Place-Based Learning & Service Learning

Creating a scene in the video documentary class, taught in collaboration with Pan Left Productions.

City High School was founded on the premise that great learning happens when students are engaged in the world around them. We view all of Downtown Tucson – and more broadly, Southern Arizona – as our extended campus. While rooted in the activities and lectures each day in classrooms, schoolwork at City High School also takes place in museums, open spaces, nearby neighborhoods, and the surrounding region.

City High School is connected with efforts in other schools locally and around the country to integrate place-based learning and service learning throughout our curriculum.

In 2010-11 City High School underwent important shifts in its program and schedule, in order to build on the successes of the school’s innovative City Works program and expand service learning and place-based learning experiences for students. From 2004-2010 City Works was a stand-alone class that all students in grades 9-11 were engaged in on Wednesdays. City High School’s new weekly schedule is designed to embed more service-oriented and place-based activities into the core academic program. The weekly schedule features longer blocks of time (90 minutes) for core classes Monday through Thursday, and a flexible Friday schedule that allows for special activities such as field study and workshops.

Teachers and students work closely with community partners to engage students in community-based projects in a real world setting.