More Open

In August of 2026, Burlington residents gathered to cut the ribbon for their new high school complex. Although anything would be an upgrade after five years of school in a windowless mall, there is no quesiton that the building is stunning. It is everything a high school should be. And yet, unavoidably, it is still a building. The classrooms may be filled with new furniture, but they are still discrete rooms. The course catalog offers a diverse set of classes, but they are still constrained by departments and and bound by the bell schedule.

This fall, BCL students are enjoying the new high school, but they are also reimagining where and how learning can unfold. And unfold it has. In the course of a few weeks, BCL17 has met with business leaders, community organizers, social workers, and artists. They have studied a wide variety of places — from homeless communities in Battery Park, to the vibrant South End arts scene, to the convergence of commerce and challenges on Church St.

How does it feel when be experience of school extends into the city? Burlington City & Lake Semester students’ reflections are clear as day.

Early on, it was clear that BCL17 students love to laugh…

…but are equally happy diving into complex challenges.

Learning from real world experiences feels really nice. The freeform environment and low stakes day to day have really helped me not stress about school. The time given after the experiences has also let me reflect on the experience… In particular, our time spent at Battery Park talking about homelessness and drug use in Burlington was really impactful for me. Now, I have a new perspective about how even if two people look or act similar (especially in the context of drugs) they may have fully different intentions or reasons for being there.

Ezra

To me, BCL feels like a better way to learn because I can do more of what to do as a person and I’m not just sitting all day. In some ways, it kind of feels like a YES program, but with more writing — and the difference is that when you go to a conventional school you might know what you’re doing, but when you go to BCL you don’t know, and that surprise is more fun.

Dereece

Here I’m not cramped into a dark classroom and forced to learn something that is not interesting to me, or currently a problem. Whereas in BCL is i walk around the city and do interesting things, and I simply just have to show and pay attention so I can write down notes, expand on my thinking, and then add it to my Expo assignments… Here in BCL, it’s up to me mostly about what I write and what I learn. And we can actually talk to real people about their experiences, instead of watching somebody talk over a pre-recorded video.

Gavin

“Drop the Sheet” was an early test of whether each of us knew everyone’s name.

Erin Malone hosted a group at Momo’s Market…

…while another group visited teh CCTV archive.

Shane Abrams, *Advocacy and Access Coordinator* for UVM’s College of Education and Social Services, helped students explore whether education is a lever for equity…

.,..and we discovered quickly that it’s more complicated than we thought.

Kayla Loving, from Education Justice, led a discussion about equality, equity, and justice.

Eliza Davison, from Outright, helped students explore inclusion and belonging.

At City Hall, BCL17 met with members of the BPD Crisis, Advocacy and Intervention team.

Tod Gross, Manager of Phoenix Books, was honest about the challenges of running a business on Church St.

Will Kasso Condry and Jennifer Herrera Condry, of Juniper Creative, hosted students at the BCA Gallery to talk about the role of public art in a thriving community.

It throws me off everyday when I have BCL, because instead of going to a school I’m going to somewhere in Burlington to start my school day, which is interesting. And I feel that BCL has a lot of variety, and it’s not the same thing over and over again, we keep going new places, and meet new people through our learning experience…It’s nicer to learn outside and in the real world, instead of being in a classroom all day. I feel like I’m learning a lot more about the city of Burlington through this experience.

Guthrie

I feel like being in a classroom can be fun…but it is a closed system that has its own properties seperate from the rest of Vermont. Burlington has so many people and places and communities the want to be explored and dissected, and I think BCL shines in extracting the ideas and values from Burlington and injecting it into the youth, to help them learn and grow. I enjoy BCL much more than school because we get to experience the real world.

Enoch

Unlike sitting in a classroom, it feels like I can learn better and learn more. I would consider myself someone who learns by doing and seeing. Being able to go out and learn about these things, meet new people, and write about it is a good way for me to learn. For example, I think I learned a lot more going out on [the UVM research] boat than I would have if we did the same activities in a classroom.

Another very memorable moment was exploring the scene at Art Hop and meeting all those artists. Hearing about their stories and looking at their art pieces was really impactful. I used to live in that area for most of my life and I would drive by these places almost everyday. It was so cool to be able to go in and have a first-hand experience and get to know what goes on in a place that is so familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

Ibrahim

In the South End, students explored interactive sculptures…

The vibe on Pine Street was both provocative…

Students got a chance to see behind the scenes…

…and experience the process, along with the product.

Urban Park Rangers, Neil Preston and Jake Payne helped us understand the lives of those who sleep at Battery Park.

Neil didn’t hide the dirty details. (Why was the fountain shut down? Needles.)

While we were at Battery Park, Kenroy Walker was throwing a weekly community barbecue.

It feels refreshing to be learning from real world experiences. It can also be a bit draining, but overall I’d say it is a major positive in my eyes. The most impactful part has been meeting with community partners, and learning about what they do, what they see, and how they feel about real world problems that some of them have to deal with everyday. Whether its homelessness or drug abuse, or phosphurus runoff into Lake Champlain I find it interesting. Overall, it gives me an idea of what I might like to do when I grow up, and how I want my life to be.

Leander

For me, perspective is something really important. Getting to be able to talk to a bunch of different people and then being so open is great. We are a small group, and people have to be open. At school, you can you can be a lot more like tucked away but at BCL you can’t like just hide in a corner. We’re constantly doing things, and we’re going around the city, and we’re moving our bodies. We’re very much engaging instead of just sitting and listening to someone talk to you for an hour.

I definitely value being outside and having real world experiences, because learning something and actually practicing it and doing are is very different. When you’re in the real world, things can happen that aren’t planned, and you kind of have to go with the flow. In a classroom it’s a lot more structured, so BCL teaches you how to manage those situations, so there is a bit more of teaching and learning life skills.

Anu

It feels more open. Because we are doing things all around the place and not being cooped up in a classroom all day. It’s a lot more fun to be outside than inside. Also, you get a much better sense of the people in your class, which helps build a sense of community. When we’re with community partners, we get to share what we think, and we get to hear what they think. This helps me feel more connected to this place.

Max