Our Approach

Our Approach

Systems-level transformation.
Local-level solutions.

Real and enduring equity will not happen until young people and the communities where they live are valued. We must change the notion that underserved students and communities are inadequate. We believe they are able to achieve more because of where they come from, rather than in spite of it.

Real and enduring equity will not happen until young people and the communities where they live are valued. We must change the notion that underserved students and communities are inadequate. We believe they are able to achieve more because of where they come from, rather than in spite of it.

Creating healthier, more prosperous communities

Creating healthier, more prosperous communities

We believe that seat time, reductive competencies, and test scores are inadequate, inequitable measures systems for the bigger change that is needed. That’s why our work focuses on better connecting underserved and nontraditional students to college and careers. Our communities cannot withstand the squandering of our most precious assets signified by the growing number of disengaged young people with nothing to do and nowhere to go.
A smiling student wearing a Health Leadership High School shirt
Institutional racism is chief among the social determinants that drive education outcomes. Any education strategy that doesn’t address racism and equity is inadequate. This is why we work to connect and create positive pathways for young people to become the change agents in their communities. Through our work, we seek to make our communities healthier and more prosperous by helping young people see that their future is rooted in investing in their own communities.

OUR INITIATIVES

Students gathered as a team looking at a project
Graduation Equity
Students seated on stage in front of a large projector screen
School & Program Design
Student in a classroom
Policy & Assessment Reform
A work-based learning instructor demonstrating construction techniques to a high school student.
X3 Internship Program

OUR PROJECTS

If You Ask Me presentation in the center of the Round House
"If You Ask Me...” Galleries
Blue sky with white clouds
The Reciprocity Project
Screenshot of the innovation map
Innovation Map
Students and staff from Siembra Leadership High School standing on the sidewalk
Community of Practice

MORE ABOUT THE FOUR-PILLAR MODEL

A blue and green vin diagram describing the four pillar model overlapping and supporting eachother with community-connected learning at the center

Pillar 1.

Community Partnerships

Reciprocal relationships with the community are the foundation of a well-connected school with future pathways for its students. Community Partnerships directly informs schools and their curriculum so that communities become more connected, integrated and better places to live. Young people have a chance to lead when they are engaged in the community which is an essential youth development strategy and preparation for them to become the leaders we need.

Pillar 2.

Communities of Care + Well-Being

Support is focused on treating young people as assets to be nurtured rather than problems to be solved. This pillar is about building a school culture that both promotes high academic expectations and an environment that is intellectually and emotionally safe for students. The power of the model is realized when the pillars converge, resulting in schools that adapt to the needs of students rather than the other way around.

Pillar 3.

Work-Based Learning

Work-based learning opportunities like the X3 internship program offer relevant, immediately-applicable learning experiences. These pathways connect young people to employers and the caring adults who work there—and students have the experience of being treated as assets in their professional setting and in the larger community.

Pillar 4.

Learning By Doing

This is a form of project-based learning where students use problem solving to address real-world problems in their own communities. Learning by doing promotes deep thinking and problem solving skills, and develops nuanced lifelong learning skills. This pillar also opens opportunities for a mastery-based system where students demonstrate their learning through a variety of assessments as opposed to traditional grading. Rather than focus on coverage and seat time, learning by doing shifts the focus onto skill development through responsive, personalized curriculum.