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WORK TITLE: A School of Our Own
WORK NOTES: with mother, Susan Engel
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
https://www.hertford.ox.ac.uk/about/people/mr-samuel-levin * http://wgsi.org/samuel-levin * http://thenewpress.com/books/school-of-our-own
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Son of Susan Engel (a professor of developmental psychology at Williams College).
EDUCATION:Somerville College, Oxford, B.A., 2014; attended Hertford College.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author; founder, student-centered programs, Monument Mountain High School; Project Sprout, and Independent Project.
AWARDS:Mary Somerville Prize for Academic Excellence, Oxford University, 2012.
WRITINGS
Contributor to professional journals, including Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
SIDELIGHTS
In A School of Our Own: The Story of the First Student-run High School and a New Vision for American Education, former Monument Mountain High School student Samuel Levin tells the story of how he helped change the school’s curriculum to encourage student participation and engagement through what became known as the Independence Project..
Levin—who went on to earn a degree in biological sciences from Somerville College at Oxford University—created the Independence Project based on the success he had with an earlier experiment known as Project Sprout. He reports that when he was a freshman, he was dissatisfied with extracurricular activities and approached his guidance counselor with a proposal. “The plan was simple,” Levin reported in a blog post found on Slow Food USA. “Create a student-run organic vegetable garden on school grounds, that would be used as an educational tool for students ages 2-18, provide delicious produce for the school lunches, and ultimately build connections with nature and food for the children.” With two other students—a junior interested in gardening and a sophomore interested in supplying fresh produce for the school cafeteria—Levin went on to create Project Sprout.
Project Sprout was a tremendous success because it allowed students to take charge of an activity that was important to them. “The difference” between the project and other school activities, “Sam recognized,” wrote the contributor of a biographical blurb to the Hertford College Web site, “was stewardship–in the garden the kids had control, responsibility and ownership.” Levin sought to apply these concepts to the entire school curriculum, allowing greater student control over coursework and hands-on education. “A School of Our Own is … [the] account of a life-changing year in education,” concluded a New Press reviewer, “a book that combines poignant stories, educational theory, and practical how-to advice for building better schools for our teenagers.” “The book,” said a Publishers Weekly contributor, “… recounts the students’ many small victories as well as the many obstacles they faced.” “Half the day, each kid explored areas that interested them. The other half they worked on academics,” explained a contributor to the Edtech Project. Samuel, the contributor continued, “created a school were the students were all on the same level. Everyone was the teacher, everyone was the student,” and “… students were in control of their education.” “For those who have investigated home schooling,” declared a Kirkus Reviews contributor, “Levin’s methods are reminiscent of unschooling, the process by which learning occurs on a more personal, interest-driven level, without the need to use conventional grading systems.” “Levin,” stated Elizabeth Safford in Library Journal, “learned how fortitude … and the perseverance needed to sell administrators on his concept … can bring about results.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2016, review of A School of Our Own: The Story of the First Student-run High School and a New Vision for American Education.
Library Journal, June 15, 2016, Elizabeth Safford, review of A School of Our Own, p. 88.
Publishers Weekly, June 20, 2016, review of A School of Our Own, p. 148.
ONLINE
Edtech Project, https://edtechproject.com (September 17, 2016), review of A School of Our Own
Hertford College, https://www.hertford.ox.ac.uk/ (March 29, 2017), author profile.
New Press, http://thenewpress.com/ (March 29, 2017), review of A School of Our Own.
Oxford University Department of Environmental Research, https://www.environmental-research.ox.ac.uk/ (March 29, 2017), author profile.
Slow Food USA, https://www.slowfoodusa.org/ (November 12, 2008), Sam Levin, “Project Sprout: From a Humble Idea, a Garden Grows.”
