As a founding member of Quest to Learn’s design team and a Co-Director School, Arana is daily gratified and humbled to find moments in her day that clearly reflect the intentions underlying the school’s design. Take a recent conversation Arana had with one student, named Max. Reflecting on his experience at the school, Max observed that, although he never really felt like he was learning, when he interacts with friends from other schools, he realizes how much more than them he knows. For Arana this is evidence that the learning that happens at Quest is so engaging, so immersive, so hands-on that students do not even associate it with the kinds of learning they experienced in other schools. It also suggests that learning at Quest results in knowledge that sticks outside of school.
Quest to Learn is the third school Arana has helped design and start up. Her first was the School at Colombia. The second was the Ross Global Academy Charter School. “Every time I do it, I tell myself, never again,” she says. And yet her energy, vision and commitment to innovation always seem to get the better of her.
Looking ahead, Arana is excited about Quest’s expansion into a full middle and upper school with grades six through twelve. But she is also excited by the possibility of applying the Quest learning model to elementary education. That’s where she got her start as an educator, and it remains an abiding passion.
We’re extremely fortunate to have Arana at the Institute and extend her our heartfelt thanks for the constant contribution she is.
Look for Arana presenting at the following two conferences this spring:
- The 2nd Annual Education Technology Strategies for K – 12 Schools, Colleges and Universities:
Toronto, ON, February 28 – 29 - Consortium for School Networking Annual Conference: Washington, DC, March 5 – 8
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