Program Description

What are the goals and objectives of The Passion Project?

The goal of The Passion Project is to help our students connect to their best ideas. In doing so, we fulfill the following objectives:

Utilizing the community in the education of our children
Empowering our children to explore their passions in creative ways
Emphasizing the connection between passion and learning

Part of middle/high school is about kids taking ownership of their lives and figuring out that they are responsible for their choices in life, the Passion Project gives them a vehicle to start thinking about what they want to do with their lives and encourages them to open their mind to all of the opportunities life has to offer. We want our kids to start thinking about how they will contribute to society now, not just after they graduate.

Is The Passion Project sustainable? How does The Passion Project collaborate with others to support, grow and sustain its efforts?

The Passion Project requires little in the way of 'hardware' to be successful. What it does require is a commitment from the community surrounding the Project. It requires human buy-in and an understanding that learning best occurs in community. It requires the mentoring of community members who are actively living out their passion and a commitment from a school group that want to make school different. As long as a community believes that learning is more effective when one is pursuing ideas and experiences and knowledge that they are passionate about and that provides them with purpose, The Passion Project is sustainable.

Collaboration with others is the key to the success of The Passion Project. Ideas can easily be shared from classroom to classroom regardless of geographical location. When like-minded teachers join together to share their ideas, ideas that are not only new and better but also different are brought to light.

Collaboration within the local community is also vital to the success of The Passion Project. We were so fortunate to find people who were so eager to help us by sharing their passions with our students. Not one person we approached turned us down. This spoke volumes to our students who then went on to make their own connections within our local community and beyond - contacting authors, sportspeople, coaches, musicians, artists....all in the name of gathering more information and to greater utilize their own passions.

We see The Passion Project growing. We have further plans to collaborate with other schools, internationally and locally. We would like to expand our Passion Tour to include more passionate members of our community. We would like to invite more people to our school to share their passions with us. Most importantly, we at Riverstone, hope to see the ideals and objectives of The Passion Project permeate through our other classes. We want to instill a sense of purpose, of community, leadership, understanding and passion in all facets of our curriculum.

Can The Passion Project be replicated in schools and communities outside of Riverstone?

The Passion Project can be replicated in schools and communities outside of Riverstone. As organizers of The Passion Project, you would need to answer YES to the following questions in order to undertake The Passion Project:

We believe in making school different.
We know that The Passion Project will change the way we "do" education.
We know that change is rocky, messy, painful and sometimes a little crazy - and that's ok.
We have people with passion in our community.
We believe that our kids can move mountains.

This website thoroughly documents the process, provides resources, and offers a springboard of inspiration for those wishing to pursue The Passion Project. Our goals is for the whole school year to be multiple Passion Projects, directed by students, supported by faculty, parents and the community.

How does The Passion Project revolutionize the way we think and view learning?

When you start The Passion Project, you are buying into the idea that school can be different. The Passion Project challenges students to think for themselves, to create their own parameters for learning, to reflect on the areas of strength and areas in need of improvement, to devise a plan for their own learning, to learn in and outside of the classroom, to interact with their community and to look for ways to impact their community through their passions.

The Passion Project provides a context for learning that is significant, relevant and engaging. It empowers students as individuals and unites students in flexible learning communities. Learning occurs through The Passion Project. Students are challenged to write, read, think, inquire, explore, decipher, comprehend, analyze, evaluate and respond within the context of their passion. They are empowered to act and to connect with their community. They are encouraged to view 'school' as something that does not happen in isolation to 'life' but exists in harmony - with teachers and mentors to guide and support.