Fostering Agency as Learning Itself

Fostering Agency as Foundational To Learning
Submitted by Jackie Kruger, Secondary Principal; Vernita Vallez, Primary Principal; and Katy Meyer, Director of Learning

At the American Nicaraguan School, we define learning as the agency to honor your curiosity and engage in the rigor of authentic and complex problems, working together to find solutions in an inclusive and collaborative community.  We believe that when we have agency and rigor, our learning transcends time and space, taking us out into a future we create together.

This school year we launched two programs  that speak to our commitment to student agency, and the deepened personalized learning that rigor alongside collaboration provides. Big Questions Day in Primary School provides opportunities for K-5th students to choose amongst studios that span the 26-acre campus to self-navigate their own original inquiry, outside of the traditional four walls of a classroom.  Secondary students get to see our younger Tigers asking questions, observing and collaborating with every visit. 

Flex Day in Secondary provides a platform for student voice and choice in a wide range of workshops that encompass our rigorous academic program and individualized support with learning labs devoted to math, writing, executive functioning, specialized services and support -- all driven by individual students’ needs and a place to have them met with both faculty and student mentor support. Post pandemic, students’ socio-emotional needs are met by offering wellness related sessions such as sound therapy, eco workshops, yoga, Zumba and a meticulously curated, standards-based Wellness Curriculum delivered by our counseling staff.

As a whole, inclusive and collaborative community, all Tigers lead their learning and construct our future together!