No Boundaries allows students to learn real-world skills through business partnerships.
The No Boundaries organization is a collaborative project involving three school districts with students from each. All of the students work on real-world projects with businesses and organizations. Currently, students are working on many diverse projects. Examples of the projects include the planning, organizing, and executing of a TedX Youth event, website redesign and development, scientific research, and economic research, and many other projects that vary in academic subject.
Learning without walls is what we're all about.
Students meet with their partners on a regular basis to show their work. Because of this, when they do meet the students must come up with an agenda, a meeting place, and set a time frame.
Students work on projects outside of the traditional school environment, such as in collaborative working spaces, in the actual business environment, and other innovative areas.
If your business or organization is interested in participating in these innovative learning opportunities, please reach out to any of the following facilitators: Erin Frerichs of the Okoboji district, Ayn Thoreson of the Spencer district, and Marc Benedict of the GT-RA district. There is also a Middle School program for the Okoboji district; their facilitators are Carry Miller and Becky Rients. For their contact information see our Contact Us page.
Students can earn high school credits through No Boundaries! They earn credits by working on the projects they choose. During the process, the facilitators are monitoring the students' work and what standards can be aligned to that work. For example, when a student creates an agenda and sends it to the project partner and the rest of the team, a facilitator can assess a communication standard to that work. If the student's projects do not fulfill their credit requirements, the students attend a "seminar" which is more of a traditional class. Students can earn credits in the following areas: various English credits, STEM Innovator, Entrepreneurship, Scientific Research and Design, Computer Science Discoveries, Communications, and finally the Universal Constructs.
No Boundaries Middle School students can earn High School Communications Credit through their project work!
