Esko opens new learning space

It's a Friday morning not long before Christmas break, and several groups of Esko high school students are sitting - chatting, studying and looking at their phones or tablets - in a new "flexible learning space" built just for them in the center of school. Tables sit along the wall and in nooks in a large open carpeted area, with talking, drinks and snacks allowed. The open space is surrounded by five glassed-in conference rooms for small-group work and a coffee shop is opening soon.

Esko superintendent Aaron Fischer likened the learning space to a commons area, a modern open space where students can go study for their various College in the Schools (CITS) classes at Esko. It's a way to keep kids at the high school while still earning college credits for free. That's good for the school district - which receives state funding based on student population - and for the kids, Fischer said. The 70 credits of CITS classes at Esko give students an alternative to enrolling in PSEO (Postsecondary Enrollment Options) classes at an actual college, and now they have a space of their own to work on those classes.

"We still pay a fee to the college, but it's substantially less than a kid going full-time to college or studying online," Fischer said. "This way they can stay more connected to their classmates and all the extracurricular activities, plus our counselors and staff. ... We think a lot of parents like their kids being connected to the school if we can work that out."

It's not a new concept - most Twin Cities schools have similar spaces - but it's fairly novel in an older, rural school setting like Esko's. When the fitness center moved to its own, more accessible space at the back of the building last year, the Esko school board embraced the idea of the flexible learning space. Renovating the 3,800-square-foot area was a lot cheaper than building something new, Fischer said.

Most of the work was complete by early December, with a student-run coffee shop opening this month as part of an entrepreneurial class. Students in the class will work together on the coffee shop as a business, but each student will also craft their own business plan as part of the new course.

"It will be open probably two hours a day, so they get the feel of running a business," Fischer said.

The new space will also help older students transition toward college life, which is more flexible and less supervised. (A teacher does supervise the learning space each period, but the students are in charge of their own learning there.)

That's part of the reason high school principal Greg Hexum isn't allowing freshmen or sophomores to use the space, Fischer said.

"Mr. Hexum sees it as a place where kids can see 'this is how college kind of works' but we can still kind of keep tabs," Fischer said. "That's versus PSEO, where we can't even see their records, because that's the college's information. We don't know how they're doing, or if they're attending or not. We don't get anything until after the end of the semester. Again, PSEO is great for some kids, but we like an option here."

The students like it, too.

"It's the best," said senior Chiara Houser, sitting with a group of five friends who have both CITS and PSEO classes this year. "I feel like otherwise, we're kind of randomly strewn about in classrooms and stuff, and this gives us a place to sit down and hang out."

Senior Evelyn Peterson agrees.

"I could sit in here all day," Peterson said.

Well, not quite all day.

"I have some regular classes, but after that we'll come here and sit ... and do some work," she says.

Then the bell rings and suddenly the students are up and moving toward the next part of their day.

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Grand Opening

Esko Schools opened a new flexible learning space for high school juniors and seniors before the Christmas break, and now they're inviting the community to come take a look. A grand opening is set for 3-4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 13. Everyone is invited.