Select US high schools share $100m to rewrite teaching methods
The XQ Institute, which is backed by Laurene Powell Jobs, has awarded $100m to 10 schools across the US that are experimenting with non-traditional teaching and learning techniques as part of its “Super School Project.” The New York Times reports the Somerville Steam Academy in Massachusetts operates without standard class periods or grade levels, Rise High School in Los Angeles is organised around the needs of students who are homeless or in foster care, and Brooklyn Laboratory Charter High School will have a nearly nine-hour-long school day.  The 10 schools have all confirmed a commitment to personalised learning and using technology to create modern learning environments for students. 

An organization announced on Wednesday that it had chosen the winners of $10 million grants in a competition to rethink the American high school.

The organization — the XQ Institute, which is backed by Laurene Powell Jobs — is funding 10 schools, for a total of $100 million.

One of the winners, the Somerville Steam Academy in Somerville, Mass., will operate without standard class periods and without separating students by age.

Rise High in Los Angeles will be designed for students who are homeless or in foster care. It will share locations around the city with service providers, like medical or mental health centers, and will have a mobile classroom to teach or tutor students wherever they are.