A rock ‘n roll cover band of 8th graders from Karrer Middle School in Dublin:

Tyse Whitcomb (vocals and guitar)

Collin Delaney (bass guitar)

Nik Strohn (drums)

We are saying goodbye to fashion as we know it—the fashion that fuels social, mental, and environmental crises. At Columbus Fashion Academy, we are flipping the narrative and experiencing fashion in its holistic power—as a tool for self-discovery, confidence, connection and advocacy. We are a social enterprise transforming lives through fashion.

At the Agents of Change Festival, our students will be living proof of this transformation. Wearing their own upcycled runway designs, they will showcase how fashion teaches creative problem-solving, critical thinking, and sustainability in action. From a blank page to the runway, every piece is designed from scratch using only pre-loved materials, reinforcing our commitment to fashion sustainability.

Our core values—artistic freedom, sustainability, and empowerment—align with the mission of Agents of Change. Fashion, when approached intentionally, becomes a powerful force for innovation, identity, and social impact. Join us to witness the future of fashion—one where creativity meets purpose, and every stitch tells a story of transformation.

Come meet our student change-makers and experience fashion like never before.

I am Cassingham: A collaborative effort between the Music and Art programs have pushed students and staff to really think about what they bring to their school community. Students and staff wrote down how they make their school a positive community/space to grow and a new alma mater sprouted with the help of the fifth grade class.

Community Shoe Design: 20 local businesses or organizations worked with fourth grade students, from Cassingham Elementary in Bexley, on a one of a kind design challenge using tennis shoes as a platform and voice in the community. Students interviewed business owners, directors and managers to help them drive their design plans and ideas to create a tennis shoe that embodied the spirit and philosophy of the business the students chose.

First graders at Abraham Depp Elementary investigated the themes and lessons within picture books. We imagined a world where regular humans learn lessons just like the characters in our beloved books and wondered if we could help this idea along. With this in mind, students selected the picture book that exhibited a lesson most meaningful to them and through collaboration, planning, feedback and revision, created an experience or invention that could spread that lesson to others. Perhaps these first graders can change the world one lesson at a time with their favorite picture books as inspiration!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two classes of fifth graders in Dublin City schools spent the year learning the importance of thinking like a futurist.  Students have learned to become comfortable adapting to change, learning to look for signals and signs around them that change is coming, and to plan ahead. These thoughtful change agents are now equipped with valuable skills and perspectives that can help them navigate an increasingly complex and uncertain world. Students have learned to influence others, have a more global perspective, recognize opportunity, to become resilient, consider ethics, innovate, investigate, think long term, and to anticipate change. Come see our amazing journey and become inspired to think like a futurist! 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The purpose of the Possibilities Project is to think like a Trailblazer. Trailblazers are willing to try something new and explore possibilities that others might have missed or never even noticed. These possibilities open the doors to new ways of thinking, acting, and making in our world. They influence, inspire and impact others in the process. Students learned to identify essential skills that trailblazers possess in order to make an impact, so that they may become trailblazers themselves. Students used their interests as inspiration to think differently and experience the world as a place of possibility. On view, you will see student created artifacts that demonstrate possibility thinking. What happens when students use their interests to create an impact on the way others experience the world? Come and see the possibilities!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Students of Chapman Elementary in collaboration with Marisa Saelzler, Media Specialist

Coding ... Sewing ... Nature... it's all connected!! 

Get ready to have "sew" much fun learning with the students of Chapman Elementary! Students will share about their multi-sensory learning experience in the Chapman Outdoor Learning Lab and help you to make your own special project to take home with you!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Third Graders in Mrs. Ferrell's class at Abraham Depp Elementary have been exploring what it means to be a Trailblazer.  Investigation has been ongoing through the year by immersing themselves into books, videos, and conversations to decide what being a Trailblazer is.  We have analyzed characters in book series to watch how change and growth has transformed their lives.  Student projects exemplify how they have sparked change and growth in themselves in 3rd grade.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This year, two classes of 5th graders at Abraham Depp Elementary, embarked on an exciting journey to understand what a gift can be, what our individual gifts are, and how we can connect ourselves to others. These thoughtful students were challenged to learn that a gift is not only something special that you possess, but also something that makes you a better person, and can help others grow and improve. Through this learning, and intentional empathic curiosity, students gained a true understanding of how to use their own interests to design a thoughtful surprise gift for others in order to make an impact and to become more interconnected with our world. Come join us and celebrate what gifts can be.

We invited any student eager to explore the world, take meaningful action, and ignite change to participate in an afterschool learning adventure for young innovators from the 2nd grade at Alton Darby and the 4th grade from Hoffman Trails, both in Hilliard City Schools.  In this course, we explored the exciting world of design thinking, which is a problem-solving process used by innovators and creators across the globe. Our hopes were to encourage curiosity, critical thinking, collaboration, and empathy, while empowering students to see themselves as agents of change. We hope you will see the passion for investigating and imagining that these agents of change illuminate! 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Art and Ecology students will be showcasing their learning of how they used design thinking to address climate change.  Students developed a framework of practical applications that anyone in their community could do during Earth Month.  These initiatives were adopted by Empatico and served as a template for global climate action. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In our 4th grade community at Hoffman Trails Elementary in Hilliard, we are working to develop an understanding of different perspectives. We believe this is key to learning empathy and resolving conflict. This process starts when we recognize that others may have feelings, experiences, and views that are different from our own. We have been exploring this through interactions with family, friends, and peers. We’ve explored books that help us learn to try and put ourselves in someone else’s shoes, which helps them appreciate the emotions behind others' actions. We would love to share with you-our insights and continued wonders! 

