{"id":2992,"date":"2014-04-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-01T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/cw_post\/igniting-learning-at-the-making-community-connections-charter-school-2\/"},"modified":"2020-02-05T12:52:01","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T17:52:01","slug":"igniting-learning-at-the-making-community-connections-charter-school-2","status":"publish","type":"cw_post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/cw_post\/igniting-learning-at-the-making-community-connections-charter-school-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Igniting Learning at the Making Community Connections Charter School"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the first of a two-part series about Making Community Connections Charter School. Click here for P<\/a><\/i>art 2<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cAs a learner, I grew in the way a fire would if you sprayed gasoline on it.\u201d \u2013 From a student\u2019s graduation portfolio\"mc2\"<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

That\u2019s what Making Community Connections Charter School<\/a> (MC2<\/sup>) is all about \u2013creating dynamic learners. At MC2<\/sup>, serving grades 7-12 in Manchester, New Hampshire, it feels like they wiped the slate clean of all the traditional ideas of what makes a school and started to design the school from scratch.\u00a0 It\u2019s deeply student-centered in its design and operations.\u00a0 Its theory of change is built upon a deep understanding and appreciation of adolescent development, motivation, and learning sciences. MC2<\/sup> is a model that will work for any student. At its center, it is designed around the kids who are educationally challenged (about 35% of MC2<\/sup> students are classified as having special education needs), have already had a tough time in life by age 14, who have felt betrayed by the adults in their lives, and are drawing from their own reservoirs of stubborn hope that things can get better.<\/p>\n

This case study on MC2<\/sup> is broken into two parts. The first is on the design principles and the theory of action driving the school. The second is on how students progress and the implications for teachers.<\/b><\/p>\n

Design Principles<\/b><\/p>\n

Every conversation with Kim Carter, founder of MC2<\/sup> and director of its non-profit partner organization QED Foundation, has sparkled with powerful insights.\u00a0 She has been incredibly generous in sharing what seems to be her never-ending body of knowledge and insights.\u00a0 Even with my awareness of the depth of her expertise, I was still surprised by the design of MC2<\/sup>.\u00a0 It reminded me that it is not just about what we know, but how we creatively put it all together into learning experiences that are meaningful for students. Or in competency ed speak \u2013 it\u2019s not just what you know, but how you apply it.<\/p>\n

The design principles start with what students need in order to learn, firmly based on the 2001 National Research Council\u2019s How People Learn<\/a> report. The four principles are:<\/p>\n