Headwaters
Why did we create Headwaters?
Students doing projects and working on topics that interest them may seem like a natural, intuitive process, but it isn’t. When NWPHS teachers explain our philosophy to educators, parents or the public, we hear, “That’s so cool!” or “I wish I’d gone there.” We agree that what we are doing is cool and wish we’d had this type of high school experience ourselves. But we realized that most students aren’t prepared for this type of learning on the first day at Northwest Passage and so, we designed Headwaters for new 9th and 10th grade students at Northwest Passage High School.
Specifics about Headwaters and what students learn?
We designed the program to help students transition from middle school into high school and to learn how to think and learn in a project-based learning model. It is built on the idea of scaffolded learning situations, exemplary project process modeling, and student risk-taking all of which teach life skills needed in the real world.
