Students from 20 local Boston Public Schools will develop lasting solutions to chronic issues in their communities; winners to attend Aspen Ideas Festival
Contact: Eric Baker
Media Relations Manager
eric.baker@aspeninstitute.org
Boston, MA, January 13, 2024 – The Aspen Challenge, a program of the Aspen Institute, founded in partnership with the Bezos Family Foundation, will kick off in Boston next month. Presented in partnership with Boston Public Schools, teams of students from 20 local high schools will participate over ten-weeks to build sustainable solutions to issues they identify in their communities. The Aspen Challenge provides young Bostonians the opportunity and resources to create tangible change around their homes, schools, and neighborhoods.
The Aspen Challenge: Boston will take place on Thursday, February 13, at Artists for Humanity, located at 100 W 2nd Street. At the “Challenge,” teams of eight students and two teachers will hear from local leaders who will present a series of issue-specific goals to the students on topics including the role of social media in glamorizing substance abuse, affordable housing, community violence, access to green spaces, and post secondary education pathways. Challenge issue areas are chosen ahead of time by participating students.
Expert challengers include: David Bickham, Research Director, Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital; Brandy Brooks, Executive Director, Higher Ground Boston; Manuel Oliver, Co-Founder, Change the Ref; Gretchen Rabinkin, Executive Director, Boston Society of Landscape Architects; and James Antwine, Annyah Cush, and Carlotta Pope, winners of the 2023 Aspen Challenge: Brooklyn.
“We are incredibly honored to be selected to host, for the first time, the Aspen Challenge here in the Boston Public Schools,” said Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper. “We are proud to partner with the Aspen Institute to empower our students with the tools and resources to help create sustainable solutions that will benefit our schools, their communities, and the city-at-large. This initiative is a testament to the incredible potential of Boston’s young people to drive positive change.”
Following the Challenge, student teams will select one challenge area and begin their ten-week project developing, implementing, and reporting on their issue area. At the end of that ten weeks, teams will reconvene on Thursday, April 29 for the “Solution Showcase” at which point they will present their work and impact to a panel of judges made up of community leaders, educators, experts, and activists. Three teams will be chosen as the Grand Prize winners of Aspen Challenge: Boston and fly to Aspen, Colorado to present their community solution at the Aspen Ideas Festival in June.
“The lesson I learned over and over, as a teacher, a district leader, and an advocate for youth, is that the very best ideas always come from young people. That’s why I welcomed Aspen Challenge to come to DCPS while I was leading the district and why I am thrilled that Boston now gets to learn from their high school students,” said Kaya Hendrson, Executive Vice President and Executive Director at the Aspen Institute’s Center for Rising Generations and former Chancellor of DC Public Schools.
Participating Schools:
- Another Course to College
- Boston Adult Technical Academy
- Boston Arts Academy
- Boston Green Academy
- Boston International Newcomers Academy
- Boston Latin Academy
- Boston Latin School
- Brighton High School
- Charlestown High School
- Dr. Albert D. Holland High School of Technology
- Dr. William W. Henderson Inclusion School
- Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers
- Excel High School
- Fenway High School
- Madison Park Technical Vocational High School
- Margarita Muñiz Academy
- Mary Lyon Pilot High School
- Snowden International School at Copley
- TechBoston Academy
- The English High School
The inaugural Aspen Challenge launched in collaboration with Los Angeles Unified School District in 2013. Since its inception, the Challenge has expanded to include partnerships with school districts in Denver, Washington D.C., Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Louisville, Miami, New Orleans, San Diego, and Brooklyn.
For more information on Aspen Challenge: Boston or to attend as a covering member of the media, please contact Eric Baker: eric.baker@aspeninstitute.org.
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The Aspen Challenge provides inspiration, tools, and a platform for young people to design solutions to some of the most critical problems humanity faces. For more information on Aspen Challenge, please visit www.aspenchallenge.org.
The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, DC and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.
Boston Public Schools, the birthplace of American public education, is dedicated to providing a world-class learning experience for every student. BPS educates 54,000 students in 125 schools, 74 percent of the school-age children who live in Boston. BPS is proud to be one of the most diverse school districts in the nation. Nearly one in every two students speaks a language other than English at home, and BPS students come from 139 different countries. One in five BPS students has a disability, and half are economically disadvantaged. Under the leadership of Superintendent Mary Skipper, the district collaborates with families, community members, and students to foster a supportive and innovative environment with a strong commitment to educational equity and excellence. For more information, visit www.bostonpublicschools.org.
The Bezos Family Foundation envisions a world in which all young people reach their full potential and meaningfully contribute to society. The Foundation pursues that vision by making grants and by operating their own programs, with the aim of fueling the science of learning and enabling its application in a variety of settings. The Foundation’s mission is to invest in the science of learning and the experiences that youth need from birth to high school to pursue their own path for success. For more information, visit www.bezosfamilyfoundation.org.