XQ Learner Fest

2022

An XQer is a learner who embodies the XQ Learner Outcomes. These outcomes aim to develop students who are deeply engaged in their own learning and prepared for all that the future has to offer. As three of our XQ schools graduated their first class—Grand Rapids Public Museum School, Crosstown High, and Latitude High School—we hosted special events to celebrate XQ Learners.

XQ Learner Fests are activations designed to affirm students’ sense of themselves as core members of a bigger community of folks committed to doing high school differently. Before we touched down, students revisited the XQ Learner Outcomes and Design Principles—especially Youth Voice and Choice—through student advisory sessions at their schools. 

Students participated in every aspect of the XQ Learner Fests, with 22 student ambassadors helping their peers and school leaders navigate through the events. JR’s Inside Out photo truck was there at each school to create student portraits, as well as a TikTok booth, a Speaking Studio station where students reflected on their time as high schoolers, a Design Your Own T-shirt Stand, and a writing wall so that students can share with one another how XQ learning looks.