Overview:
Frontier Regional School and Hopkins Academy have each been awarded a $25,000 grant to design and implement a live, online, projects-based course to be offered through Campus Without Walls next school year. The initiative, which is the first of its kind in the United States, according to Campus Without Walls co-founder Ayele Shakur, will allow students at the 12 participating schools to enroll in classes at the other schools and Zoom into live lessons.
Starting next school year, students across the state will have the chance to virtually attend classes at Frontier Regional School in South Deerfield, Hopkins Academy in Hadley and 10 other public high schools stretching as far east as Boston.
Campus Without Walls, a platform for online learning, awarded Frontier Regional School and Hopkins Academy each a $25,000 grant in December to design and implement a live, online, projects-based course to be offered through Campus Without Walls.
Instead of completing assignments and deadlines through self-paced modules like in other online education platforms, “[Campus] Without Walls is synchronous and alive,” Hopkins Academy Superintendent Anne McKenzie explained. Students at the 12 schools will enroll in classes at the other schools participating in the pilot program and Zoom into live lessons. With live online courses and a goal of “cross-district collaboration,” the initiative is the first of its kind in the United States, according to Campus Without Walls co-founder Ayele Shakur.
Other participating schools include Chicopee Comprehensive High School, Innovation Academy Charter School, Codman Academy Charter Public School, Greater Egleston High School, Dr. Albert D. Holland High School of Technology, New Mission High School, TechBoston Academy, and Phoenix Charter Academy’s high schools in Chelsea, Lawrence and Springfield.
“Campus Without Walls also creates a connected learning ecosystem that brings students together across schools and communities,” a statement from Campus Without Walls reads. “Through shared classes and collaborative projects, students gain both academic opportunity and cross-cultural understanding, laying the foundation for a generation better prepared to build a more inclusive and equitable society.”
According to Shakur and Campus Without Walls Chief of Staff Milly Arbaje-Thomas, Campus Without Walls plans to grow the pilot into a statewide program with all high schools involved, including private and parochial schools in the future.
Shakur said the 12 schools each nominated two to three teachers and courses for the Campus Without Walls crew to consider. The Campus Without Walls team will then determine the best “Lead Teacher” and course based on criteria like subject area, cultural responsiveness, career connections and expected demand.
In Hadley, Hopkins Academy teachers proposed Advanced Placement biology, Advanced Placement language courses and writing courses, according to McKenzie. At Frontier Regional School, teachers pitched Photo Digital Design and a business class, Superintendent Darius Modestow said. Arbaje-Thomas plans to visit the two campuses this week to meet with prospective teachers.
By growing the catalog of classes for students to choose from, Modestow and McKenzie said the program not only makes courses with lower enrollment numbers feasible, but also reflects their districts’ core commitments to offering coursework that aligns with students’ interests and propels them toward their goals for life after high school.
“Frontier has always emphasized a broad range of electives, from the arts courses to Advanced Placement programs, and this program is simply another avenue to expand the variety of courses and experiences available to students,” Modestow said. “It is important that students have access to courses that genuinely interest them, as this increases engagement and provides exposure to a wide range of post-high school pathways and careers.”
Similarly, McKenzie described the pilot as one of Hopkins Academy’s many strategies to “expand access for students to rigorous and engaging curriculum and courses aligned to their post-secondary plans and their personal interests.”
Other paths to these objectives include the Early College Pathway Program that allows students to earn 12 college credits while in high school for free; the Innovation Career Pathway for students to focus on a specific field through internships, college courses and a capstone research project; and Project Lead the Way programs for hands-on applied learning in fields like engineering, computer science and biomedical sciences.
McKenzie said students whose day-to-day learning connects with their hopes after high school are often more engaged, satisfied and successful at school.
“We want students to understand the relationship between what they’re learning and their aspirations and dreams. We also want students to understand that the happiest people, the people who are the most deeply satisfied with their lives, are people who understand the relationship between their unique skills and talents, their knowledge and disposition, and the effect that those have on the world around them,” McKenzie said. “I like to think that when we’re doing our work well, that we create the conditions where every single student gets what they need and they can achieve whatever they dream.”
By fostering collaboration between the districts across the state, the partnership allows Hopkins Academy to practice the teamwork they preach, McKenzie said.
“We want to model what we’re trying to tell students of, yes, do your very best, not so you can individually succeed and relish in your own achievement and merit,” McKenzie explained, “but individually succeed so you can experience the joy of sharing those achievements with others.”