“I spent a lifetime trying to fill the gaps or areas others told me I needed to address. It wasn’t until someone who saw me for my strengths, that I grew wings and took flight.” ~ Anonymous
MVSD Senior, Neela Mitchell has taken flight, making her hopes, dreams and future aspirations a reality through her participation in a community-based internship with the Methow Valley News. Below is a link to an article written by Neela that was recently published in the Methow Valley News:
Learning disabilities do not define us
Similar to an increasing number of students attending LBHS the Independent Learning Center, Neela has been engaged in a community-based internship, fueled by her passions and interests. Like Neela, students who participate in community-based internships receive support from Katharine Bill, MVSD’s Family and Community Engagement Coordinator and LBHS’s Internship Coordinator, Kelleigh McMillan, ILC Mentorship Coordinator, and our many community-based mentors.
Guided by an aspirational vision, the Methow Valley School District is driven by Six Strategic Anchors, one of which includes the personalization of teaching and learning through innovative and flexible forms of learning. As such, LBHS and the ILC offer interested students with a unique opportunity to develop and apply authentic, real-world skills and knowledge through community-based internships.
Grant Lichtman, Senior Fellow with The Martin Institute for Teaching Excellence and author of the book titled, “Moving the Rock,” highlights the important work in front of schools to create student-centric, school and community-based learning laboratories. In a recent article, he stated, “Innovative learning practices that smear the boundary between “school” and “world” are increasingly the hallmark of deeper learning in the 21st century. They create scaffolds around which students learn critical content within the context of personal relevance and interest that generate intrinsic motivation, deeper understanding and longer retention.” He adds, “As I researched for my book, Moving the Rock, I looked for specific programs and practices that are fundamentally changing the outdated school operating system.”
One of the systems he Lichtman identifies is Big Picture Learning – a network of schools that has pioneered student internships with community partners, resulting in authentic, real-world learning, and in many cases, leading to future employment in an area of interest!
Please join us as we acknowledge Neela Mitchell, Katharine Bill, Methow Valley News, and our many other community-based mentors for serving as a Launchpad – helping our students see themselves for their strengths and opening their eyes to what’s possible…