High School Life Archives | Rethink Together

High School Life

How the Pandemic Changed Us: High Schoolers Share Their Perspectives

We’ve heard so much about how the pandemic disrupted learning and how isolating it was for students. We’re proud to sponsor this latest episode of the podcast This Teenage Life (TTL).

Beth Fertig

Student Agency, Identity & Experiences

High School Life

5 Summer Professional Development Resources

Happy summer, teachers! As you know, the summer offers valuable time to reset and recharge. Every day we hear from teachers who are looking for tools to rethink high school…

Anna Sudderth Contributing Writer

High School Life

Listen to Teens Discuss What Mattered Most to Them in High School Classes

Find the full episode at https://thisteenagelife.org/#realLearning Far too often, young people in U.S. high schools are expected to learn the same thing at the same time in their classes.

Beth Fertig

Student Agency, Identity & Experiences

High School Life

What is Financial Literacy? (And Why Does it Matters for Your Students?)

Learn how to get your finances in order with these well-explained financial basics.

Andrew Bauld

Teaching & Learning

High School Life

Growth Mindset in the Classroom: A Teacher’s Guide

If you look at what happens inside classrooms at Iowa BIG, an XQ school in Cedar Rapids, you’ll see students discussing everything that went wrong that day. They aren’t…

Andrew Bauld

School-wide Approaches

High School Life

How Youth Climate Activist Jerome Foster II Became the Voice for One Million Young People

XQ schools empower students not only to dream of the future, but gives them the tools to make those dreams a reality. Learn more about how Jerome Foster II became the voice for one million young people.

Hana Beach Editorial Associate, XQ Institute

Teen Activism

High School Life

Listen to How Teachers Can Help Students Feel Seen on “This Teenage Life”

XQ is proud to sponsor This Teenage Life (TTL), a podcast made by and for teens. TTL features diverse teen voices and helps them share their stories about issues…

Beth Fertig

Student Agency, Identity & Experiences

High School Life

This High School Uses Community Partnerships to Bring History to Life

Attyn, a 10th grader, always thought it was “normal” that his neighborhood in Grand Rapids, Mich., wasn’t quite as safe and well-kept as other parts of town. He took it…

Hana Beach Editorial Associate, XQ Institute

School-wide Approaches

High School Life

3 Tips for Teachers to Foster Student Internships in High School

Did you know that you can get a paid internship in high school? These two students engaged in real-world projects with industry partners. Learn how.

Anna Sudderth Contributing Writer

High School Life

The Writing, and Mission, is on the Wall at this Innovative High School

Walk the halls of Elizabethton High School, an XQ school in rural Tennessee, and you’re bound to be drawn to one of the many curious images on display through…

Andrew Bauld

School-wide Approaches

High School Life

Equity in the High School Classroom: A Teacher's Guide

Students come to class from many different backgrounds and experiences, and it’s the teacher’s role to determine how to create equitable classroom practices so that all learners can progress toward…

Anna Sudderth Contributing Writer

Anti-racism Education

High School Life

How an Innovative High School Internship Led to a Job in Virtual Reality

Skyler Hilton grew up in a low-income family in Elizabethton, Tenn. His family was like many families in rural America. They often struggled with unemployment and instability. However, Skyler had…

Hana Beach Editorial Associate, XQ Institute

School-wide Approaches

High School Life

5 Ways to Center Student Leadership

During the pandemic, high school students stepped up. They navigated remote learning, cared for each other during tough times, and took action to dream and shape a…

Hana Beach Editorial Associate, XQ Institute

High School Life

5 Supports for Teacher Mental Health

Teachers, this week we’re putting you at the center and focusing on educator mental health. Over the past year and a half, you have gone above and beyond to…

Hana Beach Editorial Associate, XQ Institute

High School Life

What Happened to Reading for Fun? And What Can We Do About It?

You know you’ve got a problem when you’re afraid to check your screen time. Over the past year and a half, I’ve started dreading my weekly average report every Sunday, as the hours I spent on my phone each day steadily climbed with every month in lockdown.

Kristiana Filipov

Student Agency, Identity & Experiences

High School Life

Redefining Failure to Embrace Student Learning

This XQ school takes a bold approach and delivers a curriculum and school experience that’ll help students embrace failure as a part of real-world problem solving.

Katie Navarra Writer

High School Life

5 Resources for Back to School Preparation

Starting the Year With Students at the Center.

Hana Beach Editorial Associate, XQ Institute

High School Life

The Community is the Classroom – Now What?

This school makes the community the classroom, but that is more than just a sentiment. Learn just how this XQ school involves the entire community in rethinking high school.

Hana Beach Editorial Associate, XQ Institute

High School Life

Project-Based Learning is Rooted in Community at this Santa Ana High School

Curriculum and community go hand in hand at Círculos—an XQ school in Santa Ana, California.

Andrew Bauld

High School Life

Break Down Classroom Walls to Build Up Student Competencies

Learning can take place at any time and in any location. Check out how this XQ school made out-of-classroom learning experiences meaningful.

Mary Ryerse Managing Director for School Success, XQ Institute

High School Life

The First Graduates of this Brooklyn High School Prove that Perseverance Pays Off

Brooklyn Laboratory High School opened with family and parent insight at the core. This year they graduate a truly exceptional class of changemakers.