LC control no.: n 2016036932
Descriptive conventions:
rda
Personal name heading:
Levin, Samuel
Variant(s): Levin, Sam (Samuel)
Found in: A school of our own, 2016: ECIP t.p. (Samuel Levin)
introduction (Sam Levin is the founder of two
innovative, student-centered programs at Monument
Mountain High School; Project Sprout and The Independent
Project)
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Mr Samuel Levin
Graduate Scholar in Environmental Research
I grew up in rural Western Massachusetts with my parents and two brothers. In high school, I started an organic student run farm that grew food for the school cafeterias, known as Project Sprout, and, later, an alternative school-within-a-school called The Independent Project. In 2014, I graduated with a BA in Biological Sciences from Somerville College, Oxford. My undergraduate thesis explored the co-evolution of cheating and resistance in the ’social amoeba’, and led to a publication in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology (Levin et al. 2014). I have written two (unpublished) novels, and am co-authoring a book about education to be published in the spring. I have just started my DPhil in Zoology on the NERC DTP. I am broadly interested in social evolution, the formalization of the theory of natural selection, and philosophy of biology.
Samuel Levin
Founder, The Independent Project at Monument Mountain Regional High School
Student, Oxford University
Sam Levin is the founder of two innovative, student-centered programs at Monument Mountain High School – Project Sprout and The Independent Project. In its first summer, the community garden at the heart of Project Sprout provided over 1000 pounds of vegetables to local shelters and people in need. By the time Sam graduated, produce from the expanded garden and orchard was featured in three meals a week in his school’s cafeteria and other schools in the region had embarked on similar gardening projects.
“I saw kids waking up at six in the morning to harvest potatoes. But I couldn’t reconcile the commitment and passion I saw in the garden with the lack of enthusiasm and engagement I saw in the classroom.”
The difference, Sam recognized, was stewardship – in the garden the kids had control, responsibility and ownership. With that in mind, he and seven other students embarked on the first year of The Independent Project, a student-run school-within-a-school. “The Independent Project’s successes show us that giving young people more agency and authorship over their own education can unleash the hunger, curiosity, and passion for learning that is currently dormant in most students,” says Sam, “And its failures can inform our attempts to design better schools for 2030.”
Samuel Levin is the founder of two innovative, student-centered programs at his school in Massachusetts. He is a graduate of Oxford University, where he is pursuing a doctorate in zoology. He is a co-author, with Susan Engel, of A School of Our Own (The New Press).
Samuel Levin
The origin of the genome
Academic Profile
I completed my BA in Biological Sciences with first class honours at The University of Oxford in 2014. My undergraduate thesis focused on the co-evolution of cheating and resistance in the “social amoeba”, and led to a publication in The Journal of Evolutionary Biology. I have worked in a genetics lab at NYU and extensively in the Strassmann and Queller lab at Washington University, St. Louis.
Academic Awards/Scholarships:
2015:
Awarded a Clarendon Fund Graduate Scholarship
Awarded a Santander Graduate Award
Awarded a Hertford Graduate Scholarship
2014
Awarded the Mary Somerville Prize for Academic Excellence at The University of Oxford
2012
Beilby Exhibition for Academic Achievement at The University of Oxford
Current Research
I am broadly interested in social evolution, the formalization of the theory of natural selection, and philosophy of evolutionary theory. My current work aims to further flesh out our understanding of the major transitions in the history of life.
Publications
Levin, S. and Engel, S. (2016). A School of Our Own. The New Press. https://www.amazon.com/School-Our-Own-Student-Run-Education/dp/162097152 http://thenewpress.com/books/school-of-our-own
Levin, S.R., et al. (2015) Concurrent co-evolution of intra-organismal cheaters and resisters. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 28(4), 756-765.
Associated Research Streams
Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Processes
Samuel Levin is the founder of two innovative, student-centered programs at his school in Massachusetts: Project Sprout and The Independent Project. He is a graduate of Oxford University, where he is pursuing a doctorate in zoology. He is a co-author, with Susan Engel, of A School of Our Own (The New Press).
