Real learning doesn’t stop at memorizing facts and figures, it happens when students apply what they know to solve real problems. Across FHPS, project-based learning invites students to ask questions, build solutions, and see the direct impact of their work, developing skills like critical thinking, collaboration, and resilience that no worksheet can teach. This includes Gone Boarding, Project Lead The Way, Project NEXT, and programs at Kent ISD. These aren’t side projects — they’re a window into how FHPS students learn best: by doing.
THE POWER OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
GONE BOARDING
Dream It. Build It. Shred It.
What if your senior year included designing and building your own custom skateboard, snowboard, or surfboard — from scratch? At Forest Hills Public Schools, it does.
Gone Boarding is a one-of-a-kind, cross-curricular program available to all rising FHPS seniors, housed at Forest Hills Northern High School. Rooted in project-based, experiential learning, Gone Boarding guides students through the entire process of designing, constructing, and riding their own board — and in doing so, connects academic skills across disciplines in ways that feel anything but traditional.
PROJECT LEAD THE WAY
Building problem-solvers from the start.
At Forest Hills Public Schools, we believe the best learning happens when students are challenged to think, create, and solve real problems — not just memorize answers. That belief is at the heart of why FHPS has adopted Project Lead the Way (PLTW) as a core part of our elementary and middle school experience.
PLTW is one of the nation’s leading STEM curriculum programs, used by schools across the country to bring hands-on, project-based learning to life in the classroom. At FHPS, it reflects our commitment to giving every student a strong foundation of skills — and meaningful experiences — in the years that shape how they see themselves as learners.
PROJECT NEXT
What’s next starts here.
Some students thrive in a traditional classroom. Others are wired to learn by doing — by asking hard questions, digging into real problems, and building something they can stand behind. Project NEXT was made for them.
Housed at Forest Hills Northern High School, Project NEXT is a forward-looking, cross-curricular, project-based learning program for students in grades 9–12. It’s a different way to earn the same credits — one where real-world problems drive the learning, and where what students discover about themselves along the way is just as important as what they discover in the classroom.
KENT CAREERS TECH CENTER
Preparing the Next Generation of Professionals
Career technical education at its best, that’s what awaits FHPS juniors and seniors at the Kent Career Technical Center (KCTC). Through this regional partnership, eligible high school students can spend part of their school day at KCTC’s professional-grade facilities, earning both high school and college credit while gaining real, hands-on experience in a field they’re passionate about. Programs span a wide range of career pathways from automotive, engineering, and aviation to culinary arts, graphic communications, networking and cybersecurity, criminal justice, and beyond, giving students the chance to explore, certify, and connect with industry professionals long before graduation day. Whether a student’s next step is college, a certification program, an apprenticeship, or entering the workforce directly, KCTC gives them a head start that sets them apart.
