 鈥� which includes 17 high schools 鈥� said they were at least somewhat interested in their classes. And 52% of the XQ class of 2023 felt like they belonged 鈥渃ompletely鈥� or 鈥渜uite a bit鈥� at their school, versus only 40% nationally.

I spoke with four students from XQ schools across the country to hear what makes a difference in creating high schools young people want to attend. They are: Evan Bowie, Class of 2024 from Ron Brown College Preparatory High School in Washington, D.C.; Karisse Dickison, Class of 2024 from Elizabethton High School in Elizabethton, Tennessee; Henry Montalvo, Class of 2025 from 颁铆谤肠耻濒辞蝉 in Santa Ana, California; and Lillian Roberts, Class of 2024 from Brooklyn STEAM Center. 

Create Bonding Activities

has fewer than 200 students, but Henry Montalvo didn鈥檛 know most of them when he started there as a ninth grader. That small size helped him adjust to the Santa Ana high school, but he also credited bonding activities. One called Community Week provides an opportunity for students to celebrate, pause and reflect. Students create their own schedules based on available sessions. Montalvo said they may lead the sessions alone or partner with teachers for non-academic, fun classes on topics like putting on a thrift shop and even Pok茅mon card-collecting.

鈥淚t’s just basically a time to come together as a community,鈥� he said of the most recent event this past spring. 鈥淪ometimes you write a letter to yourself, and then they give it to you at the end of the year so you can reflect on it.鈥� 

Evan Bowie said teachers at , an all-male district school in Washington, D.C. that鈥檚 part of the partnership, also look for creative ways to help students bond. Students might be asked, for example, to stand or move their desks into circles and answer a question like, 鈥淲hat’s your affirmation today?鈥� Or, 鈥淗ow was your weekend?鈥� He said sometimes it can feel like you鈥檙e being put on the spot, but it works.

Bowie said if he answered with, 鈥溾�業t was boring.鈥� They’d be, like, 鈥榊ou got to give a real answer.鈥欌�� The upshot: 鈥淚t just pushes the student to think a little bit better.鈥�

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Seek Student Feedback

Check-ins like this can also happen more formally, as they do at the The program takes students from several local high schools for mornings or afternoons, five days a week, offering them concentrations in career pathways including cybersecurity, design and engineering, filmmaking and more. Brooklyn STEAM Center is in the Imagine NYC

Lillian Roberts chose culinary arts as her concentration. She enjoys how teachers meet with students quarterly. She said they ask how students feel about their classes, which includes 鈥渢he way they’re teaching, if you have any input.鈥� There are also student-led town hall meetings where students can give feedback anonymously on 鈥渢hings that you might not feel comfortable with.鈥�

Bowie said his teachers at Ron Brown College Preparatory High School also solicit feedback on a weekly or monthly basis, depending on the instructor. They鈥檒l ask questions like, 鈥淲hat went well this week? What can I improve on? What ways can you improve your grade?鈥� Bowie said students are also asked to rate the classes on a scale of one to five stars and provide suggestions for how to make a class better, such as including more hands-on activities or more Socratic seminars instead of written assignments.

Make Personal Connections

is located in northeast Tennessee, an area that has struggled for years with the loss of manufacturing and the opioid epidemic. It was selected as an XQ Super School largely because of its teens鈥� proposal for more student-centered learning to benefit the community.

Karisse Dickison, who graduated this year and is heading to college, described a close relationship with school librarian Dustin Hensley 鈥� who regularly talks to students about what they鈥檙e reading and their extracurricular activities. When Dickison helped start a group dedicated to ending gun violence, she said Hensley would ask her about related events in the news.

鈥淚t was just nice to have him reach out and make sure that I knew what was happening in the world,鈥� she said.

Bowie also valued a personal connection with English teacher Teresa Lasley, who encouraged him to apply to Georgetown University, where he鈥檚 attending this fall. He recalled her showing the class a video about how Black students didn鈥檛 feel welcome at the prestigious school. When he spoke with Lasley, he said she told him he doesn鈥檛 have to work extra hard to prove he belongs. 鈥淕oing to Georgetown means you’re adding more to Georgetown,鈥� he remembered her saying. 鈥淚t’s better for them than it is for you. You belong. You already have it in you.鈥�

He said that exchange allowed him to 鈥渂e seen,鈥� and that he鈥檚 witnessed similar exchanges between other students and teachers.

At Brooklyn STEAM Center, Roberts recalled one guidance counselor who reached out after he saw her crying. 鈥淎nd then we set up weekly meetings just to have someplace to talk about what’s happening,鈥� she said. But at her other high school, she thought guidance counselors seem to focus more on 鈥減urely more academic things.鈥�

Leave the Building

Students at all four schools experience internships, work-based learning and partnerships with community organizations, which they said make classwork feel more relevant. 

Montalvo said teachers at 颁铆谤肠耻濒辞蝉 helped him land internships at a congressional campaign and with a law firm. He said these outside experiences lead to presentations in class. At Brooklyn STEAM Center, Roberts earned an OSHA 10 as well as a New York Food Protection Certificate, and joined a class trip to Italy to study cuisine. 

Dickison worked on social media and advertising at a local nonprofit. Some classes at Elizabethton High include project-based learning, such as one in which students helped solve a cold case involving a serial killer (their work became the subject of the hit podcast this year). 颁铆谤肠耻濒辞蝉 also offers , which Montalvo said makes classes feel more interesting. In his first year, he recalled how he and another student in his English class interviewed local environmental justice experts about lead contamination and the lack of green space, then made a presentation to their school and invited the greater community.

All three students who graduated this year are going to college in the fall, and Montalvo plans to go to college after graduating next year; he wants to be a lawyer. In our senior survey, 72% of XQ students in the class of 2023 planned to attend college, illustrating a great example of students remaining engaged in school beyond their high school years. 

But a sense of belonging and engagement can only happen with student input. 鈥淪chool is about 鈥�飞颈迟丑鈥� not 鈥�蹿辞谤,鈥�鈥� Roberts said. 鈥淓verything is with the students. It鈥檚 not for the students. You have to do everything with the students in mind.鈥�

Disclosure: is a financial supporter of 社区黑料.

Yet, 41 years after 鈥溾�� caused widespread panic about our public schools, fewer than half of American students are graduating high school ready for college or career. U.S. teens than students in many other countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea and Estonia. 

When young people are discouraged from pursuing a STEM-related career, they get locked out of , all of which come with salaries. And that means we all lose out 鈥� because the jobs needed to keep our country running go unfilled, and the inventions, treatments and technologies for our rapidly changing society go undiscovered. 

Our two organizations, and , are deeply committed to ensuring all students have access to joyful and rigorous schools where they know they belong and can succeed. Research shows those three qualities 鈥� joy, rigor, and a sense of belonging 鈥� will prepare them for the future, whether that鈥檚 STEM or any other pursuit. 

XQ partners with schools and districts to rethink the high school experience by making learning more meaningful and engaging through tools such as our Design Principles and Learner Outcomes. Beyond100K unites leading STEM organizations to co-develop and implement solutions to end the STEM teacher shortage by 2043, especially for those most excluded from STEM opportunities.

Sparking Joy in STEM

Guided by and insight from young people across the country, Beyond100K heard that to help spark the brilliance of millions more young minds, schools need to prioritize a focus on equity, representation, and especially belonging in STEM education. But that鈥檚 an increasingly difficult job.

Based on a recent conducted by Beyond100K, it鈥檚 clear that schools and educators are facing dueling pressures. They鈥檙e tasked with reshaping classrooms to foster inclusivity and joy while developing career- and culturally-relevant curricula. Simultaneously, they鈥檙e under heightened scrutiny due to residual pandemic learning loss, ongoing declines , and and teen mental health. 

Beyond100K interviewed educators who expressed concerns about the fear of repercussions for teaching about bias and inequity and the difficulty of creating classrooms of belonging amid pressure to focus solely on raising test scores. Identities of teachers were kept anonymous. 

One teacher noted that they are鈥渟cared to talk about the right thing, doing their own self-work to be able to talk about culture relative to their work鈥�.Regulations in states prevent teachers from having these conversations.鈥�

Yet a positive correlation between a sense of belonging in STEM classrooms and academic performance, retention, and persistence 鈥� particularly for Black, Latino, and Native American students. Similarly, students engaged in SEL programs improve and social well-being. 

Given that nearly 60% of girls and young women who were interested in STEM careers when they entered high school by the time they entered college, there is no question that developing a sense of belonging in the STEM fields is an essential element in nurturing learning environments that lead to STEM persistence. The rigidity of high school STEM education is preventing too many students from pursuing their dreams. 

We see an emerging trend: many teachers and other education leaders view joy, belonging and relevance not in conflict with academic rigor, but as the pathway by which academic success can be achieved. Evidence supports the idea that , particularly for students of color. 

The Beyond100K Foundational Math CoLaboratory, composed of partners from across the STEM learning ecosystem, has developed a of joyful mathematical resources and activities for educators and families to use in making math joyful for their students.

One Beyond100Kpartner, employs a student-belonging-centered science teaching approach in their Bay Area Scientists Inspiring Students program, where scientist and engineer role models bring real-world connections, diversity, and inquiry-based learning into school environments. Teachers observed that students who engaged with these career scientists demonstrated skills above their typical classroom level.

Eliminating Systemic Barriers in High School

Creating a greater sense of belonging is one way to encourage teens to enter STEM. But our young people 鈥� and our creativity 鈥� are also trapped by a structural problem. The American education system, as we know it today, was built around the Carnegie Unit, or 鈥渃redit hour,鈥� a concept developed in 1906 that defines the amount of time a student needs to devote to learning a subject and earning a degree. 

The Carnegie Unit made sense in its day, bringing order and even a degree of equity to a disconnected system. But that day has passed. There鈥檚 no need to limit math, science, English and other required subjects to 50-minute classes with no relationship to one another or to how learning relates to the world beyond the classroom. The Carnegie Unit as we know it today kills student curiosity, inhibits exploration and keeps educators from looking beyond the walls of their school to their communities and our world. Not to mention that clinging to a system that prioritizes time in the classroom over mastery of a subject is actually contributing to the inequity it was designed to prevent.

We are long overdue for It is time to redefine and re-credentialize what it means to be a high school graduate. It鈥檚 time to develop new ways to teach, learn, measure and recognize student achievement, knowledge and growth. We can and must offer young people more immersive, relevant, hands-on experiences that prepare them for a rapidly changing world. 

That鈥檚 our mission at XQ. When we launched in 2015 with an open call to design a transformational high school, 50,000 people signed up. Today, we鈥檙e working in about 60 schools. We have teamed up with school districts in , and the state of to transform high schools at the system level. Partnership is the common ingredient for these high schools and others like them. They鈥檙e forging ahead with new designs based on feedback from their local communities. They take the best ideas and visions 鈥� from educators, students, parents and other stakeholders 鈥� and turn them into life-changing progress for young people. 

Consider the , which is partnering with the computer engineering firm to offer students in the engineering and multimedia pathways an opportunity to take on industry-based projects and earn stipends for their work. Or the Purdue Polytechnic High Schools in Indiana, which resulted from a partnership between Purdue University, business leaders, the state and Indianapolis city leaders to increase the number of students from underrepresented backgrounds attending Purdue and going into STEM careers. PPHS students work on projects that combine math, science and other topics to solve local problems. PPHS has sent more than twice as many students to Purdue University as the entire Indianapolis Public Schools district, most of whom are students of color.  

These examples are only a small sampling of the national movement to transform high schools. XQ and Beyond100K are just two of many organizations engaged in this essential work. Let鈥檚 do everything in our power to give our high school students the tools, resources and inspiration to make that possible. Ensuring that STEM education in high school is inclusive, relevant, engaging and rigorous will help every learner achieve their dreams 鈥� and ours 鈥� in a changing world that will depend on their ideas.

Want to learn more about how to create innovative high school experiences in STEM and subjects? Check out The XQ Xtra, a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. Sign up .

Interested in how you can commit to ending the STEM teacher shortage? Learn more .

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In a recent robotics shop class the teacher was hard to spot among a sea of students working in small teams designing, coding and tinkering with their mechanical creations. Every student had a role, from shop foreman to time manager to cleanup crew. Allyson Ordonez, an 11th-grader, was a class ambassador, welcoming guests and showing them around the classroom.

鈥淵our normal classes 鈥� English, math, science 鈥� you learn fundamentals, but this class takes those subjects and combines them,鈥� Ordonez said. 鈥淢ath and science make up robotics and we use everything we learn from these normal academic classes and apply them to what we learn here.鈥� 

Ordonez sounded more like a seasoned engineer than a high school student as she showed off a small drone she was building and described the equipment. 

Edison attracts teens from all over the city thanks to its 13 career tracks 鈥� the most of any New York City public school. Students can earn college credits through a partnership with the City University of New York, take part in internships and work-based learning with companies like Apple and Google, and receive industry certifications. If students pass those industry-recognized exams, they can start working in technical jobs right out of high school 鈥� while also pursuing associate鈥檚 and bachelor鈥檚 degrees.  

In some ways, Edison鈥檚 offerings are similar to other innovative CTE models across the country that are applying the excitement and engagement of career classes to rigorous academics. But Edison is taking that a step further by giving students tremendous power in its redesign. 

Shifting to Career- and College-Readiness

Edison opened in the 1950s as an all-boys trade school. Today, it serves a diverse population of nearly 2,335 students. Principal Moses Ojeda is about as close to an Edison lifer as it gets: he graduated in 1993, later returning as a teacher before becoming an assistant principal and then principal in 2012. He transformed the school from the days of typewriter and copier repair programs to state-of-the-art offerings including robotics, automotive technology, graphic arts and cybersecurity. 

All of this stemmed from Ojeda鈥檚 early days as principal when a student asked him a question that would change the trajectory of Edison鈥檚 teaching.  

鈥淲e know we鈥檙e here for CTE,鈥� Ojeda remembered the student saying. 鈥淏ut why do we need the academics?鈥�

Ojeda asked the student, who was in the automotive track, if he had learned about Pascal鈥檚 law in his physics class. 鈥淎nd the kid was like, 鈥榊eah, I remember that.鈥� I said, 鈥極K, well, that鈥檚 your brake system.鈥� And I went across the room and made a connection to each academic area.鈥�  

Ojeda then turned to social studies teachers Phil Baker and Danielle Ragavanis to help students see the relevance of academic classes to their careers. 

鈥淔or them, CTE felt useful while academics too often left them wondering, 鈥榃hy are we learning this?鈥�” Baker said.

Ojeda supported Baker and Ragavannis in creating a Research and Development department to engage students in design thinking, including articulating what makes learning meaningful for them. The R&D department has grown to include teachers from every department working with students to figure out how to integrate essential skills into core academic classes. In this way, they鈥檙e applying one of the 鈥檚 crucial for innovative high schools: .

鈥淚n order to take on a project, teachers have to partner with one of the kids,鈥� Ragavanis said. 鈥淪tudents are fully at the table, and they have to be our equals, and in some cases, our bosses.鈥�

Edison was later selected for Imagine NYC 鈥� a dynamic partnership between New York City Public Schools and XQto design innovative, high-quality schools with equity and excellence at their core. Faculty members said brought additional support and resources to scale their ideas for making the academic courses feel as relevant to students as the CTE classes.

Mastering Essential Skills 

Driven by employer demand for 鈥渟oft skills,鈥� Baker and Ragavanis worked with student designers and teachers in the R&D department to establish 鈥渇ive essential skills鈥�: communication, collaboration, giving and receiving feedback, design thinking and professionalism. These skills reflect XQ鈥檚 and now guide the learning objectives in many of Edison鈥檚 academic classes. Research shows these outcomes, or goals, can help students succeed in college, career and life. 

English Language Arts teacher Jason Fischedick, for example, created a student-run community theater, which he called 鈥渢he most ambitious thing I鈥檝e ever tried to do in the classroom.鈥� Apart from selecting the four student directors, Fischedick ceded almost complete control of the process. Students were responsible for hiring a crew, casting actors and organizing and running rehearsals.  

