By Steve Weisman

I hear all the time that school students need to learn more about the real world, to get in tune with what is going on so that they can be ready for the real world’s challenges. Through a program called No Boundaries, students in three northwest Iowa high schools are doing just that: Graettinger-Terril-Ruthven Ayrshire (GTRA), Okoboji and Spencer High School. Each school’s students develop their own projects, and one that caught my eye is currently going on at Spencer High School.

Former Spencer High School Principal, Will Dible began a project-based program called No Boundaries back in 2019, modeled after the Cedar Rapids-based Iowa BIG program, which challenges high school students to team up with businesses in their community. This gives its students the ability to learn and use real-world skills such as leadership, accountability and teamwork on projects about which they are passionate, while earning high school credit.

Ayn Thoreson, a Spanish teacher at Spencer High School, is also the facilitator for the Spencer High School program. “No Boundaries is a year-long elective class for juniors and seniors who meet the last three periods each day. This year’s class includes 22 students.” Early in the school year, the students held a ‘partner palooza’, where businesses from the area come in to pitch a special project to the students. Each student listens to each business and afterward picks two that he/she is most interested in working on.”

Students then become a collaborative team to work on their special project. Thoreson says, “There is no pressure on the students. It is up to the business partner to sell the project to the students. They choose ones they have a special passion for. Students work on projects outside of the traditional school environment, such as in collaborative working spaces, in the actual business environment, and other innovative areas.

To make it become more real life, the entire class meets off site at the Spencer city hall “to provide a professional atmosphere and a business setting. Students meet with their partners on a regular basis to show their progress, discuss next steps and collaborate with their business partner.”

Partnering with the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club (IGLFC)

At the IGLFC’s fall DNR night, club members learned of a partnership formed with their IGLFC board and five students from Spencer High School. According to IGLFC board member Paul Daniels, he and Kelly Cook had gone to the project business “pitch” event with the idea of creating a Fishing Utopia at Stolley Gravel Pit, a 40-acre water body, which is part of Stolley Park located in Spencer.

Bottom line: Stolley Gravel Pit needs a total renovation and that’s what Daniels and Cook pitched to Abraham Arceo (senior), Brady Haisman (junior), Jerome Hollingsworth (junior), Masyn McKee (junior) and Brody Jordan (junior)

What the students say

Abraham Arceo, senior, told the IGLFC members, “I originally chose this project because I looked forward to learning and working on how to improve Stolley and make it a better spot for the community. Improving Stolley isn’t just about creating a better fishery, it’s about creating a place where all members of the community can go and spend their days and evenings. Stolley has the gravel pit for fishing, but it also has a sidewalk trail system where people can walk, bike, and enjoy the outdoor scenery Spencer has to offer.”

Arceo also shared his optimism for the project. ‘I’m optimistic that we will be able to create a recreational place that people will look forward to going and spending time at. It feels great knowing that what we are doing has the potential to bring the entire community together outdoors where they can meet and socialize. They will hopefully even be able to get some good catches in the water and create lasting memories with their friends and families!”

Fishing Utopia goals include improving water quality, introducing a variety of fish/big catches for everyone, developing more fishing access and developing more fish habitat and making it a popular fishing place for the Spencer Community.

The five students quickly learned that for this to happen, several partnerships needed to be forged and would involve a solid funding source for all of this to happen. As a result, at this point, they have investigated the feasibility of funding through REAP grants, while at the same time looking at water quality, fish habitat, fishing access options by reaching out to experts from the city, county and the state.

Key partners include Bob Fullhart, Spencer Parks and Recreation Director; Brianne Blom, Environmental Educational Coordinator with Clay County Conservation Board; Victoria DeVos, Plymouth County Naturalist with background as a grant writer; Mike Hawkins, Iowa DNR Fisheries Biologist.

The students have also been at Stolley helping take water samples and working with Mike Hawkins on seining fish to see what is in Stolley.

Thoreson reflects on the process. “The professional partners give the students guidance, but they also allow the students to ‘do’ the work and to dig into the research, letting them learn the process. The students learn that the curriculum evolves with the project, and they sometimes find the targets change. For the Fishing Utopia group, they are finding that getting a REAP grant could play a really big part in their success.”

From a facilitator’s perspective

Thoreson has enjoyed her years of facilitating No Boundaries and appreciates the overall goal of providing passion-based real-world experiences for students working on initiatives in their own community. “Students go through a rigorous onboarding process as they learn how to work together on a high-functioning team, communicate and present themselves professionally, manage projects, manage their time and conduct business meetings and presentations. They are trained in Agile project management, how to use a Trello board and how to have Crucial Conversations.” They have presentations from members of the community on professionalism, personal brand and their potential impact.

After the students have attained a good working knowledge of these concepts, as facilitator, Thoreson takes a step back and lets the students go to work on their projects. “There is a huge focus on growth mindset, and failure at No Boundaries does not equal an ‘F,’ if students can learn from their mistakes and make adjustments for growth. It is a safe place for students to try new things and have crazy ideas. It is so awesome to see business partners be surprised by the amazing ideas that high school students can come up with. Students are not limited by the parameters and constraints that can sometimes prevent adults from using deep creativity.”

Finally, Thoreson notes that the projects that students work on are a year-long adventure that may or may not be completed during one school year. “The experiences are deep and rich, and the hope is that the initiatives make an impact in the community that the students can be proud of for years to come. The skills that the students leave with will help them in whatever they choose to pursue after high school.”

Presentation at the IGLFC DNR night: Abraham Arceo (senior), Brady Haisman (junior), Jerome Hollingsworth (junior), & Masyn McKee (junior) and IGLFC board member Kelly Cook. Missing from the photo: Brody Jordan (junior)

#1b-Three of the students working with data collected. (L to R) Jerome Hollingsworth, Brody Jordan, Brianne Blom, Environmental Educational Coordinator with Clay County Conservation Board and Masyn McKee.