The end of this year will bring the wrap-up to LFA’s inaugural Global Concentration class. The first Global Concentration class began last year, leading the two-year program to its first conclusion this season. The second year of the program is focused on Capstone projects, which students presented to the whole school during the April 24th All-School Meeting. Students spent the whole year researching, interviewing, and building a presentation for their topics, which ranged in a variety of areas of interest. This also included putting together individual Wix pages for students to document and present their topics in an online setting. The year-two cohort worked with Ms. Kristine Von Ogden and Ms. Yue Chen once per cycle during G6.

All new classes both defy expectations, and underperform in some areas. Being able to reflect on what worked well and what needs work is key for success at any level. This is no different for the Global Concentration program.

 “In many ways, yes, there had been some surprises along the way, but for the most part it has worked out fairly well. And what’s been great about it is that we’ve adapted it and modified it to the group as we progressed,” Von Ogden explained about the class meeting her expectations.

The loose structure of the class worked to both teachers’ and students’ advantages, as they were able to shape the lesson plan to the strengths of the students while maintaining a general direction with the curriculum.  

“Because we were the first group of students I felt as if we were the guinea pigs and so I think it will become more refined, but the one thing we all struggled with and learned a lot from was that we didn’t have a lot of structure,” second-year Global Concentration student Ava Ascroft commented.

For many students, this takes the place of a sixth or even seventh class, which can be a bit tough for any student. Although Von Ogden believes the program would function better meeting more than once a cycle, she doesn’t want to overwhelm any student in their schedules.

In reflection, the program seemed to receive overall positive feedback with potential to get even better in following years.

“I think it was definitely something that LFA needed. They are trying to expand their Global department and we are a really diverse school, so this was definitely a good addition to the direction LFA wants to go,” Ascroft added.