Creating a Learner-Centered High School by Listening to Learners

Mineola Public Schools

Creating a Learner-Centered High School by Listening to Learners 

Synergy@ Mineola High School is part of Mineola Schools in Long Island, NY
The district serves approximately 2,800 students, with a high school
enrollment of 1,056 students in grades 8 through 12.
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OUR SERVICES

Diagnostic, Coaching, Empathy Interviews, Learning Walks, Strategic Planning

GOAL

Recognizing the value of a personalized, competency-based, learner-driven model of education to best support the diverse strengths and challenges of learners, the Mineola School District partnered with Learner-Centered Collaborative to elevate student voice and build upon existing strengths in the design of Synergy @ Mineola, an extension of the high school that combines “a revolutionary and proven educational model and adds practical, real-world business experience,” as explained by Superintendent Mike Nagler.

APPROACH

Building upon the district vision for Synergy, this collaboration tapped into student voice through empathy interviews with educators, students, and administrators and leveraged the design thinking process facilitated by Learner-Centered Collaborative. This yielded processes and structures that supported learners to design their daily schedule, access curriculum, and engage in meaningful learning experiences based on their needs. Grounded in shared values and goals, structures and routines that strengthen relationships between teachers and students, enable candid and critical feedback, and instill a positive sense of belief to help unlock potential and growth. At Synergy, the team is focused on the enabling conditions including clear vision and learning model, aligned policies, use of time and space, and relational trust building practices such as building time for reflection and check-ins into the schedule.

To inform next steps based on needs and desires that emerged from the empathy interviews, Learner-Centered Collaborative conducted Learning Walks to uncover bright spot practices that were already happening in the district. Highlights included built-in daily class time for reflection, “Badge Books” in grades K-2 that make learning visible even among the youngest learners, elementary students tracking and explaining their progress through their learning portfolios, Genius Hour Projects, and community internships complete with presentations of learning by Synergy students.

Student input, coupled with competency-based learning examples at the elementary level, highlighted the potential of competency-based learning at Synergy and beyond to best showcase nonlinear, multimodal demonstrations of progress, competency, and mastery. Seeing such success among the younger grades drives Mineola’s current work to replicate these learner-centered experiences across the district and to show learners that their progress is impacted by their own work and learning.