ONE STONE IS TRANSFORMING THE LEARNER EXPERIENCE.

one stone's Board of directors is always more than 2/3 students

THE ONE STONE Team is PASSIONATE, CARING, CREATIVE, AND FUN

THE HISTORY OF ONE STONE

Founded in 2008 by Joel and Teresa Poppen, based on the simple belief that students could make a real difference if empowered to follow their passions, One Stone has served thousands of students from more than 20 different high schools across the Treasure Valley. Among these is One Stone’s lab school, a small, private high school in the heart of downtown Boise, Idaho that is unlike anything else in the nation.

But One Stone didn’t set out to be a school. One Stone set out to start a revolution. As active participants in the governance and direction of the organization, with a board of directors comprised of two-thirds students, one-third adults, students are in the driver’s seat.

Our innovative initiatives grew out of the desire to help students use their voice to change the world. At the starting line for One Stone is Project Good, an experiential service program that mobilizes the power of passionate students to bring real-world solutions to complex issues. Next came Two Birds, our student-powered creative services studio. Then we doubled down on entrepreneurship through the launch of Hatch, a business incubator for high school students. In each of these platforms we teach and use design thinking—ensuring we are relevant, innovative, and focused on our end user.

When One Stone’s end user, high school students, began asking for a One Stone to create a high school (because we learn so much at One Stone!) we listened. We incubated. We researched. We tore through sticky notes. And what we discovered was this: our unique student-driven culture, rooted in empathy and powered by design thinking, was the special sauce that would allow us to reimagine learning. In 2016, One Stone’s Lab School was born, and a revolution was launched.

We are in the habit of disruption. We are unafraid. We believe. And together with One Stone Ventures, our research and design hub, we transforming the learning landscape and forging an army of good, for good.

ONE STONE’S DESIGN PROCESS

Explore our collection of design thinking resources, skills, and activities created by One Stone,
IDEO, Stanford d.school, and other leading design organizations.

Design Thinking Case Studies