Our Kurt Hahn Expeditionary Learning School is in the New York Times for their students' involvement in the City Council's participatory budgeting process, which garnered the school and its 45th district $450,000 to dramatically increase safety by placing lights in the district’s parks and in the field behind the school's Tilden Educational Campus in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Demonstrations of Learning
- Our students demonstrate their learning through high quality work products.
- Our students become experts in the topics they are studying.
- Our students produce work that reflects their personal best.
Central to Expeditionary Learning is the belief that students achieve at higher levels when they know that their learning has purpose. Public demonstrations of learning, which are the capstone events of all Learning Expeditions, provide students authentic audiences with whom to share their research, conclusions and products. These public forums raise the stakes for students, who know from the outset that they will be sharing their work with others who will give it a critical eye.
Student-Led Conferences
Throughout the year, students maintain portfolios of their achievements in academics, service, fitness, and the arts, and present them in formal reviews called Student-Led Conferences (SLCs). These conferences form the core of student assessment and are led by students, not by teachers. Panelists not only include parents, they often include community members, working professionals, and educators. At the SLC, students present the knowledge they have gleaned and reflect on their progress, the challenges that lie ahead, and the steps they must take to continue improving. Like so many of our school structures, Student-Led Conferences develop character in our students by fostering reflection and self-assessment.
“There should be an Expeditionary Learning School in every neighborhood in this country, as it is the only design, that I am aware of, where experience is at the center and the things which we experience are those we best remember.”
—Tom Vander Ark, former Executive Director, Education, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
“The Expeditionary Learning model compels us to do work in school that has real, authentic consequences.”
—Elijah Hawkes, founding principal, The James Baldwin School
"In the years that I’ve been teaching, [Expeditionary Learning is] the single best model of learning for kids and the most satisfying model for teachers, because the kids are working on real projects, their work holds great value, and you are stretching them academically."
—Jennifer Wood, teacher
Recent News
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NY Times Covers Kurt Hahn Students City Council Involvement April 9, 2012 -
NY Daily News Features Kurt Hahn Senior Expo April 3, 2012Mark Morales of the NY Daily News covers Kurt Hahn Expeditionary Learning School senior exit projects at their public Senior Expo. Students presented their findings and educated their peers on a diverse array of real-world problems endemic to the high school’s East Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn such as gang violence, teen pregnancy and immigration issues.
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Univision/Telefutura Explores NYC Outward Bound Schools January 10, 2012Univision's sister television network Telefutura has produced an in-depth, Spanish-language segment on our network of public Expeditionary Learning schools, our mission, and our unique approach to education. "En Tu Comunidad" features NYC Outward Bound's Strategic Sponsorship Officer Deborah Castillero, our Validus Preparatory Academy's Principal Javier Ocampo, and our Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School's Assistant Principal Jenny Rodriguez.