鈥淲e鈥檙e on a time crunch and we need to figure out how to manage that time effectively to ultimately get a good product to show off,鈥� said 12th grader Colin Zaug, one of the student directors.鈥淚t鈥檚 all about teaching independence and preparing students for the real world. I don鈥檛 know how many of these kids will ultimately be actors, but it teaches time management and how to stay on task.鈥澛�

Baker said this is how the R&D department is modernizing Edison. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to make a link between academic classes and CTE classes, and bridge the gap that existed between the two, and make sure that academic classes have a career-centered application to them,鈥� he said.

Baker said ninth graders in the R&D department designed the essential skills rubric for their grade so that regardless of what content classes students take, they all get the same immersion into critical career skills. Student voice is now so integrated into Edison鈥檚 core that teachers work with student designers to plan their units. And he said teachers are becoming comfortable with the language of career-centered learning and essential skills while students appreciate the engagement and develop a new level of confidence. 

Yordani Rodriguez, a 12th-grader, employed the essential skills in a number of leadership positions, from his work on Model UN to serving as editor-in-chief of the school鈥檚 literary magazine. And those are abilities that will serve him long after he leaves Edison. 

鈥淲hen you lead somebody and they look to you, you have to be sharp,鈥� Rodriguez said, noting these skills are always in the back of his mind now. 鈥淚 have to communicate, I have to take feedback and most importantly, I have to be professional.鈥�  

Rodriguez will be a first-generation college student when he enters Columbia University in the fall. Baker emphasized, however, that the essential skills will serve students wherever they go next. 

鈥淭his is the kind of thing that all of our students should be able to use no matter what they do in college or in a career,鈥� he said. 

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Making Time for Innovation

The R&D Department鈥檚 work touches students in every grade. Nearly 40% of 9th graders are involved in classes taught by R&D members, with plans to expand. In addition to essential skills, students also participated in using a . Thanks to word of mouth, as well as student showcases to exhibit their work, Baker and Ragavanis have grown their R&D department to include 18 faculty in ELA, math, and science, including new recruit  Fischedick.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e been letting me innovate every year and that鈥檚 why I joined this team because I鈥檓 someone who likes to try new things,鈥� he said. If something doesn鈥檛 work, he added, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 OK. I鈥檝e become more open with my classroom and what I can do in the classroom because I feel supported to do so.鈥� 

Edison’s lessons are now influencing broader change in New York City high schools. It is an anchor school among the 100-plus city high schools participating in , a bold new vision for career-connected learning. 

Edison students are also applying their essential skills off campus. Once a week, a group of them visit PS 175 in Queens. They lead 10-week cycles for students in kindergarten through 5th grade in more than 25 different courses, from cooking to robotics and Model UN. 

As with the other opportunities at Edison, Baker said students are getting a much deeper understanding of learning and careers by applying the essential skills outside of the classroom.  

鈥淚t鈥檚 been an incredible experience for our students,鈥� Baker said of the teaching opportunity. 鈥淭hey gain so much in terms of professionalism, confidence, and the ability to explain complicated processes to people, which is a really difficult skill.鈥�

Disclosure: is a financial supporter of 社区黑料.

That kind of itinerary would be nearly impossible for Gestel at any traditional high school, which is why she chose to attend A School Without Walls, a first-of-its-kind hybrid program in New York City that blends in-person and remote learning. 

鈥淚 do a lot of other stuff, so I thought it was easier than going to another school and being extremely exhausted and late with work,鈥� Gestel said. 

While hybrid learning might still hold negative connotations for many students and families after years of COVID-19-disrupted schooling, leaders at SWoW say their model reimagines the hybrid structure for a truly student-centered program 鈥� allowing students like Gestel to follow their passions while still mastering rigorous academics. It鈥檚 the first public school to win approval from New York State for a hybrid learning model.

鈥淭he hybrid schedule is really not meant for students who just don鈥檛 want to be in a building every day,鈥� SWoW principal Veronica Coleman said. 鈥淭he goal of the hybrid schedule is for students to have flexibility so that they do real-world learning.鈥� 

Learning Inside and Outside the Classroom 

SWoW launched in 2022 in partnership with , a nonprofit that supports a network of public schools that incorporate an expeditionary learning model through project-based curricula. It鈥檚 also part of Imagine NYC Schools, a dynamic partnership between New York City Public Schools and the to design innovative, high-quality schools with equity and excellence at their core.   

Through support and funding from New York City Public Schools, XQ and the , SWoW designed its program to emphasize 鈥� one of six research-based XQ . 

Students were deeply involved in shaping the school from the start. SWoW recruited 50 students from other schools across the city during its pilot year to serve as interns and test program ideas, provide feedback on what worked and what didn鈥檛 and help think through the school鈥檚 grading policy (an approach that鈥檚 been gaining momentum nationally, and which is also ). 

In place of traditional letter grades, teachers use narrative reports to guide students in developing seven competencies: collaboration, investigation, interdisciplinary connection, analysis, design, communication and reflection. Students receive quarterly progress reports and reflect on their learning through student-led conferences that occur twice yearly.   

鈥淲e鈥檝e really tried to amplify student voice and choice,鈥� Coleman said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the piece for us that feels like the focus and all of the other pieces fit into that being the center of what we鈥檙e really trying to do.鈥� 

Students learn in person at the Lower Manhattan campus two to three days a week. The rest of the time is a mix of synchronous and asynchronous online learning and real-world learning, including internships, fieldwork and early college coursework through the City University of New York. 

Every Friday, students and staff also meet in an auditorium to discuss what鈥檚 going well and share their wants and needs, from designing new clubs to giving input on school-wide policies and procedures. 

鈥淲hat I like about this school is that you can really communicate with them,鈥� Gestel said. 鈥淚f I鈥檓 feeling really stressed or overworked, they help me balance it out and help me organize.鈥� 

SWoW borrowed many of its principles from NYC Outward Bound Schools and expanded them within its model. These include 鈥淐rew,鈥� an advisory and community-building time with teams made up of a dozen or so students and an adult. At SWoW, however, Crew is more than an advisory period. It鈥檚 also where students earn their humanities credits by working on their passion projects 鈥� student-led and student-designed research projects that are the core of the SWoW curriculum.  

Passion-Driven Projects 

Students select a passion project based on a topic that is meaningful to them and their communities. is another . Working with their advisor, each pupil creates an individualized learning plan, setting project goals that align with New York State curriculum standards.  

In 9th grade, students research a service learning project that can address a broad range of issues, from youth homelessness to the environmental impact of illegal fireworks in New York City. In 10th grade, each student starts a passion project in earnest, formulating a research question through reading materials and interviews with experts in the field, culminating with an internship in the spring to put their learning to the test in the real world. All students will take on full-fledged independent projects by 12th grade and find an internship. 

鈥淭he goal is to build that agency and independence while the students are exploring something they are passionate about,鈥� Coleman explained.

For her passion project, 10th grader Gestel is exploring the lack of representation of different body types and skin tones in ballet and how to create a more inclusive dance community. Another 10th grader, Lily Paraponiaris, is researching film restoration and preservation. 

SWoW uses a case study framework to model for students what good research looks like. For example, in January they explored a unit on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the country鈥檚 history of cobalt mining. In addition to earning their humanities credits, students also figure out the ingredients of high-quality research to apply to their own passion projects. 

Some students will devote much of their time at SWoW to their passion projects, diving deeply into a topic while exploring it from different angles and applying that knowledge through real-world learning in an internship. But some teens may take longer to land on a subject that is truly meaningful for them, and Coleman said SWoW makes sure that flexibility is built into the curriculum. 

 鈥淭he idea is that you go through that cycle of making and doing and reflecting, and that reflection can lead you to say, 鈥業鈥檓 done with this topic,鈥� which is totally normal for a teenager,鈥� she explained. 鈥淥r you can continue, but you continue in a way that requires a new avenue of research.鈥� 

Throughout their projects, students get regular opportunities to present their work to an audience, including an end-of-year presentation of learning, a resource fair where students have the chance to network with potential internship mentors and summer employers, and a mid-year presentation called roundtables where students share their passion projects with outside guests, sharpening not only their research questions but also their public speaking skills. At a roundtable in early 2024, one student gave a presentation exploring the rising cost of public transit fares while another investigated the fashion industry’s environmental impact. 

Want to learn more about how to inspire high school students with the latest best practices for teaching and learning? Subscribe to the , a newsletter that comes out twice a month for high school teachers.

Hybrid Learning Post-Pandemic

SWoW鈥檚 launch hasn鈥檛 been without bumps along the way 鈥� in part because another completely virtual program opened at the same time, causing confusion for students and parents. That program has since been renamed, but figuring out whether hybrid or fully virtual is best for individual students is still a question for families.   

Ava Smith, who is in her first year at SWoW, said she likes learning online, but ultimately, the school is not for her. 

鈥淚 just think I like traditional school more,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 like the schedule. I feel like here it鈥檚 very mishmashed, and here every day is different.鈥� 

The school has its own saying: SWoW is for anyone but not for everyone. 

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 been a struggle for us to find the right matches,鈥� Coleman said. 鈥淎nd I think it鈥檚 going to take a few more years for that to really settle, for people to really know what they are getting when they come to A School Without Walls and a sense that this is right for me and for my child.鈥� 

While some students like Smith might end up missing the traditional school environment, overall, SW0W students seem happy with the experience. Out of the 60 original 9th graders who started in 2022, 50 returned for year two, with 35 new students joining in 10th grade. 

Coleman said those numbers, and what she hears from the students, prove this new kind of high school is needed 鈥� not only because of its small community, flexibility and the safe space it offers. 

“Their families are saying their student was at a big high school and experiencing anxiety,鈥� she noted. 鈥淎nd they like this model because of the individualization.鈥� 

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But they can鈥檛 succeed if they aren鈥檛 treated like part of a greater community. This is why believes high schools deserve more attention and support to fully prepare every student for college, career or whatever comes next. Since 2017, we鈥檝e been working with dozens of schools and systems around the country to help high schools and their communities design learning experiences more suited to the 21st century 鈥� for example, by encouraging partnerships with local organizations so young people can see how their academics show up in real life. 

That鈥檚 how classes work at , the subject of a new documentary. 鈥�,鈥� directed by Lee Hirsch (of 鈥淏ully鈥�), follows students from ninth grade to graduation at this innovative Memphis public high school as they figure out how to sustain life on Mars and interview refugees for an interdisciplinary project combining history and English. 

Community partnerships are among six research-backed XQ developed for high schools to create engaging and rigorous learning opportunities. Like the , which we also introduced, these design principles were originally created for educators and communities involved in building or redesigning a school. But they are also very useful for parents and students who want to better understand whether their local high school is serving students as well as it can. Below are some questions to ask when visiting a school.

Educators interested in a detailed approach to the Design Principles can download c, a tool designed to gather and assess evidence about where they are on their journey to becoming the best high school they can be.

1. Are there high expectations and equal opportunities for all students, regardless of income level, race, ethnic group and special needs? Do the AP and honors classes resemble a cross-section of the community? 

These are signs of a , a set of unifying values and principles that give a school a sense of common purpose and a fundamental belief in the potential of every student to achieve great things. in Tennessee, for example, is committed to making students feel invested in their community. That investment shone through when one sociology class solved a murder, now the subject of a podcast series. When visiting a high school, it鈥檚 also worth checking whether there are opportunities for dual enrollment in postsecondary courses, which can benefit all students.

2. Does the school use an interdisciplinary curriculum 鈥� do teachers combine subjects like math, science, English and electives? Can students and teachers dive deep into topics with project-based learning?

These are examples of Research tells us that young people learn through the combination of what they encounter as learners, through curriculum, relationships, challenges and supports; what they do as learners, through their active commitment in producing and persevering; and how they make meaning of those experiences. Our schools can offer much more powerful ways of learning. For example, students built a hydroponic system through a science project at Purdue Polytechnic High School in Indiana. They conducted extensive research as they designed and constructed a method for growing produce sustainably and cost-effectively.聽

3. Does the school ensure all students have at least one adult who knows them well enough to provide academic and social support? Is there a system in place that helps students connect and check in with the adults so they feel safe, valued and seen?

Those are hallmarks of . The science of adolescent learning shows that learning is a social process, particularly during the high school years, and this aspect 鈥� when intentionally addressed 鈥� can result in a transformative high school experience. Schools that emphasize getting to know students, inside and beyond the school walls, set a foundation for trust that carries over into academic work. At in Oakland, California, co-founder Christian Martinez takes pride in building a place where the goal is to never let a teen slip through the cracks like he did at their age. During the college process, for example, staff guide and support students at every step, from having highly personal conversations about their choices to ensuring that they submit their applications on time.聽

Want to learn how to create innovative high school experiences like those at Crosstown High? Check out The XQ Xtra, a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month.聽.

4. Does the high school support students to build their sense of agency and autonomy, and explore postsecondary goals?

Schools need to provide A student-centered school gives students a say in their learning. They can choose projects and topics and decide whether to present their knowledge as a research paper, slide show or even a documentary or podcast. Staff members should foster this environment, not feel threatened. The D.C. Public Schools recently published a booklet . It argues that student engagement is crucial when communities come together to redesign local high schools, as in thepartnership, because students have higher attendance and learning outcomes when they鈥檙e treated as partners in their own education.

5. Is the school partnering with local entities such as cultural institutions, businesses, nonprofit organizations, colleges and universities and health and service providers? 

These can take many forms. But at their heart, these powerful relationships create opportunities for learners to explore and envision their future and set goals toward making it real. At Florida鈥檚 in Seminole County Public Schools, students have numerous opportunities to work with outside organizations and leave the campus. Some of that activity slowed down during the pandemic 鈥� especially for those who are now seniors. 

Members of the class of 2024 wanted more outside experiences before graduating. They devised a plan: a trip later this spring to New Smyrna Beach, more than an hour away. But it鈥檚 not just a day at the beach, said one of the organizers, Daniella Mu帽oz. The students researched local nonprofits and got excited about . They鈥檙e planning a visit that includes a talk with an expert because it鈥檚 important 鈥渢o hear from someone who isn鈥檛 a teacher鈥� about 鈥渁 real-world problem,鈥� Mu帽oz said. They also plan to clean the beach, using gloves and other supplies provided by the environmental group.

6. Does the school review, reflect on and make decisions based on data that ensure inclusion and access to advanced courses? Does it use data to eliminate disproportionate remediation, disciplinary practices and other inequities?

Data is just one aspect of a high school that makes . Another example is breaking away from the traditional schedule of six or seven single-subject periods, each about 50 minutes long. 

The has an agreement with its district so students and teachers can easily visit local nonprofit groups and businesses and take classes at other schools and colleges. Junior Kate Ruel says she鈥檚 getting science credit this year for taking culinary courses at Kent Career and Tech Center. She also enjoyed visiting Dwelling Place, which provides support services and affordable housing, during a ninth-grade project on English, history, social studies, and science. 

鈥淚 found it really interesting and cool,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was able to go out and talk to people.鈥� 

Surveys show students at GRPMS feel connected to their learning, and they’re doing better than their counterparts in the state and city on many measures.

This flexibility is why we argue high schools need a new 鈥渁rchitecture鈥� for learning without the Carnegie Unit, a century-old system that equates time with learning. When students and teachers are freed from earning credits based on seat time in single-subject classes, they can see how academic content is connected to the world around them and gain a fuller appreciation of what they鈥檙e learning. These experiences are important for teens in so many ways beyond school. Today鈥檚 high school students are the leaders, workers, doctors, inventors and teachers of tomorrow.

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Rachel isn鈥檛 the only one challenged by this and other projects at Crosstown High. In the film, we see a teacher stumped by a student鈥檚 idea for making a hologram as well as candid conversations about the relevance of an interdisciplinary math and science project exploring how to sustain life on Mars.

This student-led, creative approach to teaching and learning is the goal at Crosstown High 鈥� a public high school built by parents, educators, teens and community members in Memphis as part of the Super School Challenge in 2015. This challenge spurred communities to create innovative high schools, by building new ones and redesigning existing models, that depart from the rigid, century-old model that鈥檚 no longer suited to today鈥檚 learners. 

As part of the challenge, dozens of community members came together and gathered input from more than 200 students to design and open Crosstown High. They wanted to create a school that would engage students in real-world, motivating projects that would make a difference and reflect the diversity of their historically-segregated city with equitable learning opportunities for all.

