Hamden School District Takes Learning Excursion To Arizona

From Hamden Public Schools

HAMDEN, CT — Nine members of the Hamden Public School District are joining teams from nine New England school communities in Tucson this week to visit and learn with Desert View High School and Sunnyside Unified School District.

The Spring 2025 Innovative Schools Learning Excursion to Arizona, organized by the national nonprofit organization Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) with funding from the Boston-based Barr Foundation, provides teams from New England high schools with the opportunity to observe innovative learning practices in person, exchange strategies for enhancing the educational experience, and develop actionable plans for implementation in their own institutions.

The nine participating communities were selected through a competitive application process. The visiting teams are composed of diverse representatives, including students, parents, teachers, administrators, and school board members, and are from school districts in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut. The Hamden Public School District is the only Connecticut District chosen to participate.

This excursion is part of a series of such initiatives that NGLC has facilitated, with support from the Barr Foundation, over the past eight years.

While in Tucson, visitors will explore the high school's college and career academies and examine student agency and intentional teaching and assessment strategies. Participants will observe classroom interactions, tour the high school facilities, engage in student panels, attend teacher-led roundtable discussions, and participate in interactive workshops that showcase the strengths of Desert View High School and Sunnyside Unified’s educational approach.

“We feel privileged to participate in this innovative learning experience and are eager to return with ideas that will enhance our vision at Hamden High School,” Hamden High School Principal Eric Jackson said. “Observing how other schools cultivate student learning, design relevant educational pathways, and foster robust school cultures will invigorate our ongoing efforts to redefine what is achievable for every student in our community.”

Melissa Kaplan, Hamden Board of Education chair, said, “I am very excited that Hamden Public Schools leadership continues to actively seek out and participate in transformative and innovative experiences that serve to strengthen the learning culture in the high school and to promote inclusive, educational excellence for all students.”

Gary Highsmith, Superintendent of Hamden Public Schools, emphasized the district’s broader vision: ““We fully intend to become a high school that creates winners and not one that simply chooses winners. This is an important step in our efforts to fundamentally improve the high school experience for all of our students.”