INSTRUCTIONAL PRINCIPLES
We believe that learning is transformative when every student is empowered to lead, innovate, and make meaningful impact on their communities.
SIMULATED WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENTS enable students to engage professionally.
- Classrooms become student-led “workplaces”, allowing students to take on real roles and responsibilities, such as:
- Identifying, breaking down, and tracking evidence of how they use and master state standards and skills, such as collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and self-empowerment.
- Identifying and empowering student CEO’s to work with the teacher team to manage the classroom company and facilitate class time.
- Empowering student managers and other identified roles to organize time, safety, conflict resolution, group goals and timelines, and other group or “department” needs.
AUTHENTIC LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT empowers students to think and act critically.
- Students engage with content standards while they address real needs, such as:
- Proposing products to improve tourist engagement.
- Developing plans for school improvements.
- Planning their own professional learning conference.
- Creating practice putting greens to meet the golf team’s needs.
- Developing narratives and physical displays for a local cryptid walking tour at the request of the town.
CAREER MINDSETS expose students to possibilities.
- Students explore possibilities for career and personal interests with local employers such as:
- Interviewing and having experiences in workplaces to discover potential improvements to their classroom spaces.
- Local employers welcoming students and teachers to their facilities to discover potential partnerships.
- Developing entrepreneurial projects that allow them to develop and test products aligned to their interests and skills, then teachers using those proposals to build and plan deeper, standards aligned projects to help students bring their ideas to fruition.
ENABLE STUDENTS TO ENGAGE PROFESSIONALLY
Students break down and prioritize state standards, identify and write job descriptions for roles, and apply to positions. Student CEO's work with the teacher team to develop leadership development lesson plans for all students and facilitate class time. Student managers manage classroom time, safety, organization, and other needs.
EMPOWER STUDENTS TO THINK AND ACT CRITICALLY
Students engage with content standards while they address real needs such as:
- Proposing products to improve tourist engagement
- Developing plans for school improvements
- Planning their own professional learning conference
EXPOSE STUDENTS TO POSSIBILITIES
Students explore possibilities for career and personal interests with local employers such as:
- Students interview and have experience in workplaces to discover potential improvements to their classroom spaces
- Local employers welcome students and teachers to their facilities to discover potential partnerships
- Students develop entrepreneurial projects that allow them to develop and test products aligned to their interests and skills, gaining a more nuanced understanding of what potential careers interest them
EMPOWERMENT SKILLS
We envision Empowerment Schools facilitating students to develop portfolios of their development and mastery of content standards and skills that are vital to success. The Empowerment Skills include:
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
EMPOWERING STUDENTS. TRANSFORMING SCHOOLS. IMPACTING COMMUNITIES.