Personally, I really like the Project-based learning idea. The whole thing of having kids choose a subject, taking some time (2-3 weeks or so) on it, and having a tangible result of some kind, just seems like an authentic way to learn. The stuff I remember most from school are the long-term projects I worked on.
Project-based learning fits well with our current fine arts focus, but it also lets us bring in some engineering, technology, science, journalism – lots of things can be projects. I like the idea of joining the Robotics league (http://sites.google.com/site/narlazsite/home) – I think robotics is going to be huge right when our kids are getting into the workforce and its just a fun thing to do. And any project can be improved by an artistic final presentation, whether that is a performance or a physical object.
Anyway, everyone should have their say, and please feel free to post here what you’d like to see the school do! Here are some links:
Project-based learning (wikipedia)
Inquiry-based_learning (wikipedia)
Leonard Bernstein center on Artful Learning
Expeditionary learning schools (wikipedia)
–Golda Velez