Years in the making, 鈥淭he First Class鈥� follows the founding cohort of students and educators from ninth grade to the triumph of their graduation 鈥� and all the challenges in between. Directed by award-winning documentary maker Lee Hirsch (of 鈥淏ully鈥�), we see learning in a way that鈥檚 rarely captured on film. No single principal or teacher is the sole superhero who 鈥渟aves鈥� the students. Instead, we see learning as it really happens: through ideas, collaboration, committed educators who genuinely care about students and 鈥渁ha鈥� moments.

As we watch the students and teachers at Crosstown High work through the school鈥檚 growing pains in the film, we see them taking obvious delight in their progress and personal growth.  鈥淭he First Class鈥� shows what鈥檚 possible when we put our heads together to create a new type of high school. Crosstown High鈥檚 journey will inspire educators and communities everywhere to look at the challenges facing students in their own high schools and start the conversation about how they, too, can rethink learning for teachers and students. 

XQ Institute is proud of Crosstown High鈥檚 story, and the incredible progress this community made since responding to our challenge almost a decade ago. We鈥檙e thrilled to provide this exciting documentary and related materials free of charge for educators, families, students, policymakers and other community members. Find everything you need to be among the first to , , and get inspired to rethink high school at .  

Want to learn how to create innovative high school experiences like those at Crosstown High? Check out The XQ Xtra, a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

Disclosure: is a financial supporter of 社区黑料.

High schools are essential to preparing young people for these challenges, regardless of whether their future includes college, career or a combination of postsecondary plans. But how can families and students understand how any individual high school approaches learning?

While districts and states provide a variety of data points, many agree these metrics don鈥檛 paint a complete picture and don鈥檛 necessarily mean students are well-prepared for postsecondary life. Helping all students reach their full potential requires passionate and inspired teaching and meaningful learning experiences that encourage them to think critically. Schools should also empower teachers as professionals. 

When those ingredients are combined, the sky鈥檚 the limit. As just one example, Alex Campbell鈥�s sociology students at in Tennessee solved a cold case with (and became the subject of the true-crime podcast series 鈥溾��). All high school teachers can tap into students鈥� natural curiosities in exciting ways that connect with the world around them 鈥� and prepare them for their lives beyond graduation. 

identified research-backed or goals, that recognize the full range of knowledge, skills, habits and mindsets students need to be successful in life. The framework guides educators to transform teaching and learning. They鈥檙e also helpful for families looking for ways to determine if a particular high school fully prepares all students for the future. 

Here are five things parents should look for in their kids鈥� classrooms to ensure they鈥檙e ready for the world.

1. Are students learning to be literate in the fullest sense? Do they know how to read information, understand it and apply meaning to it 鈥� with language, numbers, digital content and other subjects?

This is where the XQ goal, 鈥溾�� comes in. In addition to required subjects, such as English and math, students should learn how to interpret and use data, which is increasingly essential in many fields beyond the sciences. For example, at , one student 鈥嬧�媘ade a documentary about 鈥渇ood deserts鈥� 鈥� neighborhoods where residents have limited access to nutritious foods.

2. Can students think in ways that apply art, literacy, science, history, economics, math and STEM 鈥� and connect these disciplines?

This relates to 鈥�.鈥� The goal is to foster curious young people who are knowledgeable about the world: its history, culture, sciences and underlying mathematics, biology and cultural currency. They鈥檙e engaged participants vital to creating a more just and functional democracy.

3. Are students given opportunities to think creatively about subjects they’re passionate about? Can they also explore their interests in the 鈥渞eal world鈥� through internships or partnerships with local businesses and community organizations, so they can think about future professions? 

Students must be taught to be 鈥溾�� In our information age, students must learn to become sense-makers who can deal with conflicting knowledge and abundant data points. How do they know if something was generated by artificial intelligence? They also need to adapt to changing situations. For example, with XQ鈥檚 help, are redesigning existing schools with new approaches, like having students build their own businesses and applying the U.N.鈥檚 Sustainable Development Goals. 

4. Does the school foster collaborators who value the expertise of others? Are there group projects where students learn to be co-creators in what they bring and how they show up?

Successful high schools cultivate 鈥�,鈥� self-aware team members who bring their strengths to support others. At , students responded to a devastating storm that hit the Cedar Rapids region and destroyed up to 70% of the local tree canopy. Students contracted with local chainsaw artists to turn fallen wood into sculptures and used the funds to 鈥渞e-leaf鈥� the damaged tree canopy. 

5. Do students understand their own strengths and areas for growth? Is there an opportunity for them to reflect on their learning?

We want to ensure that schools are nurturing 鈥�.鈥� Any high school鈥檚 role is to foster a love for learning and the ability to keep learning. Students must become self-driven, self-directed, curious learners 鈥� about themselves and the world. Many great high schools have capstone projects where students present what they鈥檝e learned and then celebrate their growth and achievements. At student presentations showcase the projects and issues they鈥檙e passionate about, including climate change, immigration and gun violence.

Preparing students for the future is no easy feat when so many industries, from STEM to manufacturing and media, are in a constant state of flux. But with a nimble approach to learning and foundational knowledge, high schools can help their students feel equipped to succeed on whatever paths they choose. Next month, we鈥檒l give more tips for looking at what a high school鈥檚 design says about how students learn.

Want to learn more about innovative ways of reaching high school students? Subscribe to the a newsletter that comes out twice a month for high school teachers.

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Just before the start of the new school year for D.C. Public Schools, dozens of people gathered under a bright August sun in the northeast neighborhood of Deanwood. They were there to celebrate the 50th anniversary of a local institution: H.D. Woodson High School. A prominent new street sign, reading 鈥淲oodson Way,鈥� was unveiled directly in front of the campus, forever enshrining a legacy. 

But this joyful event did more than just reflect on the high school鈥檚 storied history: it also set the stage for a bold new vision that鈥檚 reshaping the whole learning experience for both students and faculty.

The energy was infectious. A teacher鈥檚 choir performed and five decades of alumni, each displaying their graduation year on T-shirts, chanted school slogans. Speakers included a city council member, a founding teacher and a current Woodson student. 

鈥淲hat is the Woodson Way? We need to recommit to it,鈥� said alumni council member John Cotten, Woodson High School Class of 1981.

This past summer, Woodson was among four DCPS high schools selected for a multiyear partnership between DCPS and the that aims to make high school more meaningful and engaging for all learners so they鈥檙e better prepared for college and career. Woodson鈥檚 community united around a new theme for the school: cultivating and activating students鈥� passions so every graduate earns a career certification or an associate degree aligned with their interests. 

Launching a redesign effort in a school with generations of tradition like Woodson is not simple. Neighborhood high schools carry memories for residents and alumni, who recall athletic teams and veteran teachers. The tangible camaraderie at Woodson鈥檚 anniversary event reflects a commitment to meeting a changing world with new educational experiences while still holding on to the fabric that makes a school what it is. Woodson鈥檚 journey also carries four major lessons for other high schools and their communities.

A new video series from XQ follows the journey of the DC+XQ schools and features the stories of the educators and leaders rethinking high school across D.C. Learn about the goals of the partnership and follow along as new videos are released each month. 

1. Ground Your Goals in the Data

The DC+XQ partnership started in 2022. Participating schools create design teams and receive financial and professional support as they rethink learning from the ground up 鈥� hand-in-hand with their students and communities. Along the way, school teams meet with experts and visit other already deep in the transformation process.

The DC+XQ partnership also included a chance for schools to complete XQ鈥檚 , a tool that examines student transcripts to shine a spotlight on long-standing inequities. The EOA helps design teams figure out which students in their high school are more prepared than others for college and career, often due to inequitable practices, to avoid replicating the same patterns. A previous audit in Rhode Island led the state to enact higher graduation standards. 

In D.C., the EOA found that even schools with high graduation rates were not preparing all students for postsecondary success. To overcome these inequities, DCPS Chancellor Lewis Ferebee encouraged the city鈥檚 high schools to think big, without restraints. 

鈥淢y responsibility is [to ensure] that the schools know they can go as bold as they need to give students the schools and learning experiences they deserve,鈥� he explained. This could include changing traditional schedules and course offerings. 

2. Build a Coalition

Woodson was founded by Howard Dilworth Woodson, one of the first Black licensed architectural engineers in D.C. and a powerful advocate for extending city services to this far, northeast corner of the city. Before the school opened in 1971, high schoolers in the Deanwood neighborhood had to travel three to five miles to the nearest campus. Woodson formed a broad coalition that pushed the city to pave and widen roads, build a new seven-story building and launch a public school lovingly nicknamed the 鈥淭ower of Power.鈥� 

But the Tower of Power suffered neglect and eventual demolition (a new Woodson building opened in 2011). The neighborhood also experienced gentrification and displacement. Meanwhile, the world was changing. Today鈥檚 students need different things from high school than they did 50 years ago.

Current Woodson Principal William Massey knew all this when he raised his hand in March of 2022 to join the DC+XQ design journey. He assembled a core team of a dozen diverse stakeholders, including students, teachers and community members, to respond to data from the EOA about student satisfaction and success and to define a new shared vision. But Massey acknowledged he was 鈥渧ery protective of the process.鈥� He was concerned about how people in his school and neighborhood would respond to the phrase 鈥渉igh school redesign鈥� after DCPS had undergone previous waves of reform.

鈥淧eople often think it means something wrong is happening,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o someone is going to come in and shake things up via a mandate.鈥�

Amber Owens, a longtime teacher now in her fifth year at Woodson, was initially skeptical. 鈥淕reat opportunities often come to the schools, and they die or fizzle out, and we鈥檙e left holding the bag to keep it going,鈥� she said. 

Though Massey convened the core design team and began engaging others through school visits and focus groups, Woodson was not selected for the first cohort of DC+XQ last fall. (That initial cohort consists of and .) Nonetheless, Woodson was among three other schools 鈥� Columbia Heights Education Campus, Coolidge High School and Ron Brown College Preparatory Academy 鈥� given a 鈥渃ultivation year鈥� to continue developing their proposals and visions. 

In Woodson鈥檚 case, the review panel encouraged Massey to reach beyond his original redesign team and seek broader community engagement. Massey took that feedback to heart. With funding and support from DC+XQ, the school was able to hire Rachel Curry-Neal, a former educator, counselor and youth organizer, as a full-time in-house redesign director. Students, teachers, school counselors and union representatives all served on the hiring and interviewing panel that selected Curry-Neal.

3. Stick to Mission and Vision

Curry-Neal was able to focus 100% of her time on the school鈥檚 redesign effort, leading to increased participation in the process: the design team went from just one active student to two from each grade level. Curry-Neal also reached more adults. 鈥淧eople came to sit with her and talk with her,鈥� Massey explained. 鈥淪he was able to have more prolonged conversations and walk different school community members through the full journey.鈥�

Meanwhile, Woodson鈥檚 Parent Teacher Organization, which had been inactive since 2016, started meeting again in 2022 with 45 participating families. Curry-Neal attended their meetings to update families about the school鈥檚 redesign efforts and get input. The school continued collecting feedback through surveys, weekly meetings of the student government association and conversations with families and alums.

It paid off. In June of this year, Woodson was , along with the three other schools that had been given more cultivation time. Woodson鈥檚 new model is inspired directly by feedback from students, who shared that high school didn鈥檛 always feel relevant to their interests and hopes for life after graduation. 

The redesign centers on activating students鈥� passions and ensuring each student has a head start on their interests, which is why all graduates will earn career certifications or associate degrees. Students will also chart individualized paths early in their high school career, enabling them to take advantage of relevant internships, travel opportunities and apprenticeships. is one of XQ鈥檚 six research-backed for successful high schools where learning is more . 

The Woodson team鈥檚 experience showed the importance of another XQ design principle: . Having a clear shared mission gave diverse team members and stakeholders something to unite around. After joining the design team in 2022, Owens found the common purpose helpful when balancing competing ideas. 鈥淎s long as we understand the mission, getting input from others is not a scary thing,鈥� she said.

Ferebee said he saw a similar pattern in the other school teams that applied for DC+XQ. 

鈥淥nce we opened the door to the conversation around a community-driven process, I think people really welcomed that idea and understood that this wasn鈥檛 like previous efforts around high school that felt top-down,鈥� he said. 鈥淩edesign is about each school鈥檚 unique design and context and history.鈥�

We have more ideas for how to rethink high school. Check out The XQ Xtra, a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

4. Get Creative with Class Time

One of the most tangible new offerings at Woodson is the new Legacy, Leadership and Learning (or 鈥淟3鈥�) class. The Woodson design team developed this course, which is currently being piloted with all ninth graders. The school received approval from the district for it to count as an elective toward graduation. In the first week, students studied the poem 鈥淲here I鈥檓 From鈥� by Rene茅 Watson and used it as a prompt to write about their own communities of origin.

The goal is to introduce all new students to the history of Woodson, D.C. at large and the Deanwood neighborhood. They鈥檒l leave the building to meet community members who already work in their area of interest. The design team believes this class will help students explore their interests and future ambitions, whether college, career, military or otherwise. 

At a symposium for the end of the course, ninth graders will present a passion project to an audience comprising members of the Woodson school community and beyond. Students will select from one of Woodson鈥檚 three career academies 鈥� IT, engineering, and finance 鈥� that will shape the rest of their time in high school. 

鈥淸L3 is] a very innovative idea of bringing together students who are currently on campus with alumni to get pride and purpose while also pursuing career passions,鈥� Ferebee said.

Owens, who was hired as the inaugural L3 teacher, plans for alums to come in and help first-year students learn Woodson traditions. 鈥淭hese people will actually make this course so much better,鈥� she said. 鈥淢any hands make light work 鈥� I make sure I let the village come in and help raise these kids.鈥�

In an example of youth voice and choice at work, Wynnter Price, an 11th grader at Woodson, helped design the class and hopes to join as a guest speaker. Even though she鈥檚 too far along in school to take the class, she is proud to have built something to help future Woodson students succeed. 

鈥淢y ninth grade year, I wish I had a class that navigated the ways of high school,鈥� Price explained. 

As Woodson celebrates half a century of tradition, its faculty and students are collaborating with community members past and present to better serve the young leaders of today. Cotten, who came up with the idea of renaming the street 鈥淲oodson Way,鈥� addressed the crowd at the August anniversary event.聽

鈥淲e always have to evolve and reinvent ourselves but stick with traditions that got us through the first 50 years,鈥� he said. The high school鈥檚 redesign journey is a meaningful start to the next 50.

We have more ideas for how to rethink high school. Check out The XQ Xtra, a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

You can follow Woodson鈥檚 journey on and or learn more about . 

Disclosure: is a financial supporter of 社区黑料.

In 1906, the Carnegie Unit, or credit hour, was introduced to standardize U.S. public education. It defined the precise number of minutes students needed to learn a particular subject and the number of 鈥渃redit hours鈥� required to earn a high school or college degree. To be sure, at the dawn of the 20^th century, this served an important purpose 鈥� standardizing an entirely unstandardized education system. 

Today, the Carnegie Unit has infiltrated almost every aspect of American schooling. It defines how many minutes one must sit at a desk in a classroom or in front of a digital platform to learn. It shapes how schools and teaching are organized. It determines what is and is not assessed. It defines graduation requirements and dictates how schools are accredited. And it prescribes what goes on a transcript and influences who receives financial aid. In essence, the Carnegie Unit isn鈥檛 just hard-wired into the system; it is the system. And .

For students, this model of schooling exacts a heavy toll. Young people consistently report feeling they are in an intellectual straitjacket: given schedules, told what classes to take, stuck in rows of desks, handed textbooks that lack relevance to study subjects that are disconnected from the skills they need to succeed. For many students, school isn鈥檛 engaging or inspiring 鈥� it is something to endure.

Students Deserve Better

The overwhelming majority of American high schools are organized in lock step around the Carnegie Unit. Yet are ready for college or a career. Thus most young people start their adult lives behind and will have to spend some, if not all, of their time trying to catch up. 

The consequences of this reality 鈥� precipitous decline of economic mobility 鈥� are unambiguous. For Americans born in 1980, just 50% earned more than their parents, compared to 90% for those born in 1940, . The 鈥淎merican Dream鈥� .

