Students to reimagine learning in Idaho at 24-Hour Think Challenge 150 Southwest Idaho high school juniors converge in Boise to fix system.
BOISE, Idaho – Sept. 23, 2015 —Attempts to fix Idaho’s education system have included input from state leaders, advisory boards, education experts and stakeholders across the state, but still four of five Idaho high school juniors aren’t prepared for learning after high school and the Gem State lays claim to the worst college-going rate in the country.
Perhaps the most crucial voice was omitted from these conversations and attempts: the student voice. The 24-Hour Think Challenge 2.0 on Oct. 1 and 2 in downtown Boise will do what the system should: empower students to reimagine their own learning. The two-day collaborative will bring 150 of Southwest Idaho’s high school juniors together to call on their exceptional vision and first-person expertise and experience to solve Idaho’s biggest challenge. Students will break into teams and use design thinking skills to answer the question, “How can we re-invent learning to be
21st Century-relevant for Idaho students?” Local nonprofit One Stone, whose mission is to make students better leaders and the world a better place, planned, designed and will run the event
“The lack of student voice in a service designed for students is disturbing,” One Stone Board Chair Simone
Muglori said. “Through the Think Challenge we give students a voice and a solid opportunity to improve their own learning.”
The Think Challenge, funded by the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation, will feature more than a dozen regional and national experts in areas of innovation, entrepreneurship, space design, project-based learning and the history of education, among other topics. In addition, about 20 local businesses will act as “pit crews” to support the groups throughout the challenge.
Bishop Kelly senior and Think Challenge Board Chair Noelle Huhn said students’ answers and solutions to the problem will be presented to a group of hundreds of local entrepreneurs, lawmakers, stakeholders and the general public at the end of the challenge.
“It’s our hope that for once our opinions will be taken to heart,” she said. “If a business were to fail, wouldn’t the customer be consulted? We are the customer and stakeholders need to realize that we can offer real, tangible solutions to Idaho’s education crisis.”
The public is invited to attend the event is at 4 p.m., Oct. 2 at Century Link Arena in downtown Boise. To register for the free event, visit onestone.org/register.
About One Stone:
One Stone is a student-led non-profit organization dedicated to the development of high school students’ skills in leadership. Rooted in “design thinking,” a process developed at Stanford University, One Stone teaches and encourages students to create human-centered, innovative solutions to complex issues — all for free.
About the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation
The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation is a Boise, Idaho-based, private family foundation committed to the vision of limitless learning for all Idahoans. In the last 17 years, the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation has invested almost $700 million in Idaho. The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation honors the legacy of Joe and Kathryn Albertson, founders of the Albertson grocery store, however it is not affiliated with Albertson’s, LLC. For more information, visit jkaf.org
