The Learning Model That Turned a Dropout Into the Class Speaker with Jenny Curtin

Jenny Curtin partners with schools and districts across New England on behalf of the Barr Foundation, where she helps build and scale Transformative Learning Experiences — rigorous, project-based units developed with partner Springpoint that pull students out of the classroom and into courtrooms, communities, and real business ventures. Her work runs on a philanthropic value most funders don't practice: taking the long view, and staying with schools through the slow, unglamorous work of actual change. A student named Buddha dropped out of high school after years of disconnected, irrelevant coursework — and became his graduation class speaker after enrolling somewhere that taught differently. Jenny Curtin of the Barr Foundation joins the show to explain the model behind that turnaround, and why most school transformation efforts stall before they ever reach a kid like him. 🫶 What You'll Learn Why "taking the long view" beats chasing the next quick fix in school reform How to design school changes around your most marginalized students first What a Transformative Learning Experience unit actually looks like in practice Why community with other school leaders is what sustains...