Levin, Samuel & Susan Engel. A School of Our Own: The Story of the First Student-Run High School and a New Vision for American Education
Elizabeth Safford
141.11 (June 15, 2016): p88.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
Levin, Samuel & Susan Engel. A School of Our Own: The Story of the First Student-Run High School and a New Vision for American Education. New Pr. Sept. 2016.224p. ISBN 9781620971529. $25.95; ebk. ISBN 9781620971536. ED
This account of the first student-run high school in America is told in alternating passages by a high school junior and his mother. Levin, who went on to graduate from Oxford University, had already founded Project Sprout, a student-run farm that grew food used for school lunches. His mother, Engel, teaches psychology at Williams College, MA, and is the author of The End of the Rainbow, among other books. Levin, increasingly frustrated and bored in the classroom, came up with a plan to launch the Independent Project, a student-run school in western Massachusetts. Mother and son each provide accounts of the students involved and the successes and problems of the project, and readers are encouraged to think about creating their own programs. As in Angela Duckworth's Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Levin learned how fortitude, here composed of a passionate involvement in his own education, and the perseverance needed to sell administrators on his concept and try ideas and see what worked and what didn't, can bring about results, and in this case, revitalize high school curriculum. VERDICT Recommended for students, parents, teachers, and administrators, as well as anyone concerned about the current state of the U.S. educational system.--Elizabeth Safford, Boxford Town Lib., MA
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Safford, Elizabeth. "Levin, Samuel & Susan Engel. A School of Our Own: The Story of the First Student-Run High School and a New Vision for American Education." Library Journal, 15 June 2016, p. 88. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA455185446&it=r&asid=d38fd9a75d5490a3896b8d7df7c64cf7. Accessed 27 Feb. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A455185446
A School of Our Own: The Story of the First Student-Run High School and a New Vision for American Education
263.25 (June 20, 2016): p148.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
A School of Our Own: The Story of the First Student-Run High School and a New Vision for American Education
Samuel Levin and Susan Engel. New Press, $25.95 (224p) ISBN 978-1-62097-152-9
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Developmental psychologist Engel (The End of the Rainbow) and her son Levin explore radical ideas about secondary education in this intriguing analysis, which focuses on an innovative program Levin initiated at his own high school in Massachusetts called the Independent Project. Launched in 2011, when Levin was a junior, the Independent Project developed from a single question: "Is there an inherent reason why teenagers in our culture must spend the bulk of their time in settings that are confining, rigid, ugly and disconnect from their communities?" The answer, according to Levin and Engel, is no, and the proof is given in the successful implementation of the Independent Project. A defining feature of the school is its simple structure: half the day is designated for " an individual endeavor" and the other half for self-directed academics, divided again between the sciences and math and language arts. The book, aimed at school administrators as well as parents and students, recounts the students' many small victories as well as the many obstacles they faced while outlining the steps in the implementation process. (Sept.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"A School of Our Own: The Story of the First Student-Run High School and a New Vision for American Education." Publishers Weekly, 20 June 2016, p. 148. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA456344779&it=r&asid=d088b16348df42ae85a4eed8a6cf2dea. Accessed 27 Feb. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A456344779
“A School of Our Own” -Samuel Levin & Susan Engel
Date: September 17, 2016Author: ilka 0 Comments
Screenshot 2016-09-17 18.05.11.png
Recently, I was in the library browsing through books and I stumbled upon A School of Our Own written by Samuel Levin and Susan Engel. The blurb on the right corner of the book captured my attention: “The story of the first student-run high school and a new vision for American Education”. Since the EdTech Project is about non-traditional education program, this book was right up my ally.
Let me give you a quick summary of the book. When Samuel Levin entered high school as a freshmen, he wanted to grow a farm near his school. He partnered with couple other students and started growing the farm. It was completely student-ran farm. After some time, the farm ended up serving multiple purposes.
First, Professors started bringing their students to the farm to teach various subjects. Younger students started to farm and started feeling ownership. The school was able to donate the extra food produced. The cafeteria started to use the food and the entire community became healthier. Sam called it Project Sprout.