Compounding these challenges is the unprecedented, painful disruption of COVID. The most recent report from the 鈥� the long-term trend analysis for 13-year-olds 鈥� gave us a window into just how much our students fell behind: Reading scores dropped below pre-pandemic levels, and math scores plummeted to where they were three decades ago.

This cohort of students is now entering high school. If there was ever a moment to press for meaningful, lasting transformation, it is now.

High School Is the Fulcrum for Change

When high school learning improves, K-8 is pressed to raise standards to prepare students for more engaging, relevant, rigorous curricula. And post-secondary completion improves as well. Over time, these benefits compound, leading to better learning outcomes for students K-16, stronger communities, increased economic productivity and greater civic engagement.

That鈥檚 why the and the have embarked on a partnership to catalyze high schools that develop the rich tapestry of skills students need to succeed in school and life and enable learning to happen anywhere. Put differently, we are intent on building a new educational architecture that shifts the sector to a truly competency-based system and away from time-bound conceptions of what knowledge is and how it is acquired.

A growing number of states and local communities are embarking on this work 鈥� establishing competency-based education models, offering flexibility for what counts as 鈥渃redit鈥� and reimagining how credit is awarded. New Hampshire鈥檚 鈥溾�� law empowers students to earn credit wherever the learning occurs. Texas, Missouri and several other states allow schools and systems to request waivers from seat-time mandates. And states like Rhode Island and school systems like Phoenix, Washington, D.C. and Tulsa are designing more rigorous, engaging and relevant models for high school learning.

Learn more about what educators nationwide are doing to rethink high school by subscribing to The XQ Xtra, a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

A New Architecture for High Schools and Communities

What will it take for all students to receive the high school education they need? We are convinced it requires a new set of building blocks, which together form the foundation of a new educational architecture: 

• Clear and persuasive learner outcomes; 
• Well-articulated and specific competencies to guide teaching and learning; 
• Powerful learning experiences inside and outside of the classroom aligned with those outcomes and competencies; 
• Much richer models of assessment 鈥� rooted around a competency-based student performance framework 鈥� that students, parents and educators can use to accelerate learning; 
• New kinds of transcripts that codify and make legible (to post-secondary schools and employers) what young people know and can do; 
• Support for aspiring and incumbent teachers to help them enact new roles; and 
• Designs for schools that are not tethered to minutes spent at a desk but focus on developing the knowledge and skills young people need for success in the 21^st century. 

State leaders, in particular, have essential roles to play. Here are three major ways they can reshape the high school landscape:

1. States should incentivize communities to redesign their high schools and invite key stakeholders to be directly engaged. 

In Memphis, a parent named Ginger Spickler saw an XQ billboard inviting communities to enter a high school redesign competition. She called a meeting with dozens of parents, educators, business owners and civic leaders. Together with hundreds of students, they created a blueprint for the school that their community needed. 

The result was , which opened in 2018 and takes a project-based learning approach in all of its classes. The result? More than 95% of its inaugural cohort graduated on time, compared to 80% in the surrounding school system. And its class of 2022 outperformed their peers across Tennessee and the nation in meeting college readiness benchmarks on the ACT in English, reading, math and science. 

To be clear, high school redesign cannot be limited to doing this work one school at a time 鈥� nor require creating schools from the ground up. That鈥檚 why XQ is to redesign 64 schools and is working with to expand the high school transformation work system-wide. And it is why Carnegie launched the to engage school systems across the nation.

2. States must catalyze high school learning that is engaging, rigorous, relevant and experiential. 

Young people need learning experiences that are multi-dimensional, project-based, high-interest and relevant to their lives and aspirations. Learning experiences need to be authentic, not made-up school tasks. They should build students鈥� academic content knowledge as well as other essential skills and competencies, like critical thinking and collaboration, at the same time. And they need to be rigorous, challenging every student both inside and outside the classroom and the traditional school day. 

One method to catalyze these kinds of learning experiences is for states to create innovation grants (what we call 鈥渃hallenges鈥�) for teachers, schools and community organizations. This enables them to plan together and deliver transformative learning experiences that build explicit competencies necessary for success in post-secondary school and the workforce. To provide guidance, XQ and Carnegie are creating a toolkit for educators and curriculum makers that articulates what these should look like. Our goal is to spur both the supply of new curriculum products and demand from students, teachers and families for high school learning that is different and better.

3. States must help change how we assess and credential student learning. 

Traditional math classes today, such as Algebra 1 and geometry, are often taught in monolithic ways. Students who fail a course typically have to repeat it entirely, even if they only struggled on a few topics. That鈥檚 a tremendous burden on teachers 鈥� and heartbreaking and discouraging for students. 

With badging, courses are broken down into smaller components and designed to align with each student’s personal learning journey. Students have more agency over how their learning is organized and the path they take through content toward mastery. That makes math much more manageable, helps young people grow confidence, and will lead to greater achievement in the long run. 

XQ is with and a network of math pedagogy, assessment, policy and instruction experts. Three states are piloting this effort: Idaho, Illinois and Kentucky, and they鈥檙e each doing it differently. 

In Kentucky, badges will align with a traditional Algebra 1 curriculum, allowing students to demonstrate mastery of these concepts at an individualized pace.

In Idaho, badging will help provide an alternative to Algebra 2, giving students the option to take badge courses associated with different programs of study, allowing them to graduate with the particular math skills most important for their college or career of choice.

We are also tackling the urgent need for better, more useful forms of educational assessment. In March, to design, pilot and introduce new tools that reliably measure the essential affective, behavioral and cognitive skills necessary for success in school and the 21st century economy. In essence, the initiative aims to replace many of the assessments that have been in use for decades with a much better and different set of tools. 

With leaders across the nation, we aim to build a blueprint for what it will take to shift away from the Carnegie Unit, engage key stakeholders in school redesign, focus high school learning on essential learner outcomes, prioritize rigorous, project-based learning experiences, and assess performance with smarter, better tools. 

We have more ideas for how to rethink high school. Check out The XQ Xtra, a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

This article is adapted from 鈥� State Education Standard (May 2023), published by the .

Disclosure: is a financial supporter of 社区黑料.

This is not an imaginary scenario 鈥� these lessons and activities are happening at real schools around the world. And the lessons their students are learning, both formal and informal, as they follow their own curiosity, are invaluable as they grow as stewards of our future. We can see it in how two schools, in particular, approach climate change.

set out to build the most sustainable school on the planet. Indonesia is an archipelago with 180 million people living in coastal regions. It faces the imminent threat of rising sea levels and is no stranger to weather-related disasters. Green School Bali is a much-needed inspiration for environmental education far beyond its borders. Students at this international school actively learn about sustainable agriculture, renewable energy systems and ecological conservation, applying fundamental literacies such as critical thinking and writing. They demonstrate what it means to be .

A continent away in Hungary, addresses similar concerns in a different way by focusing on alternatives to dangerous, unsustainable agricultural practices. The school opened a vegan cafeteria that supplies delicious, locally-sourced food for school lunches and the public. Students have a voice in the menus, are involved in the food planning and learn valuable lessons about supply, demand and food sources. By providing families and community members with tasty vegan food, the school encourages the community to lower its meat intake, thus decreasing the need for unsustainable farming practices. 

I saw this all first hand last year, during a 12-month transformational journey exploring innovative educational practices in 34 countries on six continents. I approached this exploration as a life-long educator and co-founder of , a diverse-by-design high school in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee. Here, students use in all of their classes to make education more meaningful, often in collaboration with nonprofits and researchers.

For my tour, I wanted to see what commonalities exist among innovative schools worldwide. I also wanted to see how world events like political shifts, war, youth movements, human migration and climate change affect teaching and learning.

As an educator committed to preparing students for an uncertain future in a swiftly evolving world, my main focus was learning how schools across the globe approach similar goals: namely, how they’re helping students become generous collaborators and original thinkers 鈥� all while mastering foundational knowledge and fundamental literacies. These guide teaching and learning at Crosstown High and in other innovative, student-centered . 

For more ideas on rethinking the high school experience, read The XQ Xtra 鈥� a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

Student-Led Innovation Creates Sustainable Schools 

Around the world, schools embody the same learner outcomes we use at Crosstown and other XQ schools to prepare students for these immense challenges. 

鈥淐hange starts with an idea, an intention or a problem to be solved,鈥� said Green School Bali Principal Sal Gordon. School educators tasked their students with researching the greatest environmental impacts on their local school community. Through an extensive study of numerous factors, students identified automobile traffic on campus as a leading contributor. With the help of engineers, chemists and automotive experts, students developed a process to convert school buses from diesel to cooking oil for fuel, which they collected from local restaurants. 

Each week, students in the 鈥淕rease Police鈥� procure the oil from a 15-mile radius of the school for refinement and use as fuel, providing a greener alternative to school transportation. Through this kind of project-based learning and hands-on experiences, they gain a profound understanding of the interconnectedness between their actions and the environment. 

The school鈥檚 entire facility encourages this type of learning. Each open-air classroom is constructed of bamboo and thatch, with tables and chairs made locally from sustainable products. Students also manage their own lush gardens at each grade level that provide food for school lunches. They eat fish grown in the student-managed aquaponic system and eggs harvested from the fifth-grade chicken coop. 

In Hungary, REAL School Budapest Founder Barna Barath intentionally designed the vegan cafeteria to serve as a living example of the school鈥檚 purpose. In a traditional school system, a common purpose is to prepare students for postsecondary opportunities that provide individual prosperity. At REAL, the purpose is to live a purposeful and fulfilling life for collective prosperity. Students and parents invest in that vision for the betterment of the community. REAL鈥檚 educators are creating a community space and showing what it means to be learners for life and generous collaborators.

Connect Student-Directed Learning to Academic Standards

Educators at schools anywhere can prepare students for an uncertain future, specifically where that uncertainty relates to environmental change. A key takeaway from the two schools in Indonesia and Hungary is letting students take the lead in their learning. In each case, students investigated problems and found solutions, resulting in deep learning. There are many examples of schools doing similar work in the U.S. At Crosstown High, science teacher Nikki Wallace lets students take the lead by connecting them with local researchers through powerful community partnerships. 

We need to think big. Assigning simple projects around collecting plastic bottles or bags isn鈥檛 enough to move the needle on the environment and won鈥檛 truly engage kids. Even though Indonesia has specific concerns about rising sea levels, schools anywhere can 鈥� and should 鈥� engage students in learning about and studying the effects of droughts, heatwaves, floods and storms that result in crop failure and food scarcity. Here are a few steps to get started:

• Get students to think audaciously about solving local problems. What鈥檚 the big issue facing their neighborhood, town, county or state? How can they learn about it? Who can help them uncover solutions? For example: What is the condition of the local water source? What in the community is impacting local water? Who in the community can share expertise around this issue? 
• As they problem-solve, consider all connections to academic standards. How do research and problem-solving by students connect to the learning standards in your state? This is the crucial jumping-off point for connecting 鈥渁cademic鈥� knowledge to 鈥渞eal world鈥� solutions. At Crosstown High, we鈥檝e done an in-depth study of human migration involving people who immigrated to Memphis. This project closely relates to the standards covered in our history, geography, sociology and psychology courses. 
• Get outside the box. Keep asking, 鈥淲hy?鈥� and push your students to think bigger and broader before zeroing in on the small tasks. At Crosstown, our students conducted an in-depth project on how life could exist on Mars. This encompassed everything from food sources, water, breathable air, transportation and architecture. They used persuasive writing and research 鈥� touching practically every subject area.

Unlock Students鈥� Passion and Curiosity

Helping students find the urgency and passion in learning, and the joy of finding a solution, are key components to solving increasingly urgent local and global issues. But they鈥檙e also the ingredients we need to make learning, in general, more engaging and relevant to high school students. Our high schools can and should do a better job cultivating students鈥� natural passions and curiosities, helping them discover how their unique gifts, talents and interests help them meet the challenges of an uncertain future. Understanding their place in that future builds the confidence needed to be a change-maker.

Luckily, students are naturally forward-focused. They constantly think about what life will be like when they grow up. We can improve the high school experience by activating their natural curiosity and augmenting it with essential skills such as critical thinking, creative problem solving, information gathering and collaboration.

All of these skills are necessary for college, career and the real world. By combining passion, urgency, curiosity and essential knowledge and skills, our students can grow into the superheroes our planet needs to lead urgent and necessary change on the local, national and global stages. Schools around the world are setting examples, and we can, too. 

Want more ideas for making your high school more student-centered? The XQ Xtra is a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

Disclosure: is a financial supporter of 社区黑料.

Imagine a high school class where students use 3D modeling software to create blueprints, gather around a mixing board to produce a song or turn their custom artwork into streetwear. These experiences are far from what we see in many traditional high school classes. 

Innovative educators are using to make their classes more engaging and relevant. More than an academic buzzword, PBL involves students in their learning by embracing real-world issues with hands-on solutions. It also gives them a taste of life beyond classroom walls, especially when a school works with community partners in business, academia or the nonprofit sector. 

Educators at XQ high schools engage students in meaningful PBL year-round. They鈥檙e among schools nationwide where educators enrich and strengthen their approaches to PBL by embracing , one of the six research-based for successful high schools. Learning becomes more when students take what they鈥檙e studying at school into the real world, seeing how academic concepts apply to places and people they know. 

Here are 10 examples of projects to inspire educators and community groups for the upcoming school year. 

1. Nurture Entrepreneurs

in Oakland, California offers students the opportunity to do long-term internships, particularly during their junior and senior years. Students can spend a month working with tech companies, local businesses, the courts and nonprofits in the Bay Area. When the pandemic posed challenges in arranging internships, Dean of Students Christian Martinez organized a two-hour class on Mondays and Tuesdays for seniors to gain financial literacy. He focused the class on the stock market, and encouraged students to develop brands and messages that resonated with their identities, cultures and histories. He ensured the course aligned with the state’s content standards, emphasizing research and evidence-based learning. Martinez said he came up with his idea for the class after seeing how the seniors didn鈥檛 seem excited about school when they came back in person during the pandemic. 

His students learned graphic design with software programs. They also had to pitch their ideas to community members, incorporate feedback and articulate the story behind their brand through presentations of learning. 

Martinez said he leveraged a grant from Nike to give each of his 16 students $500-$1,000 to have their hoodies, T-shirts and tote bags printed nearby. They then sold the clothes at Latitude鈥檚 big celebration of learning in the spring of 2022. Their brand names included 鈥淐ruzando Fronteras鈥� (crossing borders), 鈥淭ruth and Lies,鈥� and 鈥淗umble Beginnings.鈥� 

By the end of the spring semester, Martinez said, 鈥淚 saw the spark that I needed to see from them for them to end the year in a place where they feel successful 鈥� regardless of whether they go to college or work.鈥� 

2. Make Music

The Memphis Artists United Project served as a powerful platform for collaboration in the fall of 2022 between eight talented musicians from Memphis, Tennessee and the students of music production class, led by teacher Ty Boyland. Together, they embarked on a musical journey to create “,” a song addressing gun violence with a bilingual verse by a talented 12th grader, shedding light on the impact of guns within the Latino community. The song got attention from local media and at youth conferences, leading to conversations about how young people experience violence and what solutions they can propose. Also at Crosstown High: science teacher Nikki Wallacemakes some powerful community partnerships by working with local researchers.

Want more ideas for rethinking your high school? The XQ Xtra is a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

3. Start a Small Farm

At in Endicott, NY, students designed a greenhouse in their math class, building scale models. The winning model is now flourishing in a garden with multiple raised beds, small fruit trees, native berry bushes, a fence and an underground water reservoir that redirects runoff from nearby tennis courts. Principal Annette Varcoe said the students collaborate with a local farmer who encourages their understanding of agriculture, farming and the marketplace. 

In July of 2023, students added a trellis arch for climbing beans. They also harvested zucchini, cucumbers and rhubarb. Some cooked rhubarb pies in their caf茅. Five 12th graders received internships and mentoring from Kathy, Dave and Eric’s Flavored Coffee Company. Students conducted surveys to determine which baked items to make and sell in the caf茅. They are now working on an online ordering system and backend software to track sales and inventory for the 2023-24 school year.

