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This new high school for homeless youth was funded by Steve Jobs’ widow Laurene

RISE High aims to recreate the high school model with a non-traditional approach.

 

Colette Bennett

IRL

Posted on Sep 17, 2016   Updated on May 25, 2021, 11:49 pm CDT

Two twenty-somethings are building a high school just for foster and homeless kids thanks to the efforts of Steve Jobs’ widow, Laurene Powell Jobs.

Called RISE High, the project was the one of ten winners of the XQ Super School competition announced on Sept. 14. Founded by Kari Croft and Erin Whalen, the school should open in fall 2017 to a small group of students in Los Angeles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUFIRUrwOSU

The core concept of the school is the Mobile Learning Center, which will drive to students unable to make it to one of the multiple campus sites. That way, youth that move around frequently in foster and homeless situations can still connect with the resources they need to learn and grow.

Jobs, 52, founded The Super School Project in fall 2015 and is currently on the board of directors. She and her team have been hard at work ever since to make it what it is today. The aim of the project, Jobs told Vogue in an interview, was to “support ideas that perhaps already exist, that are struggling to see the light of day.” 

While the concept of RISE High is pretty amazing, it’s worth checking out the creativity of the other schools that won the competition too. From VR field trips to environmental change innovation, it looks like high school is about to get a lot more engaging for the next generation.

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*First Published: Sep 17, 2016, 2:21 pm CDT