During Junior year, Sam came home one day and complained about his High School. He wasn’t excited to go to school, he didn’t like how the school divided up subjects to 40 minute intervals. School also mandated subjects and there was very narrow elective classes. Seeing Sam’s frustration, his mother told him that he should maybe start his own school…and he did.
The book took the reader on the journey that Sam had to go through to create his own school. He ended up convincing the leaders to allow him to create this for one semester. He took eight students from all academic backgrounds. He had the students that were gaining straight A’s throughout high school to students that were on the verge of failing.
Sam’s school was different. Half the day, each kid explored areas that interested them. The other half they worked on academics. Instead having a syllabus, Sam told the kids to find things that related to Math and teach the class later on. Sam encouraged questions. He created a school were the students were all on the same level. Everyone was the teacher, everyone was the student. During the semester, students were in control of their education.
The students from the program were allowed to be charge of their education. They were able to create their own program. Throughout the entire semester, they had their individual project along with one collaborated project. The students from this program were extremely successful. One of them even became a published author before graduating college.
I was fascinated from Sam’s story. I admired his courage to see a problem and fixing it.
A SCHOOL OF OUR OWN
The Story of the First Student-Run High School and a New Vision for American Education
by Samuel Levin, Susan Engel
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KIRKUS REVIEW
The story behind one young man’s alternative school within a school.
By the time Levin reached his junior year, like many kids his age, he had resigned himself to having a couple of great classes, a few he hated, and the rest that were boring. He had interests outside of school that helped him get through his days, but what made him angry was how those with nothing beyond the regimented school day were missing out on life. They weren’t being stimulated in school and had no projects or part-time jobs to engage them. So Levin took matters into his own hands and started his own school. With the support of his mother, Engel (Developmental Psychology/Williams Coll.; The Hungry Mind: The Origins of Curiosity in Childhood, 2015, etc.), and other adults in his high school—and after months of planning—Levin created the Independent Project, a student-run school. The school focused on the students’ interests and passions rather than required curriculum. Though the plan incorporated some traditional subjects, Levin and his team switched things up by aligning science with the humanities and English with math. In alternating voices, Levin and Engel tell the story of how the IP evolved, giving readers an inside look at the entire journey, including the first irritated moments that sparked the original idea, getting approval from the school board, recruiting students, and initiating a trial semester. The authors address their triumphs, setbacks, fears, and concerns, analyzing the step-by-step process so that others may follow and create their own independently run schools. For those who have investigated home schooling, Levin’s methods are reminiscent of unschooling, the process by which learning occurs on a more personal, interest-driven level, without the need to use conventional grading systems. The authors clearly show that learning can be an invigorating, exciting experience for almost everyone—if approached in the right manner.
The concise and passionate story of how a teenager formed his own school that is “intellectually demanding of all its students, no matter what their academic history.”
Pub Date: Sept. 6th, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62097-152-9
Page count: 224pp
Publisher: New Press
Review Posted Online: June 12th, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1st, 2016
A School of Our Own
Samuel Levin is the founder of two innovative, student-centered programs at his school in Massachusetts. He is a graduate of Oxford University, where he is pursuing a doctorate in zoology. He is a co-author, with Susan Engel, of A...
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Susan Engel
Susan Engel - Photo: Edward Acker
Susan Engel is a professor of developmental psychology at Williams College, where she is also the founder and director of the Williams Program in Teaching. She is the author of The Stories Children Tell, Context Is...
