Student stories from the Santa Monica High School project-based learning (PBL) pathway were recently featured in the new book Learning to Leave: How Real-World Training Transforms Education by authors Elliot Washor and Scott Boldt.
Washor has been a mentor to many in the district, particularly at SMASH, and recently brought his book tour to the Michelle and Barack Obama Center for Inquiry and Exploration.
Speaking to adult education students, Washor laid out his book under the themes of "new ways" to practice learning and equity, "new forms" to increase real-world learning capabilities, and "new measures" to grade students on that does away with what he calls "over-reliance on outdated standardized testing."
The PBL pathway is now in its 5th year under the direction of Jessica Rishe, who also oversees Santa Monica Alternative School House (SMASH). The program started as a way to give students 20% of their week to explore their curiosity and interest with partnership and mentorship programs in the greater Santa Monica and West Los Angeles communities. Students are able to take individual interest in a project, starting with informational interviews and shadow days in a wide range of occupations, followed by mentorships and internships on what students may want to continue studying after graduation.
"[Students] can be activated citizens right now in our adult world, and not [from] having school practice for the real world, but letting them be out in the community to make an impact right now outside the school walls," Rishe said.
Credit: Thomas Leffler
In 9th grade, students can take on a service learning project as part of a freshman seminar, followed by taking the Learning Through Interest course in 10th and 11th grade. Thursdays at Samohi are allocated to allow these students to work in programs ranging from industrial design and engineering to photography and cinematography.
Several excerpts from the book are written by Samohi students within the PBL pathway, including 2023 graduate Micah Rishe, who was able to learn about the business side of the entertainment industry through a high school internship at Lionsgate Entertainment.
"I [spent] one day a week at Lionsgate doing script coverage, reviewing scripts and passing my feedback up the line, doing research, budgeting and inputting information into [spreadsheets], and sometimes sitting in on meetings," Rishe wrote. "It’s incredibly cool to be there and very informative. I’m welcomed in the office and trusted with important tasks. I feel as though I understand the business side of the film and TV industry now."
The elder Rishe says that holding events like the book tour spark interest in the PBL pathway program, and act as a "piece of recruitment activity" for families.
"I hope that lots of people read this and feel inspired to make changes in the way they’re supporting learning," she said.
