Big Picture Learning: A Blueprint for Student Success
Dennis Littky and Elliot Washor were innovative, award-winning educators in New Hampshire when community leaders in Providence, R.I., asked them to start a new school and to do it their way. So, in 1994, Littky and Washor co-founded The Met high school - the first and the flagship school in the Big Picture Learning community. Twenty-eight years later, Big Picture Learning (BPL) is not just one school that works. Today it is a growing network of 60 schools nationally and another 275 affiliates globally. They all work.
There is no secret to their success. They simply have a different vantage point. Instead of starting with curriculum by grades where everyone is taught the same things, Big Picture Learning starts with students and what they are passionate about learning. Then - working with the students and their parents - they develop an individualized education plan for one student at a time: https://www.bigpicture.org/whoweare
To better understand and feel their passion, commitment, and well-founded beliefs, here are Dennis Littky and his colleagues at The Met in their own words:
BPL methods may sound avant-garde and impractical, but nothing could be less true. Their purpose is always to answer the key question: “What’s best for kids?” Their answers come from education research that is both widely-accepted and mainstream. These include the importance of: more parental involvement; more personalized curricula; hands-on experience; learning in real world settings to help make connections and sense of information; nurturing teachers and adult mentors; being in a small school environment; being part of a culture that is bigger than themselves. Note: BPL’s philosophy and approach to learning may provide common ground for the divisive education factions in the U.S.
Wherever there is a Big Picture School, there are multiple testimonial videos from students and all other stakeholders. Google; see for yourself; and enjoy. For now, a BPL school in Nashville shares the experiences and opinions of students, their mentors, and teachers:
Big Picture Learning is guided by its own three Rs: Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships. Their culture is one of acceptance, belonging, and community. Their success rates by every measure are admirable. Clearly something is working because - for 25 years and counting - students learn, grow, thrive, and move forward with confidence, enthusiasm, and excitement for what is next.
BPL is not only an example of some schools that work. They are a role model, a blueprint for all schools that want to work better. A BPL school is not more expensive to run. It requires only that we be open to its many possibilities.
Finally, with his deep knowledge and experience, infectious passion, and an enduring love and respect for kids, Littky gets the last word:
Big Picture Learning is part of the series: Schools That Work. Featured schools may have different areas of focus, but they all have intentional cultures and similar values. In the end, Schools That Work help students to find their own identity as members of their community and to imagine possibilities for themselves as future global citizens. Knowing who you are, where you belong, how to respect and relate to others, and why it all matters is the process of discovery that we are undertaking in this series.