The Independent Project

A powerful example of students taking ownership in their education, students at a public high school in Massachusetts designed and ran a school-within-a-school for a year with support and guidance from the administration and teachers at the school. The students who were involved in the program included those at risk of dropping out as well as those doing well academically. The students designed the program so that they could work together and support each other in gaining the skills of inquiry and research as well as specific knowledge in math, literature, science, and history. Each student also chose an individual endeavor (such as creating a film about domestic violence or writing a novel), and they worked together on a collective endeavor.

Location: Western Massachusetts

Links:

• New York Times article about The Independent Project - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/opinion/15engel.html

Submitted by Dana Bennis on: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 - 10:14 am

Tags for this entry:
empowerment, personalized learning, school change, student voice