"Students at Powderhouse Studios won't have the typical American high school experience—and that's exactly the point of the new school," its founders say.
The high school, set to open in a repurposed former school building in Somerville, Mass. , won't have grade levels or traditional classes. Instead, students will complete interdisciplinary (跨学科的) projects that tap into their interests and ambitions. They'll divide their days between seminars and project-based work, meeting with the education staff for guidance regularly. Students at Powderhouse will work with tutors instead of conventional teachers to learn math, science and the humanities—all of which will inform their projects. Classrooms, lectures and lesson plans—the things traditional schools are built on—won't be a big part of daily life at Powderhouse.
In short, Powderhouse will look more like a workplace than a high school.
Alec Resnick, one of the school's founders, said Powderhouse will make learning personal for students by helping them identify meaningful project-based work early on.
Resnick said that demanding and interesting work is often the thing that's missing for students who feel uninvolved in a traditional high-school setting.
"Motivation is missing, "he said. "The way you fix that is to get people doing hard work, not easier or more fun work."
Monica Martinez, an expert in school development, describes a future for American high schools that looks a lot like Powderhouse, with more fluid (易变的) schedules and personalized learning opportunities—and finally, with more flexibility for students.
"Most of all, students will progress at the rate at which they show mastery of academic content, regardless of time, "Martinez said.
Powderhouse will open in 2018 as part of Somerville Public Schools. The idea of reinventing high school appealed greatly to Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, who asked Resnick and his team at Sprout & Co. to design a high school based on the non-profit's popular after-school programs.
Powderhouse's founders say they hope educators will learn from nontraditional schools like theirs. "We're pretty confident that the future of learning doesn't look like school, "Resnick said.
