At Acton Academy Columbus, our Discovery Studio learners (ages 9–13) will be presenting work connected to both our Entrepreneurship Quest and the passion projects that are a regular part of life at our school. Over the past five weeks, learners have explored startups by registering LLCs, competing in a Build-a-thon, designing websites and branding, and building businesses for the Children’s Business Fair.

Passion projects are woven into everyday life at Acton. This year, our learners have built wood desks from scratch, developed AI chatbots, launched YouTube channels, created websites, designed games with AI, made resin coasters, produced videos, and created the Acton yearbook, among many other initiatives.

We’re excited to share what learner-driven education can look like when young people are trusted with meaningful work, real responsibility, and the freedom to pursue their interests.

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.

This year, our students have been immersed in a year-long learning journey called The Ripple Maker Project. Throughout the year, 1st and 3rd graders explored what it means to make a positive difference in the world—both in small, everyday ways and in larger, community-minded actions. Through artmaking, storytelling, perspective-taking challenges, partner collaborations, slowing-down exercises, and hands-on projects, students learned to understand themselves more deeply, notice the needs of others, and imagine creative ways to contribute to the world around them. They practiced empathy, curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving as they discovered that every action—kindness, courage, helpfulness, or care—creates a ripple that touches others. This project helped students see themselves not just as learners, but as capable, thoughtful young people who can influence their world for the better.

We live in a world where experiences matter more than anything. Experiences help us to build memories that can remain in our minds and hearts forever. This year, two classes of 5th graders at Bishop Elementary, were challenged to navigate through joyful experiences that cultivate these important memories. Students learned to think deeply about how things are interconnected, learned to think flexibly, creatively, and to become more empathic through these challenging experiences. Tonight, you will see the magical growth not only as learners that this year long journey created, but also how thoughtful 5th graders can be when divergent experiences are created. 

Please join Dublin Emerald Campus International Baccalaureate (IB) students as they share their service projects CAS (Creativity, Activity and Service)-- raising awareness about mental health through literature and the importance of heart health.  Make a pledge for Heart Health and create a bookmark to take home to celebrate Creativity! 

Our learning this year at Hoffman Trails has been a journey driven by curiosity, empathy, and imagination. We explored what it really means to be “greathearted” by looking at how courage, kindness, and resilience appear in everyday life. We also examined how people are shaped by their challenges and environments. This helped us understand why it’s important to look at all sides of a story—not just the facts, but the people behind them. By studying others’ experiences, we gained new perspectives that broadened our thinking and encouraged us to act with care and understanding. Along the way, we combined creativity with inquiry—asking big questions, testing ideas, and making connections in unexpected ways. We hope this learning continues beyond this experience, inspiring reflection, empathy, and positive change. We’re excited to share examples of what we’ve learned.

The Learner Agency Club was created this year by seniors at Olentangy Orange High School in Mrs. Vescelius’ AP Language & Composition class. Throughout the year, we’ve challenged what it means to be a student as we’ve championed the ideas of collaboration, curiosity, and grading. Our goal is to give future learners the opportunity to experience more freedom in how they learn at school—an opportunity that many of us have sampled for the first time this year in Mrs. Vescelius’ class. We love the failure-first learning, open-ended projects, and student-teacher grade conferences Mrs. Vescelius implements. Our efforts to share this agency has led us to our district officials, the Ohio Board of Education, and eventually Los Angeles for the Student Power Summit, and we look forward to continuing the effort after graduation to improve the educational system.

What do you get when you put 100 plus kids together from two different schools? Magic. This year we had 40 or so 3rd graders from two classes at Wickliffe Progressive (Andrew Williams’ class and Katie Coplin’s class) and 60 or so 8th grade health students from two classes Allison Tomlin works with at Hastings Middle. Over the course of 2 months we collaborated together to build knowledge and share awareness of rare diseases that impact our community.

This year, students became agents of change through a hands-on hydroponics initiative that connected science, service, and community impact. They planted, monitored, and harvested lettuce using hydroponic towers, partnered with younger students to teach sustainable growing practices, and donated fresh produce to the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. Along the way, students took ownership of their learning by collecting and analyzing data, creating graphs to inform decisions, and collaborating to solve real-world problems. Inspired by texts such as I Am Malala, A Wrinkle in Time, and A Long Walk to Water, students explored the essential question, How can I become a positive agent for change?—and answered it through meaningful action that supports their school, city, and environment.

At the Agents of Change Symposium, students will invite you to experience their learning through interactive and engaging activities. Visitors can explore hydroponic systems, plant seeds for future harvests, sort and participate in games used to teach younger learners, and even sample student-grown produce. Students will also showcase their data collection and analysis, share their journey of impact, and guide participants in contributing to a collaborative recycled art installation to be displayed near the growing tower. Come see how empowered students can lead, teach, and create change that grows far beyond the classroom.

The LABS cohort at UAHS consists of juniors and seniors enrolled in a co-taught course including IB Anthropology and IB Language and Literature. This year, we studied ethnographies and read related literature that challenged our understandings of ritual life and marginalized communities.  Our fieldwork took us to Newark Earthworks, Kokosing Nature Preserve, the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio, Second Baptist Church, Dayton Literary Peace Prize and King Arts Complex. Working with CAHS, the students took part in the ever-expanding Erase the Space program.  The seniors pursued their personal interests in an ethnographic study that our juniors are now preparing for as their summer fieldwork.

From poetry and plays, to composting with worms and visiting SWACO, see how students have owned their learning this year. Teachers from Worthington 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, environmental awareness, and the power of writing.