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Destiny Cooper and Anna West began Humanities Amped in 2014 with one class of 25 students. Today, we are a network of almost 500 middle and high school youth and educators throughout Baton Rouge. Our vision is to build an innovative and dynamic community of lifelong learners and civic leaders, and it is our mission to advance transformative learning in public schools so that every educator and youth is engaged and empowered for success.
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am·pli·fy
/ˈampləˌfī/ verb to intensify
to increase the volume to plug into to energize |
We Amplify Collective Solutions
We believe it is possible to transform public schools from the inside out when the voices of youth, educators, and communities are at the center. In the 2020-2021 school year, the Amped Learning Community is made up of nine collaborative, intergenerational teams of youth, school-based educators, and Amped community educators.
These teams facilitate learning for 450+ students, amplifying the conditions of learning both in-school and after-school at five East Baton Rouge schools:
These teams facilitate learning for 450+ students, amplifying the conditions of learning both in-school and after-school at five East Baton Rouge schools:
The Amped Learning Community amplifies conditions that create youth and educator well-being, Critical Literacy Skills, and THE ABILITY OF EVERYDAY PEOPLE TO ACT AS Community-minded problem solvers.
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We Amplify Hope
Here in Baton Rouge and across the nation, school pushout/dropout rates average 30% and higher in urban schools; however, three years of data show that the students in Amped classrooms are 29% more likely than their peers to graduate from high school on time. In Louisiana, a state that ranks 50th for overall youth well-being, known as the “prison capital of the world,” opportunities to thrive in schools are indeed a matter of life and death.
Our work begins by seeing students as more than a test score. Amped classrooms emphasize the role of community, culture, and relationships so that young people are not merely “achieving” in a narrow sense, but rather thriving as full human beings. Although we do not center test prep, three years of data reveal that our approach does impact traditional measures of school performance. For example, Amped students are 7% more likely than their peers to score proficient or above on state standardized tests (overall increase with variability from teacher to teacher).
Our work begins by seeing students as more than a test score. Amped classrooms emphasize the role of community, culture, and relationships so that young people are not merely “achieving” in a narrow sense, but rather thriving as full human beings. Although we do not center test prep, three years of data reveal that our approach does impact traditional measures of school performance. For example, Amped students are 7% more likely than their peers to score proficient or above on state standardized tests (overall increase with variability from teacher to teacher).
“Humanities Amped reminds us that we have a voice and that we can make a change. We believe that students should have a voice … that school doesn't have to be miserable.”
- Humanities Amped Student
“WHEN MY GRADES STARTED TO LOWER, TEACHERS NOTICED. THEY ASKED ME WHAT WAS HAPPENING. I DID NOT WANT TO TALK TO ANYONE BECAUSE I FELT THEY WOULD JUDGE ME. BUT THEY TALKED TO ME AND LISTENED. I REALIZED TEACHERS DO NOT JUST TEACH, THEY ALSO LISTEN WHEN WE HAVE PROBLEMS.”
- Humanities Amped Student
