The Constructions class at Malcolm Shabazz City High School is just one of the many examples of the Project-Based Learning (PBL) happening at the small but quirky Madison alternative school. Shabazz has crafted its schedule to emphasize PBL instruction.
To highlight PBL at Shabazz, a daily double period is set aside for learning labs: courses where students engage in multidisciplinary instruction. With the extra time, many classes are afforded the opportunity for extended field experiences and community connections. The Constructions class ties together concepts in math and science while students learn skills in trades via hands-on experiences.
Northside Neighborhood sign
Early in the school year, we were contacted by Virginia Scholtz, aka Grandma Ginny, a freelance writer, advocate for education, and longtime Northsider. She brought us a project that hit all the trademarks of PBL. The Northside Neighborhood sign located at 1010 N. Sherman Ave. was in rough shape — overgrown, faded, rotten in parts, partially broken. If you are a Northside resident, you might have driven by that sign countless times without noticing it.
The Northside Planning Council set aside $100 for sign beautification. Through collaboration, feedback cycles, and advice from professionals, a group of willing students are taking charge to refurbish the sign this semester.
The Bodgery community partners
In the design of the class, a valiant effort to expose high school students to the trades, a problem persisted — Shabazz’s lack of shop classes. That’s where folks at the Bodgery, a makerspace on steroids at the old Oscar Meyer plant, stepped in. Jay Larson, owner of Cedarfish Boat Co. and Youth Education Coordinator at the Bodgery, turned the mere possibility of collaboration into reality, recruiting skilled and compassionate instructors in leatherwork, glass work, welding and woodworking.
Shabazz students feel grateful for the bubbling partnership. “The Bodgery is an enjoyable makerspace where I learn more real skills in one quarter than I have learned in entire other school years. The near limitless availability of equipment and helpful staff makes it incredibly easy to get the support one needs to develop skills and have fun while doing it,” said Charles Westergaard, a sophomore at Shabazz.
A shameless call for support
The collaboration between the Shabazz and the Bodgery for semester two is a bit more ambitious. A legacy class, called Rivers, Rocks and Ropes, is designed for students to explore local watersheds, learn about geology, and gain skills in rock climbing. Adding to the list, ignited by Larson’s spark for big things, we’ve decided it would be pretty darn neat to help students craft a 12-foot wooden rowboat known as the Bevin Skiff.
As of this writing, we’ve secured a few donations from community sponsors, including Findorff and the Bodgery, but are still shy of the $7,500 needed for supplies and instructors. If you want to support PBL at Shabazz, please consider making a donation to our PBL funds.
For your convenience below is the QR code to make a donation to the Friends of Shabazz, a parent-led initiative to raise funds for all things that make Shabazz Shabazz.
