Northwest Passage High School - Encourage the Use of Different and Innovative Teaching Methods

Northwest Passage High School believes that learning happens best beyond the four walls of the classroom. NWPHS has taken an innovative approach to providing all students with opportunities to participate in out of school field studies and overnight learning expeditions. NWPHS provides students with daily out of school field studies associated with their project based learning classes, plus 15-20 overnight learning expeditions at no cost to students and families. 

By the time most students reach high school, they are conditioned to move from one class to the next within a large banausic building with little to no hope of leaving the school grounds throughout the day. Within this traditional model students often see no relevant connection between what they are expected to learn and what actually happens in the world around them. Northwest Passage High School decided to break this cycle and provide students with opportunities to learn in the environments where the subject matter actually takes place.  

Northwest Passage High School decided 12 years ago to incorporate the theories of experiential education and truly operationalize the teachings of John Dewey.  In 1938 Dewey stated; “...there is an intimate and necessary relation between the process of actual experience and education.”  Connecting actual experience to the formal education process is the goal of staff for all students at NWPHS.  This is accomplished through research partnerships with 3 Rivers Parks District and the Wildlife Science Center to name a few, plus travel opportunities in Minnesota, the United States and the world.