New England Project Aims to Use 'i3' Aid for Innovative Learning
Approaches For New England group, federal grant offers help
going beyond classroom In Laconia, N.H., high school principal
Steve Beals sees the potential of a schoolwide culture that
celebrates learning beyond a traditional classroom. In the
school year that just ended, nearly 30 percent of rural Laconia
High School’s students participated in student-created, teacher-
guided learning experiences that took place whenever and
wherever students wanted. That could mean, for example,
exploring the role of a pharmacist under the direction of a
pharmacy director four or five hours each week, a project one of
Mr. Beals’ students completed with the help of her biotechnology
teacher. Mr. Beals says those activities, formally known as
Extended Learning Opportunities, have helped produce more
engaged students and fewer dropouts. He now hopes that Laconia
High’s involvement in a regional project funded through the
federal Investing in Innovation, or i3, progr