Jennings Community School

A particular cohort of young learners in St. Paul, Minnesota have found themselves traveling to Germany, participating in a beach cleanup project in Florida, and testing out their skills (and physics knowledge) at a local Sky Zone Trampoline Park. When picturing these young people in your mind, do you picture a group of “last chance,” “falling through the cracks,” “high dropout probability” kids? Of course not. It goes against the common narrative of the conventional education story.

But, this is a learner-centered story—one that time and time again destroys stereotypes and shows how intentional action to support the individual needs and interests of every learner creates unexpected possibilities. This learner-centered story is true in the most disadvantaged, as well as advantaged, communities in the country. And, it is true for Jennings Community School—a public charter in the Twin Cities that prides itself on seeing the world as its classroom and home for young people who have never known success in an educational environment.

At Jennings Community School, they want young people to know success is not a letter grade. Rather, success is “setting and reaching personal and academic goals, building a commitment to community involvement, pushing [one’s] sense of what it means to learn and continue learning beyond the classroom, fueling creativity, and making healthy life choices.” This dynamic distinction of success was the foundation for creating a rich learner-centered model where open-walled learning (e.g. going to Germany) is just the tip of the iceberg.

Young learners at Jennings Community School are guided in developing learner agency, while simultaneously tackling projects that are personalized, relevant, and contextualized. Oftentimes, such skills are developed based on “right now” needs where a young learner may be in need of a place to sleep, a stable food source, or a support system to manage mental health challenges triggered by traumatic events. 

Jennings could see these moments as separate from what should be credited in a learning environment; but instead, they let young people lead the way in solving their life challenges (i.e. gathering resources, drafting a plan of action, making phone calls) and through a competency-based approach, provide academic credit for that work. At Jennings, to think a worksheet or exam provides greater proof of learning than securing a bed at a local shelter doesn’t compute. The socially embedded nature of working with peers and adults within Jennings, as well as external community partners, enables young people to get a deep understanding that learning is actually relevant (and pivotal) to their everyday lives.

Jennings Community School is 20 years into their learner-centered journey and just as they encourage young people to see every moment as a learning moment, they continue finding new opportunities to improve their practice. There is no way to definitively achieve their vision of “global experiences that change lives” because unless young people stop coming through their doors, there will always be another life to change.