QUINCY — A program that focuses on using a student’s interests to help them connect with school is having some success at Quincy Innovation Academy. How the “Big Picture Learning” program will work next year is still to be determined, since funding for some parts of the program comes from a state grant that’s expiring.
Innovation Academy Principal Colleen Frerks told Quincy School Board members at the Jan. 9 meeting that 2023-24 is the first year for Big Picture Learning. It enrolls both middle school and high school students.
Students must meet state standards, but they also must demonstrate they’ve learned skills defined in six different areas that will help them in careers that interest them. As a result, their school day is different.
“Students have a little bit of time that is sort of traditional academics where they’re getting instruction in math and reading,” Frerks said. “But a big part of their day is an individualized learning program that they helped create with their advisor, where they make plans for how to learn and do activities and projects that will move them forward in all of those areas of competency.”