All he asks is that at least 10 kids sign up. If kids want to use the gym to shoot hoops at night or stay late to work on a project, they just have to ask to gain access. They feel like the school is theirs . They're not just going to some building. That really shows up in kids' attitudes, and in what goes on here in the classrooms.
Nobody's just a face in the crowd.
Students' opinions mean something. The relationship kids have with adults here is phenomenal. Judging by the outcomes of Kennedy's Advanced Biology class, the sky's the limit. The class began several years ago with a focus on water quality problems at Cascade Reservoir, which sits just a few blocks from the school building. Kennedy provides students with a foundation in physical, chemical, and biological sciences, then turns them loose in small teams to pose their own questions and seek solutions.