One of the distinctive changes brought by the KO leadership in the 2024-2025 school year has been its new signature program: the IMPACT Lab courses. In both the Middle School and Upper School, KO has taken a new approach to classes and has tackled the issue of what should drive a class. The IMPACT courses have also incorporated a new vision for classes at KO, which is a program that develops community connections. The Upper School IMPACT Lab courses this year were We the People in the fall, and Eco-Design in the spring.
The innovation of creating the IMPACT Lab courses has been in the making for years. Originally discussed as part of a strategic plan in 2020 to expand KO’s curriculum, the initiation of these classes was postponed until after COVID-19. Now, they have been able to implement the program. “ We have been able to return to the strategic plan and begin to execute on that plan,” said Head of the Upper School Lisa Loeb. With support from Head of School Thomas Dillow and Head of the Middle School Ann Sciglimpaglia, Mrs. Loeb has been able to curate the IMPACT Lab program.
The program initially started in the Middle School with their Skills Incubator courses. These courses are intended to differ from traditional courses and focus on the community. One specific course at the Middle School was focused on farming, and students visited a local farm to learn more. With the successes of the courses in the Middle School, these new types of classes took form in the Upper School. The administration also incorporated research into what helps students learn and created the IMPACT Lab program.
The IMPACT Lab course has a unique component: specific drivers. A typical school course has a driver of content, and the class is based on that content. This is the same structure as any regular KO or AP-designed class. However, IMPACT Lab courses are encouraged to incorporate four key drivers. IMPACT classes incorporate work that is interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary, connected to the larger community, and centered around the understanding of an authentic question or problem. Additionally, these courses are meant to give students voice and agency.
The course We the People was a massive success within the KO community during the first semester of this academic year. The course included bringing in alumni such as Speaker of the Connecticut House Matt Ritter, visiting the State Capitol, and sitting in during a court proceeding. Students in the class also helped host KO’s first mock election and held votes on Tuesdays to promote civic engagement. These Tuesday votes included various topics such as term limits for Congress members, whether convicted felons should be able to vote, and automatic voter registration for citizens once they turn 18. They occurred in the weeks before the mock election and had We the People students present in Tuesday assemblies. This is simply one example of a community connection made by an IMPACT course.
The IMPACT designation for We the People also allowed history teacher Steph Sperber to do new things. She was able to remodel her curriculum and add new activities and trips for her students. Typically, classes conduct one trip or bring one speaker throughout the year. However, Ms. Sperber’s We the People class took two trips and brought three speakers in one semester. “It offers an opportunity to teach things that I think are important in a unique way,” Ms. Sperber said. The We the People elective class was remodeled to fit under the IMPACT parameters. “These [classes] are based on classes that I’ve taught before, but we talked about the four main drivers,” Ms. Sperber added.
The Eco-Design class that began in the second semester also has plans for transformative projects across campus. Currently, they are analyzing different locations around KO and determining how to optimize their usage. Their main project, which they will be completing by the end of the semester, is refurbishing a van, generously donated by the Hoffman Auto Group, to fit the needs of the nonprofit Hope 4 Life. Hope 4 Life is a food pantry and this van would be a great addition for them as a mobile food distributor. “When we are refurbishing a van for Hope 4 Life, we have to think about the person who’s driving that van,” Mrs. Loeb said. “They [students in the class] are going to be talking to the people who use those spaces. Design is about user experience.”
Other partners include FIP Construction, which is currently building the new Community Commons, and Centerbrook Architects, which designed the new Community Commons.
On Feb. 21, the class visited the head of Centerbrook Architects, a KO alum, in Centerbrook, Conn., where they were able to learn more about the architectural process. “I loved having an inside look into the workplace of the people that designed the Commons for us,” junior Dominic Brunalli said.
The four course drivers required for IMPACT classes help add student choice into the class and sometimes encourage exploration for students and teachers. In the Eco-Design class, students start every class by revisiting their core question: “How can we design and construct sustainable structures that benefit our community and environment?” Students also engage in thorough reflections throughout the year to add more to the class.
Another key element of IMPACT Lab courses is that they are interdisciplinary. This means that they encompass multiple departments or multiple fields of study and cannot be classified into one department. For example, the Eco-Design course teaches skills in the domains of science, ethics, and art. All of these topics are brought together in these classes and those aspects lead to success. “Eco-Design allowed me to go in-depth into subjects I didn’t know existed,” Dominic said. The transdisciplinary aspect of this class is shown as it is co-taught by Mrs. Loeb and Technical Theater Director Michael Bane, and this theme is present in Ms. Sperber’s course as well. “It just offers more opportunity for both teacher and student to focus on things that they’re interested in,” Ms. Sperber commented, “and then offers students a choice in what they get to learn.”
The final component of IMPACT classes, as suggested by the name, is impact. Through partnerships with nonprofits and other organizations, IMPACT classes strive to help students make an impact outside the school. This is in correlation with the school’s strategic vision of increasing community impact as KO hosted the first Service Leadership Day with students in Forms 4, 5, and 6 participating in community service or leadership activities. This change affects other classes as well. The school plans on shifting to a policy where every class is required to have some event where they connect with an organization or person outside of the school. A recent example of this was the field trip led by Spanish teacher Kathleen McLean to see murals in downtown Hartford. Students connected this trip with their classwork, and this experience provided an opening to see powerful art.
The biggest change to the IMPACT Lab course program is its quick expansion. There have been 13 new proposals for IMPACT classes next year. Some are new classes being proposed by faculty members, while others are current electives that are being offered or have been remodeled to fit the IMPACT designation. Some new offerings include Cultivating Change: Pollinators, Gardening, and Sustainable Living; Global Problem Solvers, Born in the USA: American Culture through Sight and Sound; and Leadership Lab: Lead, Serve, Act. Some other classes focus on engineering, problem-solving, and Black histories and arts. They will also be trying a full-year IMPACT elective which will cover propaganda. Although these electives are just the start of the IMPACT Program, other changes might come in the future. “We’re building a plane as we’re flying it,” Mrs. Loeb said. “Every time we do it, we can learn from it.”
Although sweeping changes are coming next year, the vision of the IMPACT program is yet to be made clear. These classes could replace traditional electives at KO or simply be another type of class that students can engage in. A potential graduation requirement could be implemented with IMPACT Lab courses. This could be similar to the 1.5-credit requirement for creative arts at KO. Finally, an IMPACT course could be integrated as a junior year capstone program where students can choose a class that interests them.
The possibilities of the IMPACT program and the possible courses are endless. The IMPACT Lab courses are an innovative way for students to explore and get access to interdisciplinary learning. They also allow KO students to participate in the communities outside of KO. We recommend all students consider taking an IMPACT elective!
