"What is Rigor at FSP?"

Pictured above: First and second grade class visited Cove Street Arts to sketch and observe the recent "Critters" exhibit.

Exploring and articulating the ways in which Friends School of Portland “does rigor” is not a new pursuit (see this FSP article from 2023), and it is a conversation that many educators and educational institutions are actively engaging with; but this year, the faculty decided to devote some of our meeting time to discussing the question, “What is rigor at FSP?” We first read together an article, "A New Definition of Rigor" by Brian Sztabnik. And then, we spent three sessions together this fall discussing and articulating what rigor looks like at Friends School of Portland. 

The conceptual framework we articulated is comprised of the following four themes:

• Community of Learners

• Authentic Engagement

• Perseverance through disequilibrium and challenge

• Critical thinking, transformational learning, new perspectives

At Friends school, rigorous learning experiences are ones that occur within a community of learners, in which students are authentically engaged and which require students to persevere through disequilibrium and/or challenge. Rigorous learning experiences strengthen critical thinking, facilitate transformative learning, and support students to take on new perspectives. 

Often, rigorous learning experiences are planned curricular experiences, and what we would characterize as “academic”: solving challenging math problems with a group, writing a clear and interesting story, or completing a “YEP” (Year End Project). Just as often, they arise outside of the purely academic realm; negotiating friendships, solving a social problem as a class, drafting an AI policy proposal for FSP (as the seventh and eighth grades are currently doing as part of their advisory program), or putting on a musical performance are all examples of rigorous learning experiences.  

In short, rigorous learning experiences at FSP are those that fulfill our school’s mission to prepare students to “enter the world with confidence, competence, joy, and a sense of purpose.”