New Trier to open up more community opportunities for students

New Trier High School plans to implement more hands-on, real-world learning experiences over the next few years following a recommendation from a schoolwide committee.

The recommendation was made at a School Board meeting Monday, May 19, during a presentation by the district’s future programming coordinators.

Dr. Peter Tragos, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said a steering committee has been studying future programming for about a year and a half and is proposing “ambitious recommendations” that align with the school’s core values and traditions.

The recommendations were made, in part, following surveys and focus groups of students, staff and parents in the spring of 2024. The results of that research, according to the board packet, showed an interest in more career-based and non-traditional learning opportunities.

This led to the recommendation that New Trier incorporate what the committee is calling NexT Academies and a FlexLearn Program.

NexT Academies are described in a memo by Tragos as “schools within a school.”

Brian Lowery, a New Trier special education teacher and one of the future programming coordinators, said the academies would be focused on interdisciplinary courses and connections with the community.

“They’re modeled after a few different schools that we saw that align this with community partnerships, where students are learning this content and curriculum in real-world settings,” he said.

The FlexLearn Program was described by Kate Kalnes, kinetic wellness teacher and the other future programming coordinator, as being “focused on a personalized learning plan” and “a lot on problem-based learning, connections to community.”

The School Board heard short audio clips from students who are involved in real-world experiences that sometimes cause challenges with academics.

“We have a lot of students doing amazing things, and sometimes it just creates a problem with being able to take full advantage of what we have at New Trier,” Kalnes said.

FlexLearn would provide students with alternate options to foster their education.

Kalnes compared it to an extension of senior project, where seniors have the option of spending their final quarter participating in a real-world experience.

“What we’re finding in a lot of students, they want to dive deeper,” she said. “They want to do more, but the setup that we currently have doesn’t allow for that. Could we extend (senior project) to be a semester class where they’re really diving deeper into their passion or their purpose … so that the four-week time when they’re off-campus can be a little bit more meaningful?”

In addition to NexT Academies and FlexLearn, which would reportedly both be optional and not required, Lowery and Kalnes also recommended looking at changing other aspects of the district that would impact all students.

The possibilities include: moving advisery, which meets when students first arrive at school, to a point later in the day; creating a “Trevian Credit,” which would give students credit for outside-the-classroom experiences; reassessing the schedule within the recently adopted block schedule; and reimagining the Program of Studies, which lists all courses New Trier offers.

Board Member Kimberly Alcantara asked about the differences between the NexT Academies and IGSS, or the Integrated Global Studies School, an interdisciplinary school-within-a-school program that allows juniors and seniors to “help direct the path of their own education.”

Tragos explained that IGSS would be classified as a NexT Academy, and that New Trier may offer additional programs that are similar.

“There’s more opportunities to have multi-disciplinary programs, and it’s ripe for a community partnership,” he said.

Board Vice President Sally Tomlinson, who had previously served on the future programming committee, praised the recommendations.

“This is very exciting to see,” she said. “Thank you for taking the ball and running way down the field with it.”

Lowery said the recommendations will not take effect immediately and will be implemented over the next several years, with Tragos adding the earliest the NexT Academies and FlexLearn Program would be launched being August 2027.

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