How We Learn

At Building 21, we ask you, the students, to be designers of your own learning. For this reason, this handbook and all of our learning materials are written for you, not for the school district, the state, or for teachers, but for you the students, your families and the communities that support you.

We believe that all people do best when they are given the freedom to direct their own learning. More importantly, we believe that if you expect to be powerful and capable of making good choices, you must be able to practice. The community must provide opportunities for you to apply your skills over and over again. Be very clear that having the freedom to choose will not make learning easier. In fact, in many cases when you begin to pursue learning about the things that you are most passionate about, you will have to work even harder to be able to do what you want to do.

In short, the Building 21 family will encourage you to challenge yourself and to achieve more than you may think you are capable of. No worries! The entire Building21 team will be responsible for guiding and supporting you toward your best self along the way. Your school leader, teachers and staff look forward to learning from you as well.

Decoupling Learning from School

Learning and School Are NOT the same thing. At Building 21, we think very flexibly about where, how, and when learning takes place. We want you to demonstrate learning in many different ways and through many different kinds of experiences.

Creating a Permeable School Model (Flexible Real World Learning)

You get credit for time spent learning outside of school. Experiences and locations outside of the four walls of the school will now be credit-bearing learning opportunities for you. This flexibility empowers you to explore a variety of different subjects and working environments based on your passions.

Personalization

We want you to learn the way you learn best while building the skills in areas where you need to grow! The location, pace (speed or time it takes), modality (in what format do you learn best? whole group, small group, one-on-one, computer based, independently etc.?) and medium (what is your learning style?) for instruction will be tailored to meet your needs. Our goal is to meet you where you are, challenging and supporting you so that you can learn, grow and develop.

Deep Connections to the Community

We want you to work with both the school and the local community to further your learning. A big part of success in our country is in your ability to make meaningful connections to those around you.

Problem-Based Learning

You will learn about different subjects through problem solving. This approach is designed to help you think deeply about why things are the way they are and to help you exercise choice and voice in your academic experience. You will work alone and in groups to find solutions to real-world problems that matter to you.

Key Elements of the Learning Model

• Competency Based – You will have many opportunities in many different ways to show what you have learned. You will progress towards a high school diploma and/or certifications of your choice by showing off your skills, knowledge, behaviors and mindsets.
• The Learner is the Designer – You help shape your own learning. Our goal is to support you to become the designer of your own learning. Having this skill will prepare you for success in high school, college and in your career.
• Work to your Passions and on things that are Relevant to your interests – Research shows that we all learn better when we are either connected or if we care about what we learn in school. We want you to co-design a learning experience that is best for you.
• Growth Mindset – We learn best when we see our failures as life lessons and opportunities to grow. Everyone in our community is responsible for creating a school community where we all feel safe enough to fail and to share our lessons publicly.
• Studios — Studios are 11 week interdisciplinary courses that are based on different fields of study. In studios, you will apply all the different skills that you learn in science, math, history, art, English, gym etc. to solve real world problems.