What's happening: Ramsey High School’s Honors Design Thinking course—a pioneering program in New Jersey—is turning students into community consultants.
While we are also celebrating Public Schools Week, we are proud to highlight a partnership that exemplifies the "public" in public education.
Using design-thinking principles from Stanford’s d.school, our students worked alongside the Ramsey Senior Center to develop strategies for increasing senior engagement.
It is a perfect example of how our classrooms serve as laboratories for real-world solutions that benefit our entire town.
The innovation: Among the "extraordinary solutions" pitched to Senior Center leadership were:
Tech Buddies: One-on-one digital support pairing students with seniors.
Brunch & Buddies: Intergenerational meals and games to spark natural conversation.
Mindful Connections: A weekly grief support and meditation circle.
Bring a Senior to School Day: Inviting seniors back into modern classrooms.
The big picture: In alignment with the fifth goal of our strategic plan, our partnerships initiative provided students with a unique opportunity to deliver meaningful work right here at home. By prioritizing human-centered problem solving, students are building empathy and confidence while creating actionable programs that are already making Ramsey a more vibrant community for all ages.
👀 Read the full story as featured in Ramsey Neighbors.