Take a peek into any classroom at the School and you’ll see future-ready learning in action—whether it’s fifth-grade apiarists preparing their harvested honey to sell at the Lower School Fall Festival or Upper School engineers in the making, programming a helpful bot designed to assist with a good night’s sleep. And while “scenario-based” and “integrated learning” are not novel concepts at Principia, a fresh and exciting academic framework is taking shape across the School.
This fall, the Lower School academic program will incorporate more integration between subjects and more intentionality around hands-on learning. Students will get their hands dirty, test their theories, and put their understanding into practice. “Like most learners, we learn by doing,” says Lower School Principal Heather Tibbetts. “Under this new framework, students make connections between different subjects and dive into real-life situations where they need to work together to make decisions and understand the impact of their actions.”
“To run a program like this successfully, it takes constant collaboration, creativity, and flexibility. This is something our colleagues in the Middle School learned early on when overhauling their academics years ago.”
Principal Tibbetts has a few ideas for a smooth transition including moving Rissa (Harlow) Arens (US’91, C’95), a former first-grade teacher, to Teacher Leader. Rissa will work closely with each grade level in the Lower School to bolster the blended learning model.
Meanwhile, in the Upper School, a new freshman and sophomore experience known as “CoLAB” follows suit. CoLAB as the name suggests, is a laboratory-style learning framework that teaches transferrable skills through student-led project work. Projects may include creating inventory and financial plans for a new business idea, improving sustainable practices across campus, or programming a new system or app to improve student life on campus.
“Immersive, relevant learning experiences help our students become more invested and engaged while cementing important skills that can be transferred to other experiences,” says Upper School Principal Samantha Dry. “We’re setting our freshmen and sophomores up for success by cultivating confidence and drilling in necessary skills for the rest of their academic journey and beyond.”
For upper schoolers craving additional learning opportunities outside the traditional core curriculum, “Quests” are now offered as independent study opportunities. Co-designed between students and teachers, students pursue an area of interest—from interior design and culinary arts to rocketry and aerospace engineering.
These educational enhancements mark the beginning of an exciting school-wide approach and curricular vision that will propel its students forward with the confidence and savvy they need to thrive in a world of unknowns.