4. Collaborate with Artists

Members of 鈥檚 class of 2022 responded to a devastating storm that hit the Cedar Rapids region in August 2020 and destroyed up to 70 percent of the local tree canopy. Students contracted with local chainsaw artists to turn fallen wood into sculptures. They auctioned the work for Trees Forever, a public-private partnership dedicated to 鈥渞e-leafing鈥� the damaged tree canopy. Over the three-month project, students had to engage and organize artists for the carving effort, obtain permits from the city government, generate publicity through the local media, and execute the sculpture auction. By the end, their 鈥淪plinters鈥� project raised $25,000, nearly four times the students鈥� original goal of $6,000. A majority of the funds went to , with the rest paying the local artists for their time and skill. Student-led projects with community partners are the defining feature of Iowa BIG鈥檚 design.

5. Let Students Choose Science Projects

Student voice plays a significant role in projects at in Tennessee. For one project, students selected genetic diseases and conditions to study, then interviewed researchers, teachers, health professionals and those affected by these conditions. They created infographics to share their research, which were printed and displayed in the science wing to inform staff and students about genetic conditions.

6. Build a Community Garden

In partnership with the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, in Houston, Texas created community gardens in the adjacent 900-acre Herman Brown Park and later on the high school鈥檚 campus. The gardens now house more than 100 fruit trees throughout the school grounds on more than two and a half acres, providing many spaces for students to learn about the natural environment and contribute to the community. The school鈥檚 Career and Technical Education program has an educator in charge of coordinating community partnerships in agriculture, food and natural resources.

7. Build a Hydroponic System

At in Indiana, students built a hydroponic system through a science project. They conducted extensive research as they designed and constructed a method for growing produce sustainably and cost-effectively. The students then identified how to use those vegetables to address real-world community needs, such as providing healthy lunches to community members in food deserts. Students at this network of high schools work on projects with community partners throughout the year.

8. Make a Micro Museum

At in Sanford, Florida, students constructed a series of mobile micro museums to take around their community, educating residents, tourists and younger students about the history of the city of Sanford and Seminole County. Students met with historians and exhibit curators from the Sanford Museum to learn how to conduct primary research, preserve artifacts and build interactive designs. The year-long project started with design thinking for students to find out what elements of their community residents wanted to learn more about. Then, they built their traveling exhibits on topics such as natural history, agriculture, sports and media, and industry and technology. 

鈥淚n an age where history is more controlled than ever, it was amazing to see the students really become energized knowing their local history and how it connected with their own studies,鈥� said Sanford Museum Curator Brigitte Stephenson. 鈥淚t showed not only the power museums have, but also how important it is to have various ages give their input on how history is presented.鈥� Currently showcased at the Sanford Museum in commemoration of its 65th anniversary, these micro museums will travel to elementary and middle schools, downtown businesses, Seminole State College and the Seminole County Administration Center.

9. Explore Local History with Artists

The partnered with , a local arts nonprofit for young people, allowing 10th graders to take a nine-week course led by Diatribe artists, focusing on the history of housing inequality in Grand Rapids. They learned about red-lining 鈥� the practice of excluding certain groups, such as Black people, from particular neighborhoods 鈥� and its long-term negative impacts. Students toured various neighborhoods, explored the city鈥檚 gorgeous, dynamic and learned how discriminatory housing practices have shaped their city’s look and feel. 

But, typical of the school鈥檚 approach, the course was more than just lessons and field trips. Students discussed what they learned and grappled with their reactions by creating poetry, story-telling and spoken word pieces. Teachers wanted students to understand how historical events like the Civil Rights Movement were experienced nationally and within the Grand Rapids community.The partnership with The Diatribe fit closely with GRPMS courses, which aimed to blend history with social justice and English language arts in a way that makes the past feel relevant to students鈥� lives. 

10. Make Green Alleyways Possible

Students at in Santa Ana, California, partnered with the local architectural firm to think about a new green alleyway project for the city, working alongside professional architects to model and learn the ins and outs of drafting tools. 颁铆谤肠耻濒辞蝉 became so adept with project-based learning that its school board and the approved four PBL courses that will count towards California鈥檚 鈥淎-G鈥� subject requirement credit. The four courses are now available as an elective to all high schools across the Santa Ana Unified School District, the sixth largest district in California 鈥� showing how community partnerships and projects in one place can inspire more schools to try them.

Share examples of how your high school uses project-based learning with community partnerships with #rethinkhighschool on social.

Community partnerships are just one way to rethink high school. For more, check out The XQ Xtra, a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

Disclosure: is a financial supporter of 社区黑料.

I never heard the shot, but the impact of the bullet that struck my leg just below the knee has reverberated throughout my life. As I laid on the ground of my East Oakland neighborhood, next to the bike I had been riding to high school, the first thing I heard was the sound of my screams. I was 16, victim to a random drive-by shooting. When I returned to school six weeks later, there were no words of encouragement or comfort, just the silence of a school system that chose not to care or value undocumented teens like me. 

I came to the United States from Uruapan, Michoac谩n, Mexico in 1999. I dropped out of high school three different times, and in 2009 I finished high school at an adult program in San Leandro. I know firsthand how, whenever the school system loudly slams a door, it drowns out the hopeful inner voice that all young people have. In my case, that voice was muted for a long time until, two years later, I saw an opening at an East Oakland elementary school for an attendance clerk. People around me at the time were either janitors, construction workers, or making illegal sales on the streets. I wanted to change the narrative. I walked in, applied, and got the job.

I went back to a school building 鈥� the type of place that had failed me 鈥� for a few reasons. First and foremost, I鈥檇 always wanted to be an educator. But those dreams were quashed when I found out that I was undocumented, and access to higher education was difficult and expensive for someone like me. It was also in part an act of resistance to challenge the status quo and disrupt a system that didn’t work for me. And, I wanted to make my mom proud. 

At the elementary school, the energetic buzz and laughter of students who looked like me sparked a determination to become the adult I never had at school. I worked as an office manager, yard supervisor, parent liaison, translator, after-school coordinator, and paraeducator. Eventually, in 2017, I co-founded in Oakland and became dean of students. Every day, I choose to hear my students鈥� voices and ensure that the world does, too. 

Many of the friends I grew up with felt tensions between school and 鈥渢he real world.鈥� Some of us needed to earn money for our families, many were bored, and most of us couldn鈥檛 see how what we did every day in high school would help us when we got out. There is a misconception that students growing up in poverty don鈥檛 think about their future. The opposite is true. Unlike young people with more advantages, we can鈥檛 just trust that there鈥檚 a backup plan to guarantee that everything works out.

Latitude High School is about 14 blocks from the street where I was shot as a child. We are a four-minute bike ride from Fruitvale Station, by the police. Students of color make up 94% of our school, and the majority are growing up in poverty. We鈥檙e only a 30-minute drive from the global headquarters of some of the world鈥檚 largest tech companies, but for most students in Oakland, those opportunities will remain distant and out of reach unless their schools build intentional pathways.

Read more about how to build trusting relationships with students at your school in The XQ Xtra 鈥� a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

That pathway to student success begins with a sense of belonging. Caring and trusting relationships aren鈥檛, contrary to popular belief, the icing on the cake of academic rigor. They are the main ingredients, which is why Latitude partners with the XQ Institute. is one of six research-backed for successful schools. Our students thrive when they have adults who know them, believe and trust in their ability to learn and create the safety where students can discover their identity. This type of environment results from intentional choices in our school鈥檚 structures and curriculum 鈥� like our focus on integrating community issues and culture into coursework.

When I was shot, my school offered no support because of decisions adults made long before that moment. They may not have predicted that specific trauma, but I was a young person growing up in a neighborhood wracked by violence, living with my brother and without either of my parents. A school that saw me and cared about my future would have been ready to support me instead of letting me drop out. As students build their paths, we are responsible for looking around the corner, anticipating where the road will get rough for them.

As educators, we can help students overcome challenges by intentionally using our space and time. For example, we know the college application process is tough for many students and families. In response, we at Latitude dedicated the time and people to guide and support students at every step of the way, from having highly personal conversations about their choices to ensuring that they submit their applications on time. 

Our country asks schools to do a lot these days, but the load can be lighter by planning for what our students need and want, not just what the system requires us to do. At Latitude, these conversations and choices led to every one of 2022-2023’s 12th graders being accepted into at least one two-year or four-year college.

At Latitude, we emphasize place-based learning by tapping into the assets of the Bay Area, including our local Oakland community. This approach to learning has a dual impact. Our students recognize the unique value of their cultures and communities while immersed in meaningful learning that will prepare them for their lives after high school. In 2021, I taught a senior course on entrepreneurship. Each student applied core academic skills to develop a concept for a clothing brand they later marketed and sold at a community pop-up event. Experiences like this have taught us that learning must take place in the real world for students to remain motivated to succeed.

Ensuring workplace experiences and internships are student-centered by matching them to students’ passions and aspirations is essential. It is just as crucial that student workplace experiences work hand in hand with what students learn in the classroom. The real magic happens when each lesson, project, and workplace activity builds on each other to develop skills and a sense of self-worth. Our students must constantly evaluate what they can afford to give their time and attention to. That鈥檚 why 100% of Latitude鈥檚 class of 2023 completed at least one internship. 

Our students can choose between multiple internship opportunities, from university research to aeronautics. We also have partners in construction and the building trades. Sometimes schools, with the best intentions, get so caught up in encouraging students to dream about a good career that it creates too narrow a definition of success. As a result, some students can鈥檛 see themselves fitting into that type of success. In every industry, there are good jobs and jobs that trap people in cycles of poverty. Our are vital in providing students with the options and agency to choose their path. We are responsible for building partnerships that provide enough range of experiences so all of our students’ paths bend toward success. 

I went through high school feeling isolated and abandoned. It wasn鈥檛 just at a single school. The entire education system made decisions that failed me. Now, I’m on my way to earning my bachelor鈥檚 degree, and hope to pursue a Ph.D. in education. Looking back at when I first applied for that role as an attendance clerk, it was the beginning of me redefining 鈥渟uccess.鈥� 

I am fortunate every day to be part of a team of adults who make decisions that provide students with a sense of belonging and the learning experiences that will prepare them for success. I know that millions of students throughout the country feel the way I did at their age. I also know that millions of adults in communities across the country want better for their young people. If we can change high school, we can change the entire education system and give our students a path to the lives they deserve. 

Do you want to learn more about how to rethink high school? The XQ Xtra is a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

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Eleventh grader Genesis Villafane has two words to describe her Michigan high school: 鈥渉armonious pandemonium.鈥�

At the in the Grand Rapids Public Schools district, Genesis and her peers experience a constant juxtaposition of creativity and commotion because of their school鈥檚 non-traditional approach of embedding students 鈥� literally 鈥� in the community, and injecting the community into learning. 

鈥淚n one corner, you had Mr. [Nate] Langel doing a science lesson, and across the room, the choir group was practicing next to seniors working on their community project,鈥� she explained. 鈥淓very day it鈥檚 like this.鈥�

Community projects are a defining feature of how students learn at GRPMS, an approach facilitated by the school鈥檚 physical space. The high school opened downtown in 2018 in the museum鈥檚 current archives building, and former location, after being selected as an . Students have access to 250,000 archives they can use as primary sources.

As just one example of the school鈥檚 community-based lessons, Genesis鈥檚 English class partnered with a local nonprofit restorative arts group, , on the south side of the city. 

鈥淭hey helped us write pieces of art related to issues that matter to us and our community,鈥� she said, noting how this collaboration helped her learn about issues like gentrification and redlining. Genesis said the project also made her feel more connected to revitalization efforts across Grand Rapids 鈥� efforts similar to those that helped bring her innovative high school to life.

Many schools may visit a local institution or use projects for part of the year in a few classes. But GRPMS uses this dual approach in all of its classes, year-round, because of its commitment to , which include . Research shows that when educators incorporate real-world, experiences into their practice, students develop and apply deep content knowledge and complex skills.

Read more about how to design engaging projects at your school in The XQ Xtra 鈥� a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

The graduation rate for the Michigan high school鈥檚 first cohort in 2022 was above 86%, five percentage points higher than that of the surrounding district and state. More than two-thirds of GRPMS class of 2022 graduates (67%) met the SAT鈥檚 college-ready benchmark for evidence-based reading and writing in 2021, far outpacing both the state and district rates (57% percent and 40%, respectively). 

The small district high school of about 300 students is still new. But with even before the pandemic, GRMPS is already yielding lessons for other schools trying to bring a that鈥檚 also preparing them better for collaboration and critical thinking skills students need today in college and careers. 

Collaborate with a District

The Museum High School, as it鈥檚 known by the community, was developed through an ongoing, multiyear collaboration between the Grand Rapids public school district, the Grand Rapids Public Museum, Grand Valley State University, Kendall College of Art and Design and the City of Grand Rapids. A middle school opened in 2015 in the Grand Rapids Public Museum鈥檚 current location and its founders wanted to build on its success by developing a high school.

鈥淔or our model, we wanted to use the whole city as our classroom,鈥� said Christopher Hanks, founding and current principal for both the middle and high school. Hanks saw the high school as a model for teaching and learning centered on both place-based and project-based learning. 

But getting different players in a school district to come together requires relationship building. A former professor of education at Grand Valley State, Hanks iterated on the school鈥檚 design with colleagues from higher education, the museum and the district. Many of the founders who helped design the school serve on its advisory board and remain committed to its mission and culture. The school also offers dual enrollment at local colleges, and more than half of its 2022 graduates earned college credits, higher than the national average and something it holds in common with other XQ high schools.

Take Learning Outside the Classroom

The logistics of even one field trip 鈥� transportation, staffing and emergency planning 鈥� can burden many schools and districts. To avoid these obstacles altogether, Hanks worked with the Grand Rapids district to make field trips part of the high school鈥檚 design.

鈥淲e landed on a two-mile contingency radius,鈥� he said. That agreement ensured the school had immediate access to dozens of potential partners students could connect with in downtown Grand Rapids, including the YMCA and the library, so leaving the campus isn鈥檛 a hassle.

Given that the high school is located in the museum鈥檚 former building, it lacks hallways and traditional classrooms. But Hanks and the teachers embraced another XQ design principle 鈥� . A wide-open hall on the ground floor, the Commons, is a flexible space where student learning is curated and put on display.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of convergence that happens in this space,鈥� Hanks explained. 鈥淪tudents and teachers will gather here to learn, connect on projects, as well as bring in the community for student-focused events.鈥� 

The school installed a design lab and maker space next to the Commons, where students use equipment like 3D printers and laser cutters for projects. On the upper level, students split across two large flex spaces. Teachers will often co-teach units together, integrating standards from three core classes 鈥� English, social studies and science.

Empower Teachers and Provide Support 

With the school鈥檚 location and its extensive network of community partners, teachers at GRPMS say they feel empowered to create innovative and authentic learning experiences that are meaningful to students.

Project-based learning drives core classes. With this innovative curriculum, social studies teacher Lindsay Lane said she has the ability to teach history in a more expansive way. 

鈥淲e blend the humanities with the sciences, but we also show students how events like the Industrial Revolution occurred around the world,鈥� she explained. 鈥淗ow the science and technology impacted the U.S., and how that shaped the story of Grand Rapids.鈥�

Science teacher Langel described how in one project he designed, teachers connected numerous standards between science and history by having students partner with a local organization that addresses homelessness. 

鈥淚t was about what goes together,鈥� he said. 鈥淪tudents learning how to make soap for the unhoused were able to connect biochemistry standards with the concepts of human rights.鈥�

The school also discovered it needed more planning time as it developed competency-based education, a system that relies on more than just letter grades to show what students are learning. CBE is often viewed as simply an assessment system instead of a deeper shift in learning. Hanks said the school had to completely 鈥渂low-up the grading system,鈥� rethinking what pacing, evaluation and student learning demonstrations look like. Teachers now get professional development over the summer to support and enhance consistency.

Troubleshoot with Leadership Support

While these projects in the core classes have been successful, teachers struggled to fit math into their multi-disciplinary design. That difficulty was reflected in the school鈥檚 math scores, which weren鈥檛 nearly as strong as they were in other subjects.

Ben Garlets, a former GRPMS math teacher, said many high schools across the country experience a similar challenge when trying to include math in project-based learning. He said GRPMS faced two specific challenges: scheduling the math that needs to be taught over the course of a year into projects, and keeping students at the same grade level together when they鈥檙e at different levels of mathematical proficiency. 

