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Publications

Tools and resources to support transforming learning and reimagining high school.

The Found Project
Asking Students, What have I “found” during the pandemic? Who am I now?
As we embarked on a new school year, and students and faculty returned to the classroom, we recognized that despite what appears to be some semblance of pre-pandemic life, in…

As we embarked on a new school year, and students and faculty returned to the classroom, we recognized that despite what appears to be some semblance of pre-pandemic life, in reality, things are and will never be the same. The year of 2020 was one of painful loss as was the first half of 2021. On top of the enormous loss of lives, the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing isolation suspended many of our daily freedoms and challenged us in unprecedented ways.

When we were considering how to best support the return to school, we came across Documenting Your Life During Extraordinary Times by The New York Times Learning Network. We reached out asking them to collaborate, using their resources to create “The Found Project,” a project based unit that ensured schools could welcome students back to classrooms with a learning experience that would help them process and explore the trauma of the last 18 months. The Found Project asks students to think about themselves, what they lost and found during the pandemic, and how these discoveries have shaped the person they are in this moment.

This short unit can engage both teachers and students in a transformative learning experience, build community, foster reflection, and reestablish a connection to school. It was designed to be flexible and adaptable to meet student needs in different contexts. We hope it can help schools anywhere meaningfully engage students and strengthen culture and community.


Blog

The news, research, ideas, and opinions from across the Springpoint ecosystem.

Featured Post

How to deliver on the promise of project-based learning

By Elina Alayeva Lingering on what’s possible in education is only worthwhile if we have a roadmap to get there. I’ve already written about the ways in which today’s high schools are falling short of what they could provide students, and how we can make those critical years of self-identity…

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How to create a more meaningful high school experience

Most American high schools are failing students. Yet, we now have significant clarity around what it takes to make high school meaningful.

Introducing the Inaugural Cohort of Transformative Leaders of Massachusetts

We couldn't be more excited to introduce you to our very first cohort of Transformative Leaders of Massachusetts (TLM) fellows! We are thrilled to support the fellows in making their visions for high school transformation a reality. We can't wait to see how they will the change the lives of their students, staff, and broader communities!

We know principals are important, so why doesn’t anyone want to be one these days?

Strong educators do not want to be school leaders. Current school leaders do not want to stay school leaders. Quite simply, the pipeline for school leadership is broken.

Supporting Every Student: Academic Conferencing in High School

Academic conferencing is a structured approach to student support that guides students in setting and achieving ambitious academic goals. Academic conferencing is an essential tool of a primary person system linking ongoing efforts to build caring, authentic relationships with students to a clear and direct focus on high expectations. Through implementing structures that support purposeful partnerships with students, we can better develop student strengths and support meaningful goal attainment, igniting student interest, agency, and increasing student ownership over their learning. 

Listen to Students to Navigate Change  

To truly address the learning impacts of the pandemic, schools need to evolve to prioritize relationships and meaningful learning rather than testing and remediation. 

How Two Schools Went Remote but Stayed Connected

One of the biggest challenges schools faced during the past year was keeping students’ emotional well-being top-of-mind during uncertain times. As schools transitioned to remote learning, high school students were missing crucial developmental opportunities—the ritual of belonging to the school community, including relationships with peers and trusted adults outside…

Prepare for What Comes Next: 3 Essential Factors of a School’s Successful COVID Response

Distributive leadership, a collaborative culture, and student voice can keep students engaged and learning, even in the most challenging of times.

Designing Schools with and for Students: Lessons Learned from the Engage New England Initiative

A new brief from SRI—Designing Schools with and for Students: Lessons Learned from the Engage New England Initiative—explores key tactics for how educators involved students at critical points in the school design process. The brief identifies promising strategies that other educators can replicate in their own contexts.

Post-secondary success for all: learnings from an analysis of five school districts

A recently released report co-authored by Springpoint outlines key findings from five New England school districts around postsecondary success. The report also surfaces opportunities for districts to improve post-secondary success for all students across demographics. The report is part of the first year of the Barr Foundation’s “Planning…

Cross Curriculum, Project–Based Learning at Full Circle High School

Full Circle High School students and staff left the traditional course schedule behind in Fall 2020, introducing an incredible lineup of innovative, cross-curriculum, project-based learning courses to engage students.
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