The halls at North Star Academy are quiet. Many of the students are doing their work online remotely, and the students who attend in person are intently focused in their classrooms.

 

Many of these students have overcome major obstacles in their life and have little time to waste. One student works full-time at a burger joint to help support his family. Another had to take a break from school for medical reasons. To get back on track, they have come to North Star where they are able to recover their credits through a flexible online schedule.

 

The in-person students are busy working as well. This year’s project? A school garden. Everything—from tending to the seedling nursery, to tilling the soil, to building butterfly houses—is done by the students working as a team. “This planter will have jalapeños—that one, peas—that over there, watermelon,” presented one proud student.

 

Instructors and mentors show how different subjects, which may have seemed boring to students before, come to life while tending to the garden. Seeing plants respond to different levels of sunlight? Science. Finding the correct angle of the roof of a butterfly house? Geometry. Planning the project and dividing up the labor? Management. Project-based learning gives students endless possibilities.

 

High school does not look the same for everyone, and no one knows this better than the students and team at North Star Academy. Yet through this innovative, personalized approach to education, these students now have many doors open to them.

 

Click here to learn more about North Star Academy, and click through the slideshow to see more pictures.