Garlets devised a solution: making math more like the other nontraditional classes, not less. 

鈥淚t didn鈥檛 make sense to do traditional mathematics if we were rethinking everything else,鈥� he explained. That meant letting students see math’s relevance without forcing it into projects or tying it to other core subjects.

Garlets determined that an would be a strong fit. He presented it to Hanks as a departure from the traditional 鈥�,鈥� in which the different mathematical concepts are isolated from one another, and .

Hanks helped him figure out how to get this curriculum approved by district leaders and connected him to the principal of the museum鈥檚 middle school, who had experience with the approach. When it comes to innovation, Hanks said 鈥渘o鈥� is never the first answer. Instead, he said he works with the district to understand what its policies and limitations are so they can find a middle ground.

Garlets, who is now working for the Grand Rapids district, said that type of leadership style is essential for an innovative school, which needs a , another XQ design principle, to make lasting and meaningful changes. 

鈥淲e were really empowered by Hanks to rethink what we鈥檙e doing in our classrooms.鈥�

Keep Evolving

Five years into its journey, the high school is still learning what works best. As Hanks explained, a school鈥檚 vision must be earned and re-earned, learned and re-learned every year. GRPMS keeps that same lesson in mind when it comes to the greater community.

 鈥淲e鈥檝e learned how to test the institutional relationships with our partners as we鈥檝e evolved to ensure people remain committed,鈥� Hanks said.

Consistency helps, too. Science teacher Langel is among many staff who have been with GRPMS from the start. 

鈥淛ust as a museum becomes a place for the community to learn about itself, the school really brings it out for students, and they connect with that,鈥� he said.

According to the Grand Rapids school district鈥檚 strategic plan, theme schools like GRPMS are highly valued by residents because they offer choice, innovative curricula and greater access to community partnerships. But GRPMS stands out because its enrollment is more diverse and representative of the city overall. The district sees that as a source of inspiration. GRPMS and its partners expect more participants in this year鈥檚 summer institute for educators who want to learn from and replicate the school鈥檚 successful approaches.

Do you want to learn more about how to rethink high school? The XQ Xtra is a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

High school senior Lydia Nichols never expected to fall in love with auto racing. 

It certainly wouldn鈥檛 have happened sitting in one of the classrooms at her traditional comprehensive high school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. But Nichols only spends half her day at that campus. 

The rest of her learning happens half an hour away at , a credit-bearing program for public school students in downtown Cedar Rapids where teens learn through community-based projects. This year, Nichols devised a plan to revitalize Hawkeye Downs Speedway, which to attract visitors. It鈥檚 鈥渁 huge part of our city鈥檚 history, and we don鈥檛 want to lose something like that,鈥� she said.

Nichols and the other students on her team decided to host a race this summer where teens are the drivers. By April, they had already raised $30,000 for the event. They purchased cars, commissioned local businesses as sponsors, and launched a marketing campaign to attract drivers and spectators, hoping to fill the Speedway鈥檚 stands with nearly 5,000 fans. 

Besides having fun working with the racing community, Nichols said she鈥檚 developed marketing, fundraising and event-planning skills. 鈥淚 really wanted to be involved in the community and help people, and BIG helped me discover the career I want to go into,鈥� she said, adding she鈥檒l study project management in the fall at the University of Iowa. 

For fresh ideas on how to design innovative community projects at your school, sign up for The XQ Xtra 鈥� a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

BIG launched in 2013 in collaboration with the Cedar Rapids School District and the nearby College Community School District. Since then, it has inspired students to follow their curiosity and discover their passions. BIG later gained support from the in 2016. Today, over 100 students come to BIG from four different high schools, spending half their day at their 鈥渕othership鈥� schools and the other half at BIG, working on real-life projects and earning credits in English, social studies and business. 

Iowa BIG features many of the research-based that demonstrate the impact of what happens when education doesn鈥檛 just look like real life but is real life. Students at BIG feel more because they are given autonomy in designing projects connected to . 

Because BIG鈥檚 students remain officially enrolled in their home schools, Iowa doesn鈥檛 report on their outcomes separately. However, the school shared data with XQ showing BIG鈥檚 2022 graduates from Cedar Rapids High School boasted a higher average ACT score than graduates both statewide and nationwide. BIG鈥檚 innovative environment provides lessons for other high schools on how to help students feel more connected to their learning 鈥� something they鈥檒l need to succeed in college, careers and in life.

Collaboration by Districts Leads to a Hub for Innovation

Housed in a shared entrepreneurial space without classrooms in New Bohemia, Cedar Rapids鈥� thriving arts and cultural district, BIG students work alongside local startups. In this way, BIG makes 鈥� another one of the XQ Design Principles researchers say can lead to more equitable outcomes for all pupils. 

BIG shows how schools can collaborate to provide student-centric, place-based education they wouldn鈥檛 have the capacity to do on their own. The two district partners support BIG financially, covering part of the rent, the director鈥檚 salary and equipment expenses. Each district supplies two full-time, certified teachers.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e got a level of infrastructure and program-building that allows it to scale but also to operate as a hub that鈥檚 close to the bone,鈥� said Angela Lyle, a research fellow in the School of Education at the University of Michigan and author of a recent . 鈥淭hey are looking deeply at instruction, learning from it and accelerating learning across the network as a whole.鈥�

It can be financially and programmatically challenging for districts to partner with BIG; a third district pulled out of the collaboration. And for students, shuffling between two distinct learning environments can be a struggle at times. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e doing traditional school, it kind of just feels uninspiring,鈥� said Nichols.

But she also acknowledged advantages. 鈥淪ince I go to Washington High School, I鈥檓 able to be open to all the traditional high school stuff I鈥檇 be missing out on while still going to such an amazing program,鈥� Nichols explained, listing extracurriculars, sports and school dances as just some of the perks of still attending her mothership school.

Giving Students Autonomy Requires Help with Time Management 

Iowa BIG gives students an unusual amount of autonomy. But for some, the sheer amount of choice can be overwhelming. 

鈥淭he biggest thing kids struggle with is coming for the first time and not knowing how to have any agency,鈥� said BIG鈥檚 Community Development Specialist Megan Swanson, who experienced it firsthand when she, herself, was a student at BIG. 鈥淚n the traditional system, you鈥檙e told what to do, and it鈥檚 hard to break away and make decisions for yourself.鈥�

BIG鈥檚 teachers help students learn to manage their time by utilizing a set of principles called 鈥淢odern Agile,鈥� more often seen in organizations like Google than in high schools. With this tool, English teacher Nate Pruett said students spend time reflecting on their work with their team and project, 鈥渁nd that鈥檚 where kids often begin to identify their weaknesses in using their freedom.鈥� 

Developing these mindsets of self-awareness and the skills to be generous team members are crucial for student success 鈥� and central tenets of . Research finds collaboration, critical thinking and mastering fundamental literacies are the best ways to develop students who are deeply engaged in their own learning and fully prepared for college and career. 

Innovation and Rigor Come Together 

BIG is still beholden to traditional academic standards. 鈥淪tudents have free reign over projects, and if it matches the class or the standards, that鈥檚 great,鈥� Swanson said. 鈥淚f not, we figure out how to make the standards connect.鈥�

For example, one typical English standard is writing for an audience. After students designed a youth outreach campaign for a local auto shop, they were invited to share their experiences on a local radio station. They prepared by researching listenership demographics and practicing how to answer potential questions. Afterward, Pruett determined whether they had met the English standard by reviewing reflections they wrote on the strategies they used to appeal to their audience.

Students can revise their work until they master a standard, which is then translated into a traditional grade for the student鈥檚 mothership school transcript. When a project doesn鈥檛 meet all the required subject standards, BIG offers teacher-led seminars once a week to fill in the gaps. Nichols said the structure is conversational and more immersive than a typical lecture. 鈥淲hat we鈥檝e discovered is that a lecture in and of itself isn鈥檛 bad,鈥� Pruett said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 bad when that鈥檚 all you do.鈥�

Learning Happens Even When a Project Falls Flat

In many schools that use project-based learning, teachers develop the projects. But at BIG, they鈥檙e driven by the interests of the students and the community, and Swanson is tasked with building those partnerships. She鈥檚 also employed by the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance and meets regularly with business leaders to harvest ideas. 

Swanson said the best projects begin with a problem a partner is trying to solve, like , which came to her looking for help in rethinking an occupational therapy toy for children with delayed fine motor skills. For another project, a local farm asked students to help rethink how to get clean water to livestock. 

BIG will reject a community project if it lacks rigor, but when it comes to projects designed by students, BIG hardly ever says 鈥渘o,鈥� which means sometimes a project fails 鈥� just like in life. 鈥淲e want projects to be real-world, messy, and have kids experience failure and figure out how to make something work,鈥� said co-founder Trace Pickering, tapping into one of XQ鈥檚 other research-based design principles, amplifying .

Students also have the option to leave a project at any time. 鈥淜ids can get into the project and realize this isn鈥檛 what they wanted to do,鈥� Pickering explained. 鈥淲hy punish them with some arbitrary timeline that says you have to stick with it?鈥�

Preparing Students for the Future with Real-World Skills

Based on what he hears from alumni, Pickering said BIG is succeeding in its mission. 

鈥淥verwhelmingly, what they tell us, especially kids going to college, is that they recognized that their roommate or their friend down the hall had no idea how to manage their time, how to advocate for themselves, how to build a network,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause they had been in an environment 鈥� a high school 鈥� where every minute had been scripted.鈥�

On an XQ survey of seniors in 2022, 97% of BIG鈥檚 12th graders said they felt prepared for their future, and credited BIG for helping them develop collaboration skills as well as the ability to demonstrate and communicate knowledge and learning, creativity and problem-solving and curiosity 鈥� all competencies based on the XQ Learner Outcomes.

This fall, BIG is relocating to the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance building and taking over a floor shared with its next venture: , a standalone magnet high school. City View is launching with 200 ninth and 10th graders, funded by the XQ Institute, New Schools Venture Fund, and grants from the U.S. Department of Education.

As BIG鈥檚 principal Dan DeVore put it, 鈥淲hat we really want is for students to have a BIG type experience as well as discover courses where they aren鈥檛 beholden to semester-long, hour-a-day block schedule.鈥� 

Do you want to learn more about how to rethink high school? The XQ Xtra is a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

Andrew Bauld is a freelance writer specializing in issues in K-12 and higher education. His pieces have been published by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, U.S. News and World Report, School Library Journal and the XQ Institute.

In February, 16-year-old junior Elijah Lopez got an unusual invitation from his Washington, D.C., high school, . Members of its executive leadership team were planning their spring retreat in March. They contacted Elijah about inviting students to participate for the first time.

鈥淭hey wanted student perspective,鈥� he explained. 鈥淎sk questions of the students, get some feedback, and then make their decision based on our answers.鈥�

Elijah was already a student representative, meaning he attends weekly meetings with WLA鈥檚 executive director, principal and other senior leaders to discuss future plans. At his suggestion, two more juniors active in student government were invited to the retreat virtually. 

The students made concrete suggestions. They persuaded WLA leadership to train more students in peer mediation and helped everyone agree that shutting the doors for entry after a certain hour to reduce tardiness would do more harm than good. They said attendance could improve (after dropping during the pandemic) if more students feel a sense of belonging. Student Autumn Brown explained how some students don鈥檛 like being called on by teachers.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 feel comfortable being called out and speaking in front of big crowds,鈥� the 16-year-old said. 鈥淪o I feel like when a teacher can just come to the student one-on-one and not, like, put the student on the spot, then it makes the student more comfortable.鈥�

WLA has been emphasizing 鈥� one of six research-based XQ 鈥� since opening in 2016 as an XQ Super School. The public charter school of about 390 students included students and teachers when it to create an ELA curriculum in 2018 that鈥檚 now used in high schools around the country. 

鈥淲hat we want is to not just have the sense of students co-leading with us, but actually leading adults,鈥� Principal Eric Collazo said. He added that educators are often hesitant to include students, even though there are many benefits. 鈥淲hat we’ve found is in instances where you do release that responsibility to the students, you actually see them start to put into practice or apply the skills that we want to see 鈥� not only in high school but beyond in their college or career pathways.鈥� 

Student voice is one of many ways to rethink the high school experience. Learn more with the XQ Xtra, a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month.

This is how student voice leads to , another XQ design principle. Students who are engaged in school are 2.5 times more likely to get excellent grades and to do well in school overall, compared with their most disengaged peers, according to . 

Ensuring students feel heard is core to all XQ schools and partnerships, including those with the , , , and XQ鈥檚 sponsorship of the podcast . Unfortunately, too many students seemed dissatisfied with school even before the pandemic. In 2017, finding only one out of three middle and high school students rated their school culture positively. There are many ways, as laid out here, schools can improve their culture by creating more room for student voice 鈥� so long as they鈥檙e committed to listening.

Surveys and Focus Groups Can Produce 鈥榓 Really Important Starting Point鈥�

Many schools use surveys, but there are to this approach. When surveys superficially ask, 鈥淲hat do you think of schools?鈥� The responses are often just about school lunches and bathroom quality, said Adam Fletcher, director of , which provides training tools and technical assistance to K-12 schools. That鈥檚 why, he said, surveys or focus groups must go deeper. 

At WLA, students said their school uses anonymous surveys with pointed questions like, 鈥淲ho is the staff member you feel most connected to?鈥� or 鈥淗ow can we help support you to be a better student?鈥� 

Zachary Clifton, a member of the , said it鈥檚 also important to hear from a wide variety of students. He鈥檚 heavily involved in extracurricular activities at Corbin High School and has no issue talking to adults at his school. 鈥淚 feel like that has given me more credibility to where my voice is heard more often than others,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut as you know, that’s not how democracy works.鈥�

Surveys and focus groups can 鈥減roduce information about students鈥� perceptions of their schools that are a really important starting point,鈥� said Anne Mackinnon, a senior advisor at XQ who鈥檚 written toolkits for schools to include student voice. She said educators should look for whether there鈥檚 mutual trust between students and adults. Then, they need to authentically bring students into school decision-making to create , another XQ design principle. Feedback from students at Elizabethton High School in Tennessee, for example, led the district鈥檚 only high school to hire more counselors. 

The Institution of Student Journalism Empowers Students

High school journalism programs give teens a sense of agency by enabling them to explore their interests and share what they find with the larger community. The recent revealed how . The challenge was conducted by PBS NewsHour in partnership with WETA Well Beings campaign and XQ. You can see the winners . won two awards, including one for the below video report investigating why the district school has no windows and the impact that has on learning. 

Students at the Frederick V. Pankow Center in Clinton Township, Michigan, won with a video report on why career and technical education feels engaging.

Harness Student Government鈥檚 Power Potential

Student governments should tackle much more than proms and homecomings. These bodies can . The XQ school in New Orleans, which opened in 2018, didn鈥檛 have a chance to form a student government because its founding class spent so much time in remote learning. Last year, students proposed a student union with representatives from every grade level. Emery Kaczmarek Johnson, now a senior, said he and the other reps drafted a Bill of Rights and worked together, 鈥渨riting and discussing with staff on exactly where the line was drawn for things like student confidentiality and privacy, late assignment policies, cell phone usage and bathroom break lengths.鈥�

The small charter school鈥檚 founding leader, Sunny Dawn Summers, said these conversations led to a serious discussion about which rules had been poorly enforced, which rules had not yet been put in writing and which ones were more about professional practices. The student handbook and internal policies were updated. 鈥淲e refined our professional development training for staff and we ultimately created a trauma-informed culture guide that is the basis for how we talk to and work with kids as a school,鈥� she said. 

The student union didn鈥檛 happen as planned but Summers said a student government is now in formation. But just the existence of the organization isn鈥檛 enough, she said, as school leadership support is critical: 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 survive if just one adult is interested.鈥� 

Engage Students in the Staff Hiring Process

New Harmony High has never hired a staff member without student input. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the most beautiful free things you can do that provides a lot of student buy-in for new staff members and gives staff members an accurate representation of who they鈥檙e going to teach,鈥� Summers said. 

Interviews are conducted by three of New Harmony High鈥檚 16 student ambassadors. Summers said they typically ask questions about special education and classroom management, as well as what the applicant does for fun plus one secret question.

