Big Thought

THE “BIG D” IS HOME TO MORE THAN JUST BILLIONAIRES, Fortune 500 companies, America’s football team, international cuisine, and rampant population growth. Dallas is also the home of an organization bearing a similar name: Big Thought.

Ever since their founding in 1987, Big Thought makes the “inaccessible,” “accessible” and brings the “unreachable” within reach for all Dallas youth. Working with—not against—the local school system, Big Thought unlocks what the vibrant city has to offer. By cultivating trust and collaboration within the community at-large, Big Thought sparks kids’ internal drive to learn and discover—developing in them a sense of learner agency that translates directly into every aspect of their lives.

So, what does an “unlocked” city look like? How about over 1.7 million learner hours of programming logged. 433 imaginative, open-walled learning locations to choose from. Almost 150,000 learners reached. But, most of all—it is that spark we’ve all seen in the eye of a truly engaged learner.

That spark shows up in their Dallas City of Learning (DCoL) summer program, which debunks the myth that learning only happens when school is in session. Capitalizing on the collaborative efforts already underway between Dallas’ businesses and government entities, DCoL creates opportunities for kids to attend classes at their local art studio, discover the complexity of aviation at the Love Field airport, and explore the wilderness of the majestic Trinity River Audubon Center and its surrounding Great Trinity Forest. In fact, wherever a kid’s interest takes them, DCoL builds a bridge to get them there and offers them a way to track their learning through digital badging.

Big Thought’s work doesn’t end with DCoL! Their Learning Partners catalog is an online portal of low-cost, hands-on programs and offerings widely available to individuals, librarians, educators, and staff from many school districts. It offers a place to research programming, book programs with providers, utilize study guide links, and check for TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) programs support-ing student learning. Big Thought’s innovative Creative Solutions program enrolls criminally convicted youth into a visual and performing arts program. By partnering with the Dallas County Juvenile Department and Southern Methodist University, Creative Solutions cultivates a new sense of self-worth and direction in kids who’ve done nothing more than hit a bump in the road.

No matter the connections that need to be made or the youth that need to be reached, Big Thought opens up the space for kids to explore and discover who they are and who they want to be. And, when that happens, the possibilities are limitless.