Grand Rapids Public Museum School

Demographics

Percentage of students*

Why Grand Rapids Public Museum School was nominated

The Grand Rapids Public Museum School in Grand Rapids, Michigan seeks to use place-based design thinking and the museum context to create learning experiences that develop confident, creative, and competent thinkers, doers, and leaders. The school currently serves 180 students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades, and 90 students in 9th grade. It will eventually serve grades 6th through 12th. Instead of being housed within a traditional high school building, the school is located in a former museum facility. The schoolís partnership with Grand Rapids Museum is an innovative cornerstone of their model. The museum context provides opportunities to exhibit student learning, understand community, and use artifacts to tell a story. The museumís collection of 250,000 cultural and historical artifacts form the basis of a rigorous curriculum taught mostly through projects that enable students to engage deeply with their community. Museum staff regularly teach classes, and students partner with curators to help build exhibits that open up new learning for the community. The GRPMHS curriculum is interdisciplinary and theme-based, with particular emphasis on global awareness, sustainability, and technology and design, explored through the lens of the history, culture, economy, and ecology of the Grand Rapids community and region. Students spend time working with community partners and collaborators all over the city (e.g., universities, nonprofits, scientists, artists, etc). Projects, including one designed to become the largest river-restoration project in the United States, take students into every aspect of the community and its surrounding environment. Lessons from community members complement instruction by formal educators, with community members proposing classes to teach as guest instructors. Examples from the existing middle school include everything from poetry writing and bicycle repair to a class focused on invasive species in the nearby Grand River. The schoolís instructional vision is built upon integrated project-oriented instruction. Learning experiences connect academic outcomes to the lived realities of students and are guided by thematic competencies. The school also focuses instruction on the growth of the whole person, which is why assessment of student work, progress through the curriculum, and additional support is responsive to academic, social, expressive, and emotional needs., Reimagining the instructional core , Grand Rapids Public Museum High School offers an innovative place-based learning model that leverages the city and its resources—especially the public museum in which it is housed—as an extended classroom, connecting students with real-world experiences. Its commitment to equity shines through by fostering diverse partnerships and ensuring students from all backgrounds have access to hands-on, inquiry-driven education. The school advances student-centered learning by emphasizing personalized projects and collaborative exploration, empowering students to take ownership of their educational journey., This school features unique experiences such as design thinking and the museum context to create learning experiences that develop confident, creative, and competent thinkers, doers, and leaders. An XQ partner school.

Student experience design

Our mission is to use place-based design thinking and the museum context to create learning experiences that develop confident, creative, and competent thinkers, doers, and leaders. We aim to create an environment where all learners can: >Master fundamental competencies; >Improve through iteration; >Enrich their communities; and >Understand and pursue their best selves.

Core Practices

Core Practices	Length of Use
Performance Based Assessment	3-4 years

All Practices

Student Advisories

AI For Teacher Productivity

Assessments For Agency And Self-directed Learning

Assessments For Deeper Learning

Community And Workforce Partnerships

Competency/mastery-based Education

Flexible Staffing & Alternative Teaching Roles

Grading Policies Focus On Mastery

Mental Health Services

Multi-tiered System Of Support (MTSS) In Academics

No Tracked Classes

Project-based Learning

High Quality Instructional Materials

Restorative Practices

SEL Curriculum

Student-led Conferences

Tutoring

key reasons for innovating

Artifacts

73% of graduates enroll in higher education. 89% graduation rate over the past three years. Outperform similar schools on state assessments.