But not all district schools or charters are allowed, based on local human resources policies, to involve students in prospective staff interviews.

Give Students a Voting Seat on School Boards

Students can serve in a variety of roles on local and state school boards. Fletcher, of SoundOut, where they have voting power and where their roles are much more limited. He said Boston is particularly progressive because members of its decide on education policy. Maryland allows students to . Philadelphia allowed high school students to serve on its school board in 2018. 

Ilana Drake, a Vanderbilt University student who served on the New York City Department of Education Chancellor’s Student Advisory Council and the Manhattan Borough Student Advisory Council, said being on these boards made a difference. 鈥淪tudents were able to share their varying experiences with regard to education during COVID-19. My peers and I were able to think about restructuring education and how policies could impact outcomes.鈥�

Clifton said the Kentucky Student Voice Team is lobbying the state legislature to 鈥渕andate student membership on school boards鈥� in all Kentucky districts. Students can inform education policy in other ways. Rhode Island in meetings that led to new graduation requirements through its work with XQ.

Student Voice and Academics

Today鈥檚 high school students are growing up in challenging times. They鈥檝e been trained since childhood on how to respond to active shooters, and they spent critical developmental years going to school during a pandemic. They also have more access to information than any other generation. Fletcher said that鈥檚 changed how this generation thinks about education.

鈥淭hey want better learning and teaching and leadership in schools,鈥� he said. 鈥淪tudents know that now. And they鈥檙e using language around mental health, and they鈥檙e using language around pedagogy. Students, themselves, being able to say, 鈥業 want interactive learning.鈥欌��

that students perform better academically, forge stronger relationships with their peers, and feel safer and more prepared for life when they鈥檙e in schools that prioritize the integration of social, emotional and academic development.

The students who attended WLA鈥檚 executive leadership retreat this year believe opportunities like this make a difference. 鈥淚 did slack a little bit when I wasn’t involved in school,鈥� Elijah said, adding that his academic performance went up since becoming a student representative and taking school more seriously. His principal agrees there鈥檚 a connection. 

鈥淚f students feel a sense of belonging, then all other things fall into place,鈥� Collazo said. 鈥淵ou’ll feel more connected with the teacher and you’ll also feel more connected to doing the things that need to get done in order to excel for yourself and for others.鈥�

Do you want to learn more about how to rethink high school with student voice? The XQ Xtra is a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

Beth Fertig is senior education editor at the XQ Institute, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to improving U.S. high schools. She was previously an award-winning veteran journalist at the New York City public radio station WNYC, and was a regular contributor to NPR’s news programs.

My life as a teacher is dramatically different now than it was five years ago. In my current Memphis high school biology classroom, students are caught in a whirlwind of activity, exchanging ideas and vigorously documenting observations. They鈥檙e immersed in an experiment analyzing pollution in local soil and its correlation to cancer rates, an all-too-real issue in our community. These are the moments that affirm my decision to become a teacher. They are also the moments that make me grateful to still be in the profession and grateful for the path that brought me here.

Sadly, I know this experience is not typical; not every school generates the conditions that inspire and support educators to design transformative learning experiences for their students. But if we鈥檙e going to protect the teaching profession, we need every school to understand what teachers value 鈥� and meet those needs 鈥� because that鈥檚 also the best way to serve students.

Before joining in 2018, I felt frustrated after eight years teaching. I had taught at several different schools in Memphis and did my best to make science as engaging as possible. But my previous schools were part of a rigid system that didn鈥檛 allow for the flexibility to meet students鈥� needs or the freedom and resources to make learning relevant to the real world. I saw many of my students struggle to stay engaged, and I knew that even when they graduated with good grades, they weren鈥檛 leaving high school prepared for college and careers.

Even worse, it seemed like having high expectations for my students and providing learning experiences that allowed them to dream big wasn鈥檛 enough to overcome a system that was quick to stamp out those dreams. In one school, I had a brilliant student in my Advanced Placement biology class who understood protein folding 鈥� a particularly difficult topic 鈥� and we were on a roll. But one day I looked up and she was no longer in class. I found out she got expelled for smoking weed. She never even graduated from high school. We were harming children with this rigid system. Educators wanted more for our students, but we did not have room to grow, to try new things, or access outside resources. 

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When I learned about Crosstown High, I sensed that this might be a place where I could rediscover my passion for teaching. It promised personalized courses of study and hands-on work within the community. The school鈥檚 founders also created it to be diverse by design, unlike most Memphis high schools, which remain highly segregated by race. I took the leap and joined as a high school biology teacher when it opened in the fall of 2018. 

I can鈥檛 pretend that moving to Crosstown from a school that did things the way they鈥檝e always been done was easy 鈥� for me or for my students. Crosstown鈥檚 approach to education is very different from what any of us were used to. Students learn through doing; they can spend a whole semester working on a project that combines math and science, or English and humanities. They still have to meet state standards but learning feels more relevant. Through the school鈥檚 partnership with , everything is focused on a set of that are designed to ensure students thrive in their lives beyond high school. These include mastering fundamental literacies 鈥� a solid academic core 鈥� and being an original thinker for an uncertain world. 

With these outcomes in mind, I planned a project that I was convinced would excite and engage my students, an exploration of 鈥淟ife on Mars鈥� to teach core biology concepts. They experimented with plants to determine which ones could produce oxygen on the planet. Students also explored the types of protections needed to preserve life on Mars and for travel through space. They made new connections to 鈥� the process in which plants replace or succeed each other over time 鈥� and saw how these trends on Earth could inform a process for creating a 鈥淕reen Mars.鈥�  

But it did not go as planned. No matter how engaging the activities were, my students didn鈥檛 get the point of spending their time this way. Some didn鈥檛 feel like they were learning and wanted what they called 鈥渞egular work.鈥� Accustomed to memorization and regurgitation, it can be jarring for students to jump into cross-curricular projects that require peer collaboration and real-world applications of concepts. I was frustrated, too, and almost gave up on this new way of reaching my students.

But, I decided to prove to my students and to myself that this method could be both relevant and rigorous. Ten weeks into the school year, I gave the most skeptical group of students a version of the state鈥檚 standardized end-of-year science test. I selected about 40 of the questions relevant to the topics covered in the Mars project, and these students scored an average of 90%. They were surprised and overjoyed. They saw how at the same time they were collaborating with each other on projects that demanded their use of critical thinking skills, they were also mastering the core competencies they would need for success in college. After this moment, there was no going back to the old way of doing things. But my challenge didn鈥檛 end there. 

Every educator knows what it feels like to try to make magic happen on your own. We do our best to modify curriculum, design engaging learning experiences and gather the resources our students need. But it鈥檚 incredibly difficult work. And when you鈥檙e designing project-based learning experiences like what we do at Crosstown, I found myself needing extra support after that challenging first year. Here鈥檚 what I learned:

Look for help 鈥� find community partners. Thankfully, I wasn鈥檛 alone. I was encouraged to partner with experts outside of my classroom and to bring resources back to my students. The summer after my first year at the school, a group of researchers from local universities and research centers approached Crosstown for help in designing a 9-12 curriculum called 鈥淐ancer Learning In My Backyard.鈥� As I worked with their doctors, I felt my expertise as an educator was truly valued. I knew the curriculum we were designing together would have an impact on my students and make a difference in the world far beyond my classroom. 

Representation and community matter. Having the time and support to work with these local researchers allowed me to continue to design projects while transforming my perspective on teaching. Many of these researchers were women of color in fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, which also opened students鈥� eyes to aspirations for their futures. Since then, I鈥檝e continued to bring researchers to my science classes and I鈥檓 now teaching a different version of 鈥淟ife on Mars,鈥� which evolved with the community partners. 

Innovation and the support to 鈥渇ail forward鈥� are key to student success. We become educators to see our students succeed, to help our communities thrive and to make a positive impact in the world. Crosstown鈥檚 collaborative approach affirmed my belief that teachers don鈥檛 need to be burned out, and students don鈥檛 need to be bored. to engage students and create meaningful connections to their community. This can also help schools retain Black teachers like myself by making us feel valued as professionals.

Core academics and real-world relevance are vital for success. The schools where students buzz with interest and where educators are fulfilled by their work are also the schools where students thrive academically. In 2022, 95% of Crosstown’s first cohort graduated on time, a higher rate than that of the surrounding district and the state of Tennessee. Our students got better results on several standardized tests 鈥� such as the ACT’s college-ready benchmark in English 鈥� than their local, statewide and national counterparts. We also had stronger results across the board with students from low-income families and students of color, which is important for a school that aimed to be “diverse by design.”

I鈥檝e learned through Crosstown that high school transformation is possible when educators are part of a larger community of experts, and when the school commits to designing learning experiences that are both relevant and rigorous. It鈥檚 not always easy. Teachers often feel like they have to have every minute of the day planned out. But real learning requires us to let go. I don鈥檛 have all the answers and that鈥檚 OK. Students should know we鈥檙e always learning, always researching, always asking questions. Because that鈥檚 the best model for a successful life.

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The main office at Elizabethton High School in rural northeast Tennessee wasn鈥檛 always a place students enjoyed visiting. As a new ninth grader in the fall of 2019, Jayci Bowers recalled an imposing room with a long desk, a secretary and fluorescent lights that reminded her of a doctor鈥檚 office. Even though the two counselors for students had their own small offices within the space, Jayci said, 鈥渋t just felt really closed off to students.鈥� 

Today, that front office has been completely transformed into the Cyclone Student Center, named for the school鈥檚 mascot. Its old wooden door was replaced with a glass one students can see through. Inside, they鈥檙e greeted by warm lighting, a wall covered with college pennants and Cyclone memorabilia. There are small desks and high-top tables where they can work on college applications and a zen garden for relaxation.

 鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 walking into a place where I can hang out and chill,鈥� Bowers said. 

The school also doubled the number of counselors in the center 鈥� at the students鈥� request 鈥� by adding two who focus on college and career exploration and advising.

Staff and students say these changes illustrate how listening to students can take a high school in a new, more vibrant direction. Students have been playing a bigger role at in 2017. They encouraged the school to add two classes for community improvements and entrepreneurship. Elizabethton then expanded the number of classes with project-based learning, including one on teaching as a profession that was suggested by students. 

The high school of about 850 students is now a thriving community hub, with a , a coffee shop designed and run by students and a community partnership advisory group that meets monthly 鈥� so local businesses and higher education institutions stay connected to students exploring their future.

鈥淥ur community believes in progress,鈥� assistant principal Sheri Nelson said. Elizabethton is a small city of about 14,000 people with just one public high school in a region that was . Nelson said people believe the students 鈥渘eed to bring the progress to the community. They don鈥檛 want our students to go somewhere else.鈥�

Elizabethton and its educators are using to improve their high school and community at large. This is one of XQ鈥檚 research-based for rethinking the high school experience. The goal is to create more that looks beyond the school鈥檚 walls. By listening to students, Elizabethton鈥檚 educators learned they also wanted something else: connections with .

For fresh ideas on bringing more student voice to your school, sign up for The XQ Xtra 鈥� a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

Why Students Wanted More Counselors

Since becoming an XQ partner, Elizabethton High School has solicited feedback from students on a regular basis in different settings. Bowers recalled joining one of two groups that toured another XQ school, in early 2020. The difference was striking. 鈥淚t was a lot of inviting spaces, lots of windows and natural lighting,鈥� she said. The Memphis school is inside a renovated, multi-use development. By contrast, Elizabethton High School is a squat, brick 1970s building with no windows.

Bowers and her classmates asked for a more open, cheerful space like what they saw at Crosstown. Around that same time, Nelson was reviewing annual social-emotional surveys. 

鈥淪tudents did not know their counselor,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 mean, obviously, when you have a 430-to-1 ratio, how can they know and serve those students effectively?鈥�

That ratio was close to the national average, even though the recommends 250-to-1. It points to studies showing students with more access to college counselors and lower student-to-counselor ratios are more likely to graduate and less likely to have behavioral problems. But too many schools can鈥檛 afford to hire enough counselors.

Only 21.5% of Elizabethton鈥檚 adults have a bachelor鈥檚 degree, according to the U.S. Census. The high school had already created . But some students needed additional support and guidance, said Dusty Duncan, one of the school鈥檚 two college and career advisors. He previously worked in the admissions office at East Tennessee State University.

鈥淚n the upper East Tennessee area as a whole, generational poverty is a prevalent issue that affects so many students and families,鈥� he explained, adding that the high school鈥檚 staff are committed to ensuring all students, regardless of background, get the resources they need to succeed.

Giving Students More Options

Elizabethton鈥檚 college and career advisors work with students across all grade levels, but the emphasis is on helping juniors and seniors prepare for life after high school. In September, about 150 students 鈥� mostly seniors 鈥� attended a college fair in the local area. Group visits were then scheduled to all different types of colleges, universities and technical schools. 

Throughout the fall and winter, seniors get regular updates about scholarship opportunities and are notified about special weeks when state school applications are free. The Cyclone Student Center sends out a monthly newsletter to families and coordinates daily in-school visits from college, military and career professionals.

Gracie Fields, a senior who plans to study Fishery and Wildlife Science, found the scholarship newsletter useful. 

鈥淭here are a couple that I鈥檝e actually gotten that have been extremely helpful that I wouldn鈥檛 have known about if they hadn鈥檛 made those announcements,鈥� she said, adding that she won a full ride to attend her first choice school, Tennessee Tech University. She said she and her older brother are the first members of their family to go to college. 

As the school鈥檚 Fields also encourages her peers to visit the student center, where counselors help them fill out college and financial aid applications. Bowers said she applied to more schools than planned after learning about scholarships.

鈥淔amilies are so busy right now, that the need for dedicated professionals during the school day is more important than ever,鈥� said Judy Fletcher, another of the college and career advisors. 

Even if they have their eyes set on four-year colleges, most Elizabethton students also apply to two-year colleges because the state鈥檚 allows them to attend tuition-free. A survey by XQ found more than 80% of Elizabethton鈥檚 2022 graduates planned to enroll in college (there鈥檚 no state data yet on how many actually did); and 56 percent of those who said they were going to two-year colleges also planned to transfer to four-year schools. 

Among Elizabethton鈥檚 graduating seniors in 2022, more than half already earned dual enrollment credits at local colleges and universities. Dual enrollment programs have and Elizabethton now partners with six local post-secondary institutions, including East Tennessee State University.

By actively including all students in post-high school planning, Elizabethton offers a more holistic definition of school success, said XQ Head of Schools Mary Ryerse. 

鈥淎s a country, we have a shallow definition of a 鈥榮uccessful high school鈥� based on Advanced Placement enrollment or graduation rates,鈥� she explained. 鈥淏ut we don’t look often enough at whether schools are helping students advance their concrete post-secondary plans by taking dual enrollment courses, applying for scholarships and seeking additional sources of financial aid.鈥�

Elizabethton鈥檚 counselors also encourage students to pursue industry training. Last year, 12% of its graduates got into the , an increase from five percent in 2018. Nelson said that鈥檚 a plus because some of those students might not otherwise have had a post-graduation plan. Duncan, who also serves as the school鈥檚 community partnership director and coordinates various outreach events, said local businesses like a tool company and the chamber of commerce are stepping up to offer more workplace learning.

Deirdra Hawkes, director of programs and advocacy for the American School Counselor Association, said it鈥檚 important for high schools to recognize that college and career support is a specialized part of counseling. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to go into a classroom and deliver classroom instruction on college planning,鈥� she explained. 鈥淚t鈥檚 another thing to follow up with individual students to find out what they need individual help with and support.鈥� And high schoolers need help exploring their options long before their senior year.

It鈥檚 too soon to say what impact Elizabethton High School鈥檚 new student center is making on college-going, especially at a time when . But in 2022, Elizabethton High School鈥檚 leaders said 94% of its 185 seniors filled out applications with the state鈥檚 Tennessee Promise program. And 89% filled out their forms. The school鈥檚 93% on-time graduation rate for 2022 exceeded the state鈥檚 and even rose despite the pandemic. 