From publishing books, to service learning, wonder projects, and recognizing that even young voices can inspire positive change, our students have owned their learning this year. Teachers from Worthington and Olentangy have collaborated this year as like-minded Investigative Team (iTeam) members to connect and inspire one another. Let our kids teach you the importance of collaboration and engagement by stopping by and creating a page in our Agents of Change self-published book! 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From wonder projects, to environmental and service learning, from biography and research projects, to activism, see how students have owned their learning. Teachers from Worthington, Olentangy, and Upper Arlington collaborated in a like-minded Investigative Team (I-Team) to connect and inspire one another. Let our students teach you about the importance of collaboration and engagement - stop by to try our recycle sort game, add a page to our digital book, or give feedback to our research projects.

LABS (Language, Anthropology, Belonging, Service). In the LABS classroom, creative thinking and curious minds work together to gain a deeper understanding of the course material.  Combining HL IB Language and Literature and Social and Cultural Anthropology courses, two teachers come together to create a less stressful collaborative space.   We do this by prioritizing understanding of topics in class rather than testing and memorization. The classroom focuses on discussions, and student voice. We work together to think critically, learn advanced topics, and create a community in class where we all help each other and build on one another's understandings, thoughts, ideas, and perspectives. We prioritize building relationships with our fellow LABS classmates, and look for opportunities to build connections with others. On-going projects include: service work with our INC classmates (a cross-categorical classroom) and third-graders from one of our elementary schools; our partnership with CAHS (Columbus Alternative High School) through our involvement with Erase the Space and the combined work of our Social and Cultural Anthropology teachers.  Each experience allows us to deepen our understanding of cultures, perspectives and build lasting relationships with others.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From wonder projects, to environmental and service learning, from biography and research projects, to activism, see how students have owned their learning. Teachers from Worthington, Olentangy, and Upper Arlington collaborated in a like-minded Investigative Team (I-Team) to connect and inspire one another. Let our students teach you about the importance of collaboration and engagement - stop by to try our recycle sort game, add a page to our digital book, or give feedback to our research projects.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Erase the Space Program: 

Our classes are participating in the Erase the Space program, a nonprofit organization that connects schools across central Ohio to promote empathy, critical thinking, and civic engagement. We’ve been paired with a 4th grade class from Britton-Norwich Learning Campus in Hilliard.

To start, we exchanged two written pen pal letters to get to know each other better. In these letters, we shared details about our families, schools, cultures, and interests. After that, we had a Zoom meeting to meet our pen pals face-to-face!

As we continue to build this connection, we’ll work together on a collaborative project throughout the year. Each week, we read a picture book about activism and advocacy, then communicate with our pen pals on Padlet, sharing our thoughts and discussing ways to make a positive impact in our communities.

Later this spring, we’re excited to meet our pen pals in person and complete a hands-on project together that connects to the themes of advocacy and activism. This will be a fun opportunity to demonstrate everything we’ve learned while working together on our shared goals.

The students have been enjoying these exchanges so much, and we can't wait to continue learning and collaborating with them!

Buckeyes for a Purpose: 

Buckeyes for a Purpose was a service-learning project done by 4th Grade Progressive students at Barrington Elementary School in Upper Arlington. Their mission is to raise disability awareness and money for an adaptive bike for students with disabilities at Barrington to use. Students worked hard to create products to sell for their fundraiser. They raised $4,500 that went to Vail's Voice, an adaptive bicycle for students at Barrington, and started a chapter of Best Buddies at their school. They learned how to run a business, interact with community members, and how to advocate, include, and serve those in our communities with disabilities. Remember, it's not a disability, it's a different ability!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Students at Genoa Middle School signed up to participate in the Future City National Competition. Normally, this means creating a fictitious city 100 years in the future. But this year, they joined with Globally Reconnect and worked with the Mashuru Community outside Nairobi, Kenya to develop their real future city. The Mashuru people had been nomadic for 100 years, but recently have been forced by the Kenyan government to settle in one area. Since settling, the community has had to deal with a lot, one being the lack of water in the area due to climate change. The Genoa students created many innovative solutions for this community and presented them during the Future City competition, but they did not stop there. They have decided to continue to work to get funding to implement their solutions for the community.

From publishing books, to service learning, wonder projects, and recognizing that even young voices can inspire positive change, our students have owned their learning this year. Teachers from Worthington and Olentangy have collaborated this year as like-minded Investigative Team (iTeam) members to connect and inspire one another. Let our kids teach you the importance of collaboration and engagement by stopping by and creating a page in our Agents of Change self-published book!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From wonder projects, to environmental and service learning, from biography and research projects, to activism, see how students have owned their learning. Teachers from Worthington, Olentangy, and Upper Arlington collaborated in a like-minded Investigative Team (I-Team) to connect and inspire one another. Let our students teach you about the importance of collaboration and engagement - stop by to try our recycle sort game, add a page to our digital book, or give feedback to our research projects.