In BCL, The City is Both Classroom and Curriculum

Burlington City & Lake begins its 13th semester of immersive, place-based learning for high school juniors and seniors

A quick Google search for news about Burlington will give you a window into the challenges and possibilities facing Vermont’s largest city. But reading the news is, of course, no substitute for getting to know a place firsthand. In Burlington City & Lake Semester, a program for Burlington High School juniors and seniors offered by Shelburne Farms and the Burlington School District, students learn about their community not through screens or textbooks but through hands-on, immersive experiences.

Burlington City & Lake (BCL), now in its 13th semester, uses the city as both classroom and curriculum in pursuit of understanding what it means for a community to thrive. Students spend several full days each week off-campus talking with the people that call their city home, consulting with officials and community leaders, exploring streets and parks, learning the history of various neighborhoods, immersing in cultures, and reflecting on their experiences through creative and investigative projects. Along the way, young people develop a sense of care for Burlington—and themselves—as citizens and community members.

The program recently welcomed Christie Beveridge (left) as a teacher, who facilitates the program with teacher Dov Stucker and BCL fellow Emily Taylor. “All education should be like this,” says Christie, whose background includes 18 years as a classroom teacher and, most recently, several years as a program director with UP for Learning. “I wish every student could get this type of experience. BCL is a special combination of real-world, relevant learning, and we form a community that can be vulnerable with each other in a way that students often can’t in traditional classroom settings.”

Already this fall, BCL’s 22 students have engaged with several community partners to deepen their understanding of place. They’ve taken a walking tour of the city’s Old North End neighborhood with Judy Dow (below, right), an artist, educator, and historian who is of French Canadian and Abenaki descent; met with Burlington’s lead urban park ranger Neil Preston; and talked with a panel of local organizers about the housing crisis. Students then dug deeper, exploring several frameworks related to equity and justice—and filling pages of their notebooks with questions and reflections.

In students’ words:

“The first walk with Judy was very personal and captivating as we were able to listen and essentially observe what many people who lived in the margins had to go through. I really learned more about the history of Burlington in the hour-long walk than I did in the majority of social studies or history classes I have taken. It was also very interesting to hear about the darker side of Burlington history, as I had zero idea that there was such an oppressive period in our city.” —BCL student Remy

“There are a lot of flaws in Burlington and in this state, but there’s also hope. There are people working to better our city, and it makes me wish I could do more. Maybe with more people knowing about these details, more people will volunteer. These experiences are very different from the normal school stuff I’ve done before, but I’m glad to get more involved instead of being stuck at a desk.” —BCL student Pramudita

“My perspective on Burlington has changed after hearing the input and stories told by the community partners. My perspective on Burlington’s past, and how Burlington is handling societal issues in the present, have changed. Going into the future I’m now going to be more aware of the present problems with insufficient housing. I’m also walking away with a better understanding of equity, equality, and belonging, and what they mean in our community.”—BCL student Glenna

“We believe BCL isn’t just beneficial for our students, but it’s beneficial for the city as well,” says Christie. “In a few weeks, we’re meeting with the group that is working on re-developing Memorial Auditorium. We’re also consulting with developers on the future of Pomeroy Park. Through these conversations, sitting at the table with decision makers, students get a say in their city. And these talks could also inspire them to see future career paths.”

Students are now beginning the first of three “inquiry projects,” investigating topics of their choosing in Burlington. “One student is studying Abenaki stories. One is looking at basketball courts in Burlington—the impact and role of courts in neighborhoods, who chooses where they go,” says Christie. “Within each inquiry project, students have to interview someone, and they have to go out and have an experience related to their topic that helps them better understand it. It empowers them to investigate and branch out.” The semester will culminate in a community theater piece created with guidance from local playwright Gina Stevensen.

While Christie is new to BCL, she says there are elements that are familiar from her time teaching in other contexts. “Experiential learning, or learning hands-on, have always been a thread through my teaching because I know that’s where the realest, most relevant learning happens,” she says.

You can continue to follow along with the BCL experience this semester on their blog.