We were on the XQ Leadership Team to Rethink High School, where we developed the educational initiative we called Circulos. Our initiative won 2.5 Million dollars, and we were able to begin this new model for learning within the SAUSD District. This is what we came up with for this new model:

Small Learning Communities

Students learn in non-hierarchical circles where every voice is heard and valued, whether it is a Socratic seminar discussion or a listening session. Circles provide students with a platform to cultivate their voice. In order to facilitate the best learning environment, class sizes are small, with tutors, teachers, and curriculum specialists guiding each student's learning journey.

Flexible Learning Environments

Students are given the tools and opportunities to become independent and critical thinkers through flexible schedules, where they create personal goals and self-select small group, 1:1 mentorship, intervention, or enrichment sessions to enhance their learning journey. Schedules are created with students' personal learning profiles and goals in mind.

Place X: Project-based Learning

Students spend 6 hours a week outside of the classroom on place-based excursions, where they make connections with community partners such as local businesses, design firms, labs, universities, arts institutions, and public health centers to research issues that matter to their lives, their community, and their world. At Crculos, learning experiences are authentic and based on real-world issues; place is viewed as text, and the city is our classroom.

Competency-based Learning

The curriculum is curated and designed to prepare students to grow within our 12 curriculum Competencies. Each competency is developed over a period of time and assessed based on specific criteria and skills. Students and teachers document learning to produce a "defense of learning" that exhibits students' levels within each competency