Staff and students say they can tell more teens are using the student center to talk about their future. Sam Bowers, a senior (no relation to Jayci), said Duncan spent 鈥渄ays at a time鈥� helping him complete the University of Tennessee application and others. Now, he鈥檚 bringing fellow students into the center as a student ambassador 鈥� a gig that used to mean showing ninth graders around the building and its with Elizabethton鈥檚 history and values. But Bowers now takes new students into the Cyclone Student Center, so they won鈥檛 think it’s only for juniors and seniors preparing for college. He wants them to see that a counselor isn鈥檛 鈥渟ome scary adult that sits behind closed doors and doesn鈥檛 interact.鈥� 

Nelson said listening to students is key to improving a school and its greater community. She hopes Elizabethton High School can keep its two college and career advisors after their funding runs out this year because getting a college degree helps students 鈥渢ake care of their own鈥� 鈥� their families and their city. 

鈥淣o longer do we look at school as ending at the 12th grade,鈥� Nelson said. 鈥淲e think that we have to look at our students鈥� success beyond high school.鈥�

Do you want to learn more about how to rethink high school? The XQ Xtra is a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

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I鈥檇 been leading the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) for less than a year in the fall of 2019 when I first witnessed high school students crying because they鈥檇 been shortchanged an education and teachers actually sobbing because they felt responsible. These emotional moments occurred during school planning sessions, where educators, students and administrators were examining how students experience high school in Rhode Island.

What was wrong? Many of Rhode Island鈥檚 seniors were applying to colleges, only to find that they hadn鈥檛 taken the necessary coursework recommended for admission. Many felt they had been shuttled through high school without anyone ensuring they were on track to pursue higher education or careers. Without exaggeration, the system was failing many of our students. 

The core problem was the state鈥檚 graduation standards. To receive their high school diplomas, Rhode Island鈥檚 students didn鈥檛 have to take the math, lab science and world language courses required by the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College. Even worse, high school graduates told us they felt unprepared for life because they didn鈥檛 have real-world skills like financial literacy.

Rhode Island wasn鈥檛 the only state with this problem. A few years ago, the required students to complete a truly well-rounded education in order to graduate high school. It鈥檚 no wonder the U.S. has been in the international math and reading tests given to teenagers.

As the person leading Rhode Island鈥檚 state education system, I was devastated to hear students and teachers describing a system that frankly wasn鈥檛 preparing kids for success in college or careers. We needed to figure out whether this was happening at a few high schools or whether it was a more widespread problem. RIDE was already partnering with the , a nonprofit that works with communities around the country to rethink and redesign high school so that it鈥檚 more rigorous, equitable and inspiring. Together with XQ, RIDE conducted an in-depth analysis 鈥� known as an 鈥� of how effectively and consistently our high schools were educating kids from disparate backgrounds throughout the state.

The data from that audit painted a painful picture of a system not just failing to prepare its students, but also perpetuating racial and class inequities. We learned, for example, that only six out of 10 students in Rhode Island were taking the courses they needed to be eligible for college. Boys were less likely to complete the college preparatory course sequence than girls, while Black and Latino students were less likely than white and Asian students, and low-income students and English learners were less likely than their peers. Students with disabilities had the lowest rate of all. Further, only about a third of students were taking the full complement of career and technical education courses needed to be considered career-ready. 

As grievous as the situation was, the good news was that it pointed us toward some concrete solutions. We had to clearly define what a Rhode Island diploma meant 鈥� for every student, no matter their district or school. And we had to ensure these criteria aligned with the admissions recommendations of state colleges and universities. If we did these two things, we could ensure that every single one of our graduates, regardless of race, income or ZIP code, would be ready for college and beyond.

But previous efforts to address these problems faltered due to a lack of consensus within Rhode Island鈥檚 education community. To break that cycle, we knew we鈥檇 need to deeply engage the full spectrum of stakeholders in our state鈥檚 public school system. Centering community voice, RIDE began developing a proposal to update the state鈥檚 graduation requirements. During a robust, 18-month community engagement process, we reached out to teachers, parents, students, labor unions, business and nonprofit leaders 鈥� everyone who鈥檚 invested in and impacted by the quality of our schools. Their insightful feedback led us to: 

• Add a financial literacy course as a requirement for graduation because students told us making informed financial decisions was important. Additionally, we put the onus on schools to support students in filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and state aid forms to ensure all students get help in maximizing financial assistance.
  
• To address the fact that more than one in three students in Rhode Island takes care of a family member for part or most of the day, we agreed to require every high school in the state to develop flexibility and supports for those caregiving students. We鈥檙e now designing those policies. For example, the state is exploring awarding students community service hours for their caregiving work, and designing flexible class schedules, skills-building groups and support groups.
  
• Eliminating all requirements surrounding instructional minutes or seat time. Research shows the amount of minutes a student sits in a seat does not correlate to the amount of learning that occurs in a classroom. By letting schools move away from single-subject classes of about 50 minutes a day, students can take longer classes that combine science and math, or that involve community partnerships 鈥� so long as they demonstrate competency and meet state standards. This also gives our teachers more flexibility to adapt their instruction to the way our kids learn best. 

After considerable community engagement that began in the summer of 2021, we released our first proposal for public comment this past February. Over the next few months, it became the most commented-on K-12 policy proposal in the history of Rhode Island. In November, after conducting even more engagement than required by the state, we presented the Rhode Island Council on Elementary and Secondary Education an even more refined plan for new, equitable graduation standards. The council passed it unanimously. 

What policymakers often forget is that when a major change is proposed, people get nervous. There were many moments along the way when, if we鈥檇 failed to engage our school system鈥檚 diverse stakeholders, we would have lost crucial support. But RIDE committed to shepherding our communities through this process, remaining flexible, addressing their concerns and devising solutions, and we kept that commitment. That鈥檚 the main reason this effort succeeded: We did not want to be right, we wanted to get it right with the community by our side. 

We also took important public feedback into account by phasing in these changes over the next six years. In the short term, students who arrive in high school as first-year students will be automatically enrolled in the courses they need to be eligible not only to graduate from high school but to apply to our state colleges and universities. And in the long term, these new standards will improve how our entire K-12 system prepares students for college and careers. Students will take a more rigorous math sequence, lab science and at least two years of world languages, but complete the same number of credits to graduate.

Throughout the country, state colleges and universities say they鈥檙e . By listening to students, their families and teachers, we are changing that trajectory in Rhode Island, making the kind of system-wide impact that often feels impossible. We hope it serves as a model for other states. 

Our students deserve a world-class education – and we鈥檙e taking strides to ensure it.

Do you want to learn more about how to rethink high school? The XQ Xtra is a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. Sign up .

Disclosure:  is a financial supporter of 社区黑料.

This article has been produced in partnership between 社区黑料 and .

Indianapolis, IN 鈥� Raina鈥檚 ninth grade schedule at looked nothing like that of a typical high school student. Unlike most teens, she never attended single-subject, 50-minute periods like math, English and social studies. No bells rang when class was over. Instead, projects and personalized learning are key at this in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

This structure allowed Raina to choose a different schedule every six weeks, in six cycles over the year. During one cycle, she participated in a mock trial that required her to research previous cases, analyze evidence and build written cases. Six weeks later, she signed up for the next level and focused on presenting cases in front of a judge and jury in collaboration with local attorneys. She also took a journalism course that involved not just writing and researching articles, but learning the ethics of the craft. And in each cycle, Raina also took some online classes, such as Spanish, Latin and math.

It sounds overwhelming 鈥� more like college than high school. But Raina, who鈥檚 part of PPHS鈥檚 Class of 2025, said the workload is very well paced. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 give you a whole semester load of work to do in six weeks,鈥� she explained.

PPHS is breaking the mold of traditional high school learning for a reason. of all U.S. high school graduates are ready for college or career, and a full 40 percent of 12^th graders were below basic in math on the most recent . The achievement gaps are especially pronounced among students from low-income families and those who are Black and brown, because students from underserved communities have been historically and systematically neglected.

Former Indiana governor Mitch Daniels saw those disturbing patterns when he became president of Purdue University in 2013. The university teamed up with business leaders, the city of Indianapolis and the state to raise the number of students from underrepresented backgrounds attending Purdue University and going into STEM careers. They designed PPHS and it was among the winners of XQ鈥檚 to rethink the U.S. high school experience. It with a nontraditional schedule emphasizing more personalized learning and engaging, real-world projects aligned to state standards and Indiana’s workforce development goals. 

鈥淭he idea that learning needs to be time-bound, or that every student learns in the same way in increments and goes from class to class is antiquated, and doesn’t really serve students well,鈥� said Keeanna Warren, the school鈥檚 associate executive director. 

Since graduating its first class in 2021, PPHS has sent more than twice as many students to Purdue as the entire Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) district, most of whom are students of color. The school now has three campuses (in Indianapolis and South Bend) and it reported cohort graduation rates of 83, 86, and 100 percent in 2022. By comparison, the typical graduation rate in IPS hovers around 72 percent. 

In addition to , PPHS students have personal learning time between classes to work with teachers 鈥� called coaches. This allows for differentiated instruction and targeted academic assistance. Throwing out the high school playbook may seem easier for a new charter school partnered with a top-notch university than for an existing school with an established culture. But many other U.S. high schools have hacked the traditional schedule to make learning more personalized and flexible. These include all of the charters, district lab schools like in Pennsylvania and . 

Most importantly, experts say other schools can replicate these models. 

There are Fewer Obstacles Than You Think

When switching up the traditional school day, 鈥渟ometimes people think there are more barriers or requirements than there actually are,鈥� according to Laurie Gagnon, director of the Aurora Institute鈥檚 program.

School leaders often feel constrained by the , the century-old system that鈥檚 still the organizing principle for most U.S. high schools, with learning measured by seat time. However, there鈥檚 an increasing recognition that this system doesn鈥檛 serve all students, which is why to spend the next few years developing a replacement for time-based learning. 

In the meantime, Gagnon said interdisciplinary projects that combine material from different subject classes can easily meet state requirements. At PPHS, one industry project involved having students meet with public transportation officials to develop solutions that could serve the community better, using what they learned about population density and how it changed over history due to factors like interstate construction and redlining. To meet state standards, the school also schedules students into interdisciplinary classes. One called 鈥渢he candy corn catapult,鈥� for example, combines math and physics. 

Various states and districts encourage schools to create innovative schedules. In , schools can request waivers from state mandates. New Hampshire and Oregon are among states moving to give credit based on factors other than seat time, according to the . Some districts have created innovation zones through agreements with their unions. In Boston, have flexibility around hiring, budget, bell schedule and curriculum. In New York City, the union contract allows if most teachers agree to a different schedule.

In-House Tech Expertise Helps, But Isn鈥檛 a Requirement

The traditional high school 鈥渕aster schedule鈥� exists for a reason: functionality. Regardless of whether the school has 100 or 1,000 students, it can program the appropriate classes for every pupil while also ensuring courses align with student needs, the curriculum, and legal requirements.

But PPHS had no template when it did away with the master schedule in favor of more personalized learning. Staffers were scrambling in 2017 to give 150 first-year students different choices each week, in six-week cycles. The solution came from Andrew Zeller, a Purdue University graduate student in math who was on the PPHS team at the time. Zeller found Setmore, a software program typically used by hair salons and yoga studios. Signing up for an electric car project using Setmore was as easy as scheduling a trim and highlights. But he still had to program each student鈥檚 selections manually so they鈥檇 know their next week鈥檚 schedule by Friday. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I slept on Thursday nights for two years because I was building the master schedule on Thursday night,鈥� Zeller recalled.

Setmore worked well until the school鈥檚 staff and population doubled a year later with a new class of ninth-graders, causing everything to slow down. Thankfully, the next solution came from someone else in-house, engineering and science teacher Drew Goodin. He wasn鈥檛 a software programmer but he was able to get Google sheets to work with an automation app. He named the new system Drewber 鈥� his first name plus Uber. 

Of course, most schools don鈥檛 have someone on staff with these talents. But Goodin acknowledged there is an old school alternative: 鈥淚ssuing paper tickets to classes could be a solution to this problem too,鈥� he said, adding that changing the schedule wasn鈥檛 as important as maximizing student learning through the optimization of coaches, students and space. Schools can do all of those things within the master schedule. They can also make smart use of time, space, and technology 鈥� one of the six researchers say can lead to more equitable outcomes for all pupils. 

A Shared Vision Matters, and So Does a Collaborative Culture

At a school devoted to personalized learning, it鈥檚 important to create a culture that allows constant iteration, PPHS leaders said. In its second year, for example, PPHS tried building its own curriculum through an online tool. But that was a huge lift for the staff. Making too many changes 鈥渏ust about destroyed the school,鈥� said executive director Scott Bess. Teachers grew frustrated. Some quit. Founding principal Shatoya Ward, who now serves as chief of school operations, recalled the staff demanding an intervention. But instead of a mutiny, they worked together. She recalled them asking, 鈥淲hat are we going to do about this?鈥�

Gagnon, of Aurora, said that it鈥檚 critical to carve out space for teachers to learn, have opportunities for professional development, and be a part of the design process. PPHS leaders said they鈥檝e absorbed this lesson. They began offering fewer courses to make the schedule more manageable. The school also switched from six-week to eight-week cycles in the fall of 2022, and it鈥檚 become less enamored with online learning. But constant iteration relies on a shared vision, Bess said.

鈥淚’d say the biggest thing is, remember your why,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚n our case, we want to get more underrepresented minority students and low-income students able to access a place like Purdue.鈥� 

Listen to Feedback from Your School Community

PPHS鈥檚 vision for more personalized, project-based learning wasn鈥檛 just a challenge for its faculty. It also presented a hurdle for students and parents used to traditional grading systems and test prep. Each project is tied to specific , such as problem-solving, analyzing sources and using a growth mindset, that colleges and employers identified as lacking among too many high school graduates. That鈥檚 why Warren said communication was critical. 

鈥淲e had open forums and town halls to receive feedback from parents and share the 鈥榳hy鈥� and 鈥榟ow,鈥�” she said. 鈥淪ome parents remained skeptical through graduation, and that feedback was helpful for our team’s growth.鈥� Over time, Warren said PPHS saw more teachers, parents and students buy in once they realized the school was working. 

Victor, who graduated from PPHS in 2022 and now attends Purdue University鈥攚here he鈥檚 studying integrated business and engineering鈥攕aid he enjoyed his high school鈥檚 variety and flexibility. At other schools, he said, 鈥測ou’re put in a box,鈥� with a routine that becomes redundant and tiring. Like many PPHS students, Victor took advantage of a summer program allowing him to attend Purdue University. He also took dual credit courses at another local college, giving him a leg up as a college freshman. 

Since the onset of COVID-19, there鈥檚 been more interest in flexible approaches to learning. 鈥淚 think the pandemic has opened up some questions about where does learning happen, and how do we document it,鈥� Gagnon said. And PPHS could provide schools across the country with valuable answers to those questions.

Do you want to learn more about how to rethink high school? The XQ Xtra is a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. Sign up .

Disclosure:  is a financial supporter of 社区黑料.

Williams and 鈥� a national organization that redesigns high schools so all students are successful 鈥� are giving each senior one free pass to the festival, which will be held June 17-19 in Washington D.C. to coincide with Juneteenth weekend.

鈥淐ongrats to this year鈥檚 D.C. high school graduates. You鈥檝e truly inspired all of us through your resiliency and through your ability to learn through a pandemic,鈥� said Pharrell in his . 鈥淵ou deserve to be celebrated.鈥�

SITW, an annual festival founded by Williams that features culture and art, will this year include a lineup of , including Jusitn Timberlake, SZA, Lil Baby, and Gracie Abrahms. There will also be the DC+XQ Community Market, featuring D.C. vendors and entrepreneurs, right outside of the festival.

鈥淲e believe the work of transformation is community centered, and at the center of that community are our biggest assets: students,鈥� said XQ chief program officer Ursulina Ramirez. 鈥淧artnering with Pharrell and SITW is our way of saying thank you, congratulations, and honoring the class of 2022 for persevering through their HS journey. We wish them all the best as they continue their journeys.鈥� 

XQ began its partnership with DC Public Schools in February 2022 to redesign the district鈥檚 high schools, Ramirez said. 鈥淲e are in the midst of working with DCPS to design and implement innovative models ensuring all students 鈥� including those furthest from opportunity 鈥� are prepared to succeed in college, career, and in life.鈥