Hana Beach Editorial Associate, XQ Institute

High School Life

#XQMISTYCHALLENGE: Featuring the student winners of the XQ Dance Challenge ft. Misty Copeland

High School Life

#ARTIVISM: These Students Won the XQ Art + Activism Challenge ft. BMike

High School Life

#Artivism: The Power of Art in Raising Student Activists

Creativity and imagination are central to lifelong learning. Learn more about how cultivating imagination can empower students to create a better future.

How the Pandemic Changed Us: High Schoolers Share Their Perspectives

5 Summer Professional Development Resources

Listen to Teens Discuss What Mattered Most to Them in High School Classes

What is Financial Literacy? (And Why Does it Matters for Your Students?)

Growth Mindset in the Classroom: A Teacher’s Guide

How Youth Climate Activist Jerome Foster II Became the Voice for One Million Young People

Listen to How Teachers Can Help Students Feel Seen on “This Teenage Life”

This High School Uses Community Partnerships to Bring History to Life

3 Tips for Teachers to Foster Student Internships in High School

The Writing, and Mission, is on the Wall at this Innovative High School

Equity in the High School Classroom: A Teacher's Guide

How an Innovative High School Internship Led to a Job in Virtual Reality

5 Ways to Center Student Leadership

5 Supports for Teacher Mental Health

What Happened to Reading for Fun? And What Can We Do About It?

Redefining Failure to Embrace Student Learning

5 Resources for Back to School Preparation

The Community is the Classroom – Now What?

Project-Based Learning is Rooted in Community at this Santa Ana High School

Break Down Classroom Walls to Build Up Student Competencies

The First Graduates of this Brooklyn High School Prove that Perseverance Pays Off

#XQMISTYCHALLENGE: Featuring the student winners of the XQ Dance Challenge ft. Misty Copeland

#ARTIVISM: These Students Won the XQ Art + Activism Challenge ft. BMike

#Artivism: The Power of Art in Raising Student Activists

These Students Won the XQ #MakeASongChallenge

Submissions from XQ’s #MakeASongChallenge Reveal What Matters Most to Students Today

Upbeat Academy: Music Education that Transforms Lives

5 Resources for Amplifying Student Voices and Experiences

COVID-19, Teen Stress, and How Educators Can Support Stress Management Today

Lucid Dreaming: Planning for a Better Future in a School Crisis

10 Social Emotional Learning Tips for Educators in Distance Learning

Teen Activists on Elections, Civic Life, and Grassroots Organizing

Equitable Teaching Strategies: Asset Framing in Practice

These High School Students are Learning Through Filmmaking

Renée Fleming

Michelle Morales

Student Performs Powerful Spoken Word Poem About Graduation and Life

How to Find Your Identity: Workshop and Framework with Ashanti Branch

This Student Went Through the Foster System. Now She’s Graduating.| XQ Students

World Teacher Day: Students Surprise Teachers With Messages

This Student Started a Project to Bring Her Community Together | XQ Students

Mini Shark Tank: Middle School Female Entrepreneurs Pitch Business Ideas

Supporting Students Share Words of Motivation for Teachers During COVID-19 Pandemic

This Student is Learning Computer Science in High School | XQ Students

Explore Your Identity with Ashanti Branch (Lesson 2: Who Are You Listening To?)

Explore Your Identity with Ashanti Branch (Lesson 1: Who Are You?)

A Teacher’s Journey Toward Culturally-Relevant Teaching Practices

What Is a Restorative Justice Listening Circle and How to Use It

Meet the Student Activists Leading the Country’s Protests for #BlackLivesMatter

Taking Up Space as a Black Woman Is a Revolutionary Act

How to Host a Virtual High School Graduation Ceremony

5 Resources to Empower Youth Voice and Choice

These “Tutor Teens” Launched a Business to Help Younger Students and Families Learn Remotely

Student Voice: We Have an Opportunity to Re-imagine Our Future

Celebrate Your Everyday Heroes on Teacher Appreciation Day

5 Ways for Students to Share Their Voice

Student Poetry to Promote Youth Voice and Choice

Hope Thrives From This High School’s Community Garden

Social Emotional Learning & Why It Matters in the Wake of COVID-19

Looking for a Reading List During Quarantine? Join the Conversation

Student Shares All: How to Support Students With Disabilities

Student Voice: Racism against Asian Americans in the Wake of COVID-19

Life After School Closures: High School Students Speak Out

How Coronavirus is Impacting Me as a High School Senior

Helping Your Teen Get the Most out of High School

Students Share What It’s Like to Learn in an Innovative High School

How a class of young writers explored climate change through storytelling

It’s Been One Year Since I Led a Student Gun Protest. Are Things Better Now?

Books Inspiring Educators on National Author’s Day

13 Teacher Tips For Building Student Voice and Agency

4 Students Describe Struggles Many Latinx Students Face

8 Young Activists You Need to Hear From Today

My Story as a Latinx High School Student

7 years later, I help others learn to love themselves

What is Latinx? Tracing Its History and Defining Its Meaning

Everyday Hero: What you’re going through now does not define you

Making an impact: From homeless high school valedictorian to Georgetown University grad

Four Books Your Students Will Love

Hard Work, Meet the DIY Girls: The story of an all-girl engineering team

Celebrating women’s equality from the computer lab