COMMUNITYSHARE

In West Clermont, we are interested in modernizing the school experience and reimagining what the future of education in West Clermont can be as we bring our Portrait of a Graduate to life. In essence, we believe that through modernizing the student experience and intentionally creating deeper learning experiences, we can help students grow to their greatest potential, so they can create the lives they desire as adults. We are passionate about ensuring our learning environments extend beyond the walls of the classroom. We believe in “anytime, anywhere” learning. We want students to have access to community members, businesses, and field experts to make learning come alive. We believe that connecting with our community and coming alongside community members to solve real problems gives students a purpose for learning. It makes learning relevant, authentic, and meaningful.

Our work in this area has teachers and community members learning from and alongside each other about how we can build classrooms that engage students and community members in solving real challenges. We are deepening this learning experience as teachers across our elementary and secondary schools learn how to foster true partnerships with community members through the implementation of a small classroom, community-based learning project.

Additionally, we are leveraging an online platform, CommunityShare, which serves as a human library making our connections to each other visible. This means that community members, industry professionals, parents, and West Clermont educators can easily find each other for shared areas of interest and passion to pursue projects that will enhance our community and deepen student learning. This starts quite simply with people being interested in being connected and creating profiles. Educators can create requests for partnerships. Maybe they want to invite an expert to speak to their class. Maybe they want experts to give students authentic feedback on their work. Perhaps they want to partner with a community member to solve a challenge together. Perhaps there are student workers who could participate in internships and externships at local businesses. Maybe students would enjoy volunteering at a local animal shelter.

When we are community-connected with learning, not only does this give students opportunities to learn more about what excites them and what fields they may one day desire to enter, but it also means that more hearts and minds are working together to improve our community and places of work. Our students don’t have to wait until they are adults to make a difference. They can make a difference now. This is inspiring for all of us.

To learn more about how you can partner with classrooms, visit our CommunityShare site.