![]() ![]() Say for example a student had chosen to do a project on social justice they could log into the PLP software, outline milestones and tasks for their project, click on links to videos and other interactive resources suggested by teachers and other students, and see the rubric (which includes “21st-century,” i.e. Students are able to track their progress on projects and assignments, receive teacher feedback and support, take assessments, set college preparedness goals, and view their grades. The PLP blends online curricula with hands-on learning. Through that partnership, every Venture students was given a computer that has their Personalized Learning Plan (PLP), a platform that was developed by Summit and Facebook. In 2015, Venture was one of only 19 schools and the only one in the Midwest selected for the Summit Public Schools partnership. In order to accelerate learning, while also encouraging curiosity and creativity, Venture has implemented tools so that students, in every classroom, are in charge of their learning. Additionally, according to Bacal, students who enroll at Venture are starting out, on average, three or four years below grade level and have had adverse experiences at other schools. Venture serves a diverse student population: 48 percent Hispanic/Latino, 33 percent African American, 11 percent Native American, 8 percent White, 92 percent low-income, 34 percent English Language Learners (ELL), and 27 percent special education. Additionally, in 2013, they were awarded a $250,000 grant from the Walton Family Foundation. In 2012, before they opened, Venture was one of 20 schools nationwide to win the Next Generation Learning award, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, for their innovative school model. Their innovative model has been recognized nationally. According to Muse, “We set out to purposefully design a system that allows kids to do things like navigate ambiguity.” As a result, Venture asserts that they are the nation’s first middle-high school whose goal is to create the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurial leaders. Rather, co-founders Jon Bacal, former head of Minneapolis Public Schools’ Office of New Schools, Kerry Muse, a veteran teacher of a California KIPP school, and the late Verne Johnson were intentional in the design. This classroom is not unique to the school, nor did it occur by luck. The teachers act as learning coaches, meaning they do the learning with the students instead of to them. Instead, students are driving the learning through a blended learning model that combines classroom education, online learning, and technology to create an academic environment that is student-centric. ![]() It is not the cookie cutter mold of what a classroom is “supposed” to look like students are not confined to a desk and the teacher is not lecturing. Loper? She is walking around, checking in with students and offering support when needed. ![]() Some are in desks, while others sit on the floor or stand. ![]() In Jessica Loper’s 8th grade classroom, students are spread out around the room and working in groups or as partners. However, upon closer examination, it is evident that Venture is anything but that. To the outside eye, one that has been trained to look for the industrialized education model where students are supposed to sit silently at desks, it may first appear chaotic and unorganized. Walking into Venture Academy, a Southeast Minneapolis middle and high charter school, is like walking into Google. The result looks a little chaotic but, according to Google, that is how their employees like it. In order to maintain their start-up culture and increase staff retention, Google has allowed their employees to design their own desks and workstations, in addition to creating unconventional workspaces that include bean bag chairs, couches, hammocks, and in tents. Since its inception in 1998, Google has grown from two to over just 57,000 employees. ![]()
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