What should school look like in 2045? Young people have a vision.

What is, and is not, working in today’s schools? What should school look like in 2045? How would you bring that vision to life in your community?

High school students from across New York City recently spent their spring break tackling these questions as part of the first cohort of the Carnegie Future of School Institute hosted by the Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL) at Columbia University. Through this free learning experience, young people worked with peers from different schools, backgrounds, and communities to design their vision for the future of school. 

At a time when the majority of young people feel sidelined by the decision making processes that shape their lives, the Future of School Institutes aim to not only show them that their voice matters, but give them the tools to influence and make change. Fewer than half of high school students feel their voices matter in school. This limited sense of belonging not only means they are less likely to participate in civic life from voting in elections to participating in local civic organizations or volunteering. It can also affect students’ learning and development. 

Through this project, students built deliberative democracy skills by learning to

• effectively and flexibly communicate and connect with people different from themselves;
• critically analyze their experiences;
• identify and evaluate problems, limitations, and ramifications of the current schooling model and debates and trends in public education;
• imagine and grapple with possibilities for the future of schooling that transcend the limits of existing educational frameworks;
• generate and present creative deliverables — Blueprints for 2045 — to communicate their visions with policymakers, leaders, young people, and other stakeholders.  

What did they come up with? Read about Manhattan’s Finest and Greatest School at the bottom of the page. 

This firsthand training in civic engagement gave students a lot to think about and act on when they returned to their schools: They learned about the value of working with and learning from people different from themselves: “The fact that we all got together from different boroughs and schools, it made me realize how privileged I am and also what my school is lacking,” said one 10th grader. “Some schools lack democracy and others have a lot more than my school. Understanding that gives us different expectations for our school.”  They learned about the impact of collaboration: “Working in groups fostered different ideas that I probably wouldn’t have come up with if I worked individually.” And they walked away feeling optimistic: “The people in my group had really smart ideas and they were really thinking, and that made me hopeful for what the future will look like. If the future is what we want it to be like, schools will be new and very engaging for all the students.” 

“Our hope is that through this project we will identify new, innovative and compelling ways of approaching civic education and engagement,” said CPRL Director Meghan Snyder. As the world and the public education landscape are both rapidly changing, Snyder added, “It’s essential to make students central to shaping informal and formal policies around public schooling and democracy. Young people are more affected than anyone by how their schools look and function.”

This inaugural institute was convened in partnership with Minds Matter New York City, a nonprofit organization that connects driven and determined students from low-income families with the people, preparation, and possibilities to succeed in college, create their futures, and change the world. CPRL is planning additional institutes for middle and high school students nationally over the next year. The next institute will be held this summer, for middle schoolers, in partnership with The GIANT Room. This project is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

To learn more or partner with CPRL on this project, please fill out this interest form.