Mind Travel

Five young leaders make the progressive tradition their own.

Mind Travel

It's exhibition night at the Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning, a public, K-12 magnet in southeast Denver. Director Rob Stein, a self-described "nerd and introvert" dressed in green preppy corduroys, a button-down shirt, and gold print tie, stands at the front of the cafeteria, fumbling with an uncooperative overhead projector. "Something doesn't work," he mutters before running off to find help. Meanwhile, the room fills with parents and children who have braved a snowstorm and icy roads to learn about the school.

Moments later, the problem fixed, Stein welcomes the 50 or so visitors. "Thanks for coming tonight," he says as he slips a videotape about the school into a VCR. Founded in 1993 and run jointly by four Denver-area districts, RMSEL is one of more than 85 Expeditionary Learning schools throughout the country. They are based on the ideals of Outward Bound, the popular outdoor education program that promotes teamwork and moral development through adventures such as rock climbing and river rafting. The model, a modern riff on the progressive tradition of "learning by doing," was one of 11 whole-school reform prototypes selected in 1992 by the New American Schools, a business-backed group that aims to spur the creation...