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A School of Our Own
The Story of the First Student-Run High School and a New Vision for American Education
Samuel Levin Susan Engel
What would happen if kids ran their own schools? The results from this powerful story are eye-opening for anyone interested in how to ensure that every child thrives
“The students in the Independent Project are remarkable . . . because they demonstrate the kinds of learning and personal growth that are possible when teenagers feel ownership of their high school experience, when they learn things that matter to them and when they learn together.” —Susan Engel, writing in the New York Times
A School of Our Own tells the remarkable story of the Independent Project, the first student-run high school in America. Founder Samuel Levin, a high school junior
who had already achieved international fame for creating Project Sprout—the first student-run farm-to-school lunch program in the United States—was frustrated with his own education and saw disaffection among his peers. In response, he lobbied for and created a new school based on a few simple ideas about what kids need from their high school experience.
The school succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest expectations and went on to be featured in Newsweek, NPR, and the Washington Post. Since its beginnings in
2010, the Independent Project has served as a national model for inspiring student engagement.
As his school took shape, Samuel was also engaged in wide-ranging conversations about its purpose, goals, and challenges with Susan Engel, the noted developmental psychologist, educator, and author—and Samuel’s mother. A School of Our Own is their account of a life-changing year in education, a book that combines poignant stories, educational theory, and practical how-to advice for building better schools for our teenagers.
Topics:
Education
K-12
Praise
“In both form and content, unlike anything that I’ve ever read. The educational experiences it describes are unique.”
—Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education and author of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness Reframed
“What a great mother and son story and one with a happy ending. It brings back many memories of mothering and teaching. I wish I could start again and design a school, this time alongside of students, with a Sam to prod us along. This is a must-read for all of us of any age.”
—Deborah Meier, author of Will Standards Save Public Education? and founder of the Small Schools movement
“This wonderfully written and inspiring book will make you laugh, cry and cheer. I predict most readers will also give copies to friends and acquaintances who care about children and their schooling, and I’m praying that at least one of them knows the President of the United States.”
—John Merrow, education correspondent for PBS NewsHour, president of Learning Matters, and author of The Influence of Teachers and Choosing Excellence
Blog Post
Project Sprout: from a Humble Idea, a Garden Grows
Nov. 12, 2008
by Sam Levin
Sam Levin is one of three co-founders, along with Sarah Steadman and Natalie Akers, of Project Sprout, an organic, student-run garden on the grounds of Monument High School in Great Barrington, Mass. Now in its second year, Project Sprout supplies the school’s cafeteria with fresh fruits and vegetables, helps feed the hungry in the community and serves as a living laboratory for students of the Monument school system.
Sam, a Sophomore at Monument, gave a speech at the opening ceremony of Terra Madre '08 in Italy, and inspired thousands of delegates from around the world who traveled to Turin for the event. The Slow Food USA blog is thrilled to share his remarks with our readers.
Exactly one year ago Monday, I walked through the doors of my public high school in Massachusetts planning on presenting the idea of Project Sprout to my Guidance counselor. And that’s all it was, an idea. I had not one detail worked out, only that I wanted the students of my school and the people of my community to begin paying more attention to their food, and in turn the natural world around them. I was already an avid naturalist, and when I wasn’t in the woods or swamps, I was spending time on the farm down the road from my house, playing soccer with the pigs or riding the cows. So, after talking to my guidance counselor, Mr. Powell, I connected with two other students, Sarah a junior who loved gardening and children and Natalie a sophomore who was desperate for delicious vegetables in the cafeteria, and together we began refining the idea and figuring out the details of the project. Within weeks we had a plan.
The plan was simple. Create a student-run organic vegetable garden on school grounds, that would be used as an educational tool for students ages 2-18, provide delicious produce for the school lunches, and ultimately build connections with nature and food for the children of our district. And with that plan, along with some energy, excitement, and motivation, we began working towards our goal.
We met with local farmers and gardeners, landscapers and designers, teachers and groundskeepers. We worked with non-profit leaders and most importantly, we worked together. I couldn’t walk by Mr. Powell’s office without stopping in to talk to him. Sarah and Natalie and I met in between classes and during lunch, after school and before school. Although we hadn’t even known each other before October, as time went on, our relationship became unbreakable. As we know, food brings people together. But as I have learned, working to save food creates unbelievably powerful bonds between people.