Spokane’s On Track Academy a semifinalist in $10 million “Super School” challenge

Spokane’s On Track Academy is a semifinalist in a competition to rethink high school – a challenge that comes with a $10 million prize.

Called XQ: The Super School Project, the competition is funded by $50 million from Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs. It’s her highest-profile philanthropic effort yet, the New York Times said when Powell Jobs launched the project last fall.

On Track Academy was among 700 initial applicants and has made it through two rounds of cuts, said school Principal Lisa Mattson. Now 50 schools have been invited to submit development plans, due May 23. Five finalists will be named in July, with funding to begin in August.

On Track Academy was launched by Spokane Public Schools to help students who were missing credits catch up and graduate on time. The school has expanded its scope, however, to help students who for a variety of reasons don’t fit in at a traditional high school. Mattson said many On Track students are successful because of the level of personalized, tailored education available through the program. Many graduate with college credit or certifications that allow them to go directly into the workforce, she said, and all students map their post-high-school futures as part of the program.

Being named a winner in the Super School Project would allow On Track to build on those successes.

“We’re looking at ramping up and actually doing a school without walls – having our students be very involved in their community, solving problems alongside experts in the community,” she said.

That might mean a student interested in a career in hospitality would work alongside mentors at the Spokane Convention Center, for example.

“In a classroom with a kitchen, they would never have that experience,” Mattson said.

Or a student interested in a career in environmental science might work with the Spokane Riverkeeper, “being at sites in the community where they could explore and understand the impact of environmental education.”

On Track would use a layered approach in moving students from traditional schoolwork to the full community-based “applied learning” model, Mattson said. A freshman would have a great deal more oversight and supervision than a junior or senior, she said. And there would be ongoing assessments to make sure students are learning the foundational skills expected of high school students, she said.

“We’ve done mini versions of this, so we know it’s doable,” Mattson said. On Track Academy has identified some potential partners and is meeting with others.

Winning the $10 million from XQ: The Super School Project “would allow us to take this to scale,” she said.

Democratic state Reps. Marcus Riccelli and Timm Ormsby and Sen. Andy Billig, all from Spokane, wrote a letter of support for the application. Schools like On Track provide important educational options, Riccelli said.

“We can’t fit everybody in the same model of learning,” he said. “I’ve seen these students thrive.”

The XQ project was devised as a new way to think about high school. Powell Jobs told the New York Times, “The system was created for the workforce we needed 100 years ago … Things are not working the way we want it to be working. We’ve seen a lot of incremental changes over the last several years, but we’re saying, ‘Start from